What is a Link-Detached House?

To most people, a link-detached house is a bit of an enigma, which can add a lot of confusion when you’re trying to sell your property, and no one can understand why it’s neither attached nor detached.

In fact, a link-detached house is its own category…

To help you get the answers to your buyers’ potential questions, we’re going to talk you through all things link-detached, including what a link-detached house actually is and the potential problems that come with living in one.

We’re also going to give you some other selling options, besides the open market, in case you’re ever struggling to sell your link-detached house.

Table of Contents

• What is a link-detached house?

• What is the difference between link-detached and semi-detached?

• What is the difference between a detached and an attached home?

• Common problems with link-detached houses

• Is it hard to sell a link-detached house?

What is a link-detached house?

A link-detached house is a residential property that doesn’t share any common walls with surrounding properties but is ‘linked’ to the property by a garage.

Sometimes, a link-detached property can be linked through the foundations rather than through the garage, which gives a link-detached house the ‘detached look’ from the street side.

Often in America, you can find link-detached houses linked by basements, meaning the walls underground that divide the basements are common walls, or in other words, are shared with your neighbour.

You can see the government’s visual representation of a link-detached property in HM Land Registry’s Property Type Classification Guide here:

Is link-detached as good as detached?

The word ‘detached’ can confuse things, as it makes people think that the property is almost the same as a detached house.

This is misleading because, regardless of whether the property is linked through a garage or through the foundations, the house is still linked to another and, therefore, can’t be thought of as detached.

Whether a link-detached house is as good as a detached house will depend on what you want your house to be. If you’re looking for a bridge between a semi-detached and a detached house, then a link-detached is a great solution.

Generally speaking, link-detached houses sell for a lower price than detached houses, meaning when you’re looking to sell your link-detached house, you can’t expect to get as much for it as you would for a detached property.

What is the difference between link-detached and semi-detached?

The key difference between a semi-detached and a link-detached house is that the former kind shares a common wall within the living area, so it looks attached from street-level.

A link-detached, however, doesn’t share any walls of the living areas, with the garage being the link between the two houses, which can give the property a detached look from the outside.

What is the difference between a detached and an attached home?

A detached home will sit on its own, with no shared walls and its own land, which is the homeowner’s responsibility.

On the other hand, an attached house will share walls on one or both sides of the property, meaning there could be multiple properties in a row.

As attached homes all effectively share the same building, they may also share the same land, for which the owner of each home will have shared responsibility for the upkeep.

If one side of a property is attached, it’s known as a semi-detached or end-of-terrace, but if both sides are attached, the property is known as a terraced house.

As a general statement, a detached house will offer more land, privacy and floor space compared to an attached house, which is why you will likely attract more of a premium in the price when selling a detached house.

The average selling prices in Newcastle, for instance, show a slightly greater increase for detached properties (+337%) than semi-detached properties (+330%) since January 1995, according to data from Home.co.uk.

Common problems with link-detached houses

Link-detached houses come with more problems than you would get with a regular detached house. If you’re looking to sell your link-detached and you’re worried about the problems your buyers may come up with, this should be useful.

Here’s what you can expect in the way of common problems:

• Extending the house: Although you’re not sharing any common walls, when wanting to extend a link-detached house, most people want to extend above the garage, which affects both properties, due to this being the ‘link’. As well as extension work affecting both properties, you also face the potential worry of the extension decreasing the value of the property. Extending a link-detached property brings the two properties closer together, making them appear as though they’re fully attached, causing a likely drop in value.

Read more: How to discover if you need planning permission for an extension project

• Noise levels: A link-detached house is likely to offer less noise compared to a semi-detached or terraced house, but will bring more noise than a detached house. In some cases, the owner may decide to convert their garage into a kitchen or living room. Due to the garage being the link between the two properties, this will lead to noise travelling more easily into the neighbouring property.

• Driveway confusion: As link-detached properties are normally linked by a garage, this tends to lead to the two properties sharing a driveway, or at least confusion over which drive belongs to whom. A shared driveway can quickly become an issue when your neighbour is always blocking you in or out of the drive, or they have different ideas about what they want to do with it.

• Nightmare neighbours: In a link-detached house, you’re at a higher risk of having problems with your neighbours, compared to a detached property. As you have the element of a decent amount of shared area, the risk of problems with neighbours is increased, meaning it’s important you try to build a good relationship with them from the beginning.

Read more: Citizens Advice about disagreements with neighbours about walls or fences

• Lower price: A link-detached property will have a much lower value than its detached counterpart, leaving you with less room to make any profit on it, which can make it more difficult when trying to get funds together to buy a new property.

Is it hard to sell a link-detached house?

To give a short answer, yes, it is hard to sell a link-detached house. The reason you will find a link-detached harder to sell is because it will be priced higher than a semi-detached, or terraced property, due to it having a more detached look and feel, yet it can still attract the same kind of problems one would face owning and living in a semi-detached or terraced property.

This makes buyers more likely to go for an attached house, or a detached house if they’re able to afford to pay more.

As a result of this, there are rarely buyers on the market looking for link-detached houses, which can leave you stuck for a long period of time.

If this sounds like you, then don’t worry, you do have other options to find yourself a buyer. Here are three of the most popular routes to selling.

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.

There’s also minimal work required from you—all you need to do is host an open day prior to the auction and then let your auctioneer do the rest of the work.

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.

Read more: How to Sell a House at Auction

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.

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.

Read more: Which Part House Exchange Company Should You Choose?

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?

If this sounds like the right option for selling your link-detached house, then we’re able to help you out.

Here at The Property Buying Company, we’re a cash buyer of houses and will take any property in any location. We can complete in a fast timescale of your choice, and we will cover all the fees for you—yes, even the legal ones.

As we’ve mentioned, the timescale is up to you, but our average completion time is between two and three weeks, but we have completed in as little as seven days before.

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.