Q&A

This week, Q&A asks about adding value to your home and talks about neighbour problems.

Will built-in improve price?

In the past 10 years I have had built-in furniture put into several rooms, e.g., bookcases on either side of the fireplaces in the livingroom and the diningroom, radiator covers in most rooms and built-in wardrobes in two bedrooms. I am now selling my house (a semi built in 1992) and consider that as these items cost me a great deal of money (around €5,000) they should add value. One agent who has been through the house didn't seem very interested in them in terms of upping the asking price, although they make the rooms different from others in the estate. What the general thinking on this?

Do you mean that the house down the road is on the market for €250,000 and you feel yours should be on for €255,000? Well, it doesn't really work like that. By improving the interior of your home you have in all likelihood made it more appealing to would-be buyers, which means that when offers are put in, the estate agent should be in a better position to get a good price for you. However, you presumably installed all this built-in furniture because you liked it and not to add to the price tag on your house and by that I mean that your built-ins are to your own personal taste. For every person that loves built in wardrobes, for example, there's another who can't wait to rip it out and put in a free-standing unit. It's all a matter of taste. I had the experience of selling a house with what I considered to be an ultra clever storage unit in the spare room - in my mind it was a chic selling point. Three weeks after the new owners moved in, I drove by and saw the storage unit in bits in a skip - one person's ingenious built-in is clearly another person's MDF tat. Built-ins are generally a selling point. First-time buyers are particularly keen on built-in furniture because it cuts down on moving in costs and your agent will be putting this forward as a reason to buy your house over the one down the road. Even if your agent is not enthusiastic about your built-ins, they all should be listed in the brochure.

Trucker is our neighbour

What is the legal position about trucks parked in a residential area. Our neighbour owned a Hiace-type van which he parked in the driveway. It was ugly but as we know that he needs it for work, we said nothing. He has now upgraded to a very big truck which is parked on the road. It is dangerous and very unsightly and frankly I think it brings down the whole neighbourhood. It has already broken off a piece of the kerb. I don't want a confrontation but what can we do.

A large truck in a quiet residential street is indeed unsightly because you can't help seeing it and it's hazardous because it blocks the view of motorists. Do you have a residents' association that could approach the truck owner and point out your collective feelings? You should contact the community garda who will have experience of dealing with this kind of thing and find out the legal position - in some residential areas, trucks above a certain weight are prohibited or the truck may be parked too close to a junction. The garda will also be concerned about a truck that is causing a hazard to other motorists or pedestrians crossing the road. You should contact the county council about fixing the kerb.

Send your queries to Property Questions, The Irish Times, 10-16 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 or e-mail propertyquestions@irish-times.ie.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to respond to all questions. The above is a representative sample of queries received. This column is a readers' service and is not intended to replace professional advice. No individual correspondence will be entered into.