Is it Hard to Sell a Link-Detached House?

When browsing the housing market, you’re likely to hear about ‘link-detached’ houses. These properties are a bit of an anomaly when it comes to their design, since they’re technically neither attached nor detached. So, what is a link-detached house, and is it hard to sell one?

What does ‘link-detached’ mean?

A link-detached house does not share common walls with its surrounding properties, but is connected via a garage or the foundations of the building. This gives it a look that makes it seem detached, despite the fact that it is technically still connected to other properties.

In America, it’s also common for homes to be link-detached via a basement. This means they look detached on the surface, but the basements of the properties share a wall.

The HM Land Registry’s property type classification guide has more details on what constitutes a link-detached house. 

Is a link-detached house as good as a detached house?

The name of a link-detached house can be confusing, as it makes buyers think that the home is the same as a detached house, when it actually has more in common with an attached property in terms of its appearance.

Generally, these houses sell for lower prices on the property market than detached homes, as they don’t offer as much privacy, customisation, or quiet. Still, many homeowners love their link-detached houses, and their desirability is a matter of personal preference.

What is the difference between a link-detached house and other property types?

A link-detached house is a unique type of property that might seem similar to other designs on the surface, but has its own traits that separate it from other homes. Here are a few differences you may notice in a link-detached house:

Link-detached house vs semi-detached house

A semi-detached house consists of two separate properties that are joined together by a shared wall. They appear detached on the non-connected sides of the house, but their one-sided connection stops them from being fully detached.

On the other hand, a link-detached house shares a connected wall with another property, but this is through the garage rather than the home itself.

While semi-detached homes are often completely detached on at least one side of the property, a link-detached house may appear in a row of similarly designed properties, giving the impression of a terrace but with more space between each house’s main walls.

Link-detached house vs attached house

An attached house is joined to one or more properties by one or more connecting walls. You’ll often find multiple attached houses in a row, making them a space-efficient but noisy choice of property.

Link-detached houses can often look like attached properties, especially on streets with a long terrace of link-detached properties. The difference is that the properties are only connected to one another via garages, which allows the houses themselves to appear more individual and reduces the noise from your neighbours.

Common issues with link-detached houses

While a link-detached house can be a great compromise between an attached and detached property, they’re not for everyone, and many homeowners are likely to find themselves having issues with their design. Here are a few things to consider before buying a link-detached home:

Difficulties with extensions

As your link-detached property will be sharing a wall with another home, it’s often difficult to secure the planning permissions for an extension; this is because the building process would affect your neighbouring properties too. 

Noisy neighbours

Although a link-detached property isn’t as noisy as a terraced house, you can still expect to experience a few disruptions when your neighbour’s garage is in use. Noise can bleed through the shared wall of their property, causing distractions and blocking your peace of mind.

Driveway troubles

Since link-detached houses are often placed in a row, it can be difficult to figure out which driveway belongs to which property. Without prior knowledge, your guests might not know whether the garage to the left or right of your house belongs to you, which can cause trouble with parking.

Lower price

A link-detached house is more affordable than a detached property, but this also means that you’re less likely to be able to turn a high profit when selling your home. They are sometimes considered less ideal properties than other types, since they limit your customisation options and cause noise.

How to sell a link-detached house?

If you’re looking to sell a link-detached property fast, you have a few options:

Auction

If you’re struggling to sell your link-detached house, selling at an auction could be a good option for you.

At auction, you’re met with lots of buyers who are looking to buy a property fast and will be ready to exchange on the day of the auction. A high number of buyers means a higher chance that you will find a buyer looking for your type of property.

However, although at auction you have a higher chance of finding a buyer, due to there being a high number of properties, there’s still no guarantee your house will sell.

Even if you manage to agree on a deal and exchange on auction day, there’s still no guarantee your buyer won’t change their mind and decide to pull out of the deal, putting you back to square one. You will get to keep their deposit, though.

Also, due to the fast nature of an auction sale, potential buyers will be looking for a hefty discount on the sale price. You will also be responsible for paying legal fees, marketing costs, room hire and the auctioneer’s fees, meaning you’re left with a lot less than you will have originally thought.

There are also no guarantees your reserve price will be met, meaning your link-detached house might not sell at all.

Read more: How to Sell a House at Auction

Part exchange

Another alternative for selling your link-detached house is by using a part-exchange scheme. This scheme is where you trade your current property to a developer as part payment towards one of their new build properties.

Essentially, this leaves you with just paying the difference between the cost of your current property and the cost of the new build. Using a part-exchange scheme allows you to avoid selling on the open market and means you can avoid estate agents and their fees altogether.

Part-exchange also allows you the chance of having a chain-free sale, meaning you can avoid the chance of being stuck in a complicated chain that could fall through at any time.

However, to take part in a part-exchange scheme, your developer will need to deem that your house is eligible. In most cases, the developer will want a house that will be easy for them to sell on, meaning it’s likely your link-detached house won’t be exchangeable.

Even if your house is eligible to take part, there’s always a chance that your developer may decide to withdraw their offer at any point, leaving you needing to find a buyer ASAP in order to be able to proceed with your new build purchase.

Ultimately, you will only want to use a part-exchange scheme if you really want a new build. Otherwise, this scheme isn’t going to be an option that is suited to you.

Cash house buyer

Your final selling option is to use a cash house buying company. As the name suggests, these companies act as a cash buyer would on the open market, meaning they have the funds available to purchase your property chain-free.

As cash buyers have the funds readily available, they can also complete in a quicker timescale and there’s less paperwork involved, with most cash buying companies just asking for your signature.

The sale is a guaranteed sale, and you can choose the timescale, leaving you feeling in control of the sale at every step.

How can The Property Buying Company help?

Struggling to sell your link-detached house? At The Property Buying Company, we offer free, no-obligation offers on properties of any type. No matter the location, condition, or style, we’ll be happy to help you sell your house fast. 

We will only require one quick viewing to check our cash offer is accurate and we’re a guaranteed buyer, meaning once you’ve accepted our cash offer, that is the amount you will get in full in your bank.

What’s more is that we’re a member of the National Association of Property Buyers and The Property Ombudsman, as well as being rated excellent on Trustpilot, with over 2,400 reviews, so you can feel safe in our hands.

Forget putting up with the struggles of trying to sell a link-detached house and give us a call or fill in our online form for a free, no-obligation cash offer - you could have the money in your bank before you know it.