Joel DyckReal Broker SK Ltd.
Saskatoon · From the topic map

How much value does a shared driveway take off a house?

A shared driveway on its own is a modest drag on a Saskatoon home's value, but a shared driveway with no registered agreement through Information Services Corporation can discount it far more, since it hands the next owner an unresolved dispute. The size of the discount depends on whether use and snow clearing are documented.

Where two properties share access with a registered easement or agreement through Information Services Corporation setting out each party's rights and responsibilities, buyers generally treat it as a minor inconvenience rather than a major flaw, since the terms are settled and enforceable.

Where there is no registered agreement, just a longstanding handshake between the current neighbours, the discount is larger because a lawyer reviewing the file for a buyer will flag it as an open liability. That uncertainty tends to worry buyers more than the physical inconvenience of sharing the pavement.

Fixing the paperwork before listing, by having a lawyer draft and register a proper agreement through Information Services Corporation, usually costs within the $800 to $1,500 range that legal work on a residential file runs, and it often recovers more value than it costs. Get your hand-reviewed valuation from Joel Dyck.

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