Hi, I have been looking at property to purchase (in the fullness of time) and a few are described as back/rear sections. I imagine that the property is built at the back of another property's garden. Does this mean there is a shared access? Anyone have any experiences good or bad? In the area I live in, I wouldn't be keen to share a driveway as you may be at the mercy of your neighbours blocking it with 20 tons of gravel whilst they carry out improvements...

I suppose that could happen but most rear sections have their own ROW for access.
Half of all nz properties are back sections so i dont think its anything to worry about.
If you have doubts have a look at prospective properties on Google maps

Dont panic we are on a back section most have there own access some are shared but it never seems to be a problem

It's only shared and potential problem if it's a cross lease, which are pretty dated now. I'd be more worried about access as some are quite tight driveways with little or no turning area.

Consider that you will therefore be surrounded on all sides by other houses. For some people this is an enjoyable experience for others not so much. Summer months could be rather noisy. I also recommended having a look at Google earth to get a good idea of the density of properties that can be difficult from ground level. Took me quite some time to really understand what a 'leg-in' really meant.

Where we rented on the North Shore I can't remember any houses without rear sections, many of them had 3 or 4 houses crammed onto one section. We were on a two house section (side by side), the owner of the other house owned the rental. Caused us loads of stress when he decided he wanted to build 2 more houses behind the one we were in, winds me up even thing about it!! So beware buying a rear section if another house on there has a big garden, they may want to cram another house in there!!

What we didn't like in that sort of area was there were so many houses crammed in together, all overlooking each other so not much privacy, not much in the way of gardens & it was so noisy at weekends, constant drone of lawnmowers, dawn till dusk!!!

Most do seem to have their own access, our neighbours share a driveway but this isn't common.
Personally I wouldn't choose to live on one unless it had a huge garden. I do not like the feeling of being blocked and hemmed in by the surrounding properties, it just feels [and generally is] less private. This would be the sole reason I would not live on one. It only took looking at one back section when we were househunting to make up my mind.

You can get all sorts of crap to deal with; shared maintenance and trees on boundaries that cause problems with neighbours, their leaves in your gutters and all sorts. Look at the numbers on the houses for clues or Google maps to get the lie of the land. Local council websites are useful to view section boundaries, before you even go there.

Some places go two, three or four deep dow a ROW (Right of Way) which is often a shared access drive to all the rear properties If the house is 1b, c, or d.

Quite common with large sections subdivided around some areas; you can also get 20 houses with the same address which goes something like 1/20, 2/20, 3/30 and so on, in a 'cul-de-sac' type of arrangement. Usually they have a 'Body corporate' to whom you pay service charges for the upkeep of the shared road, lighting, bins, verges or whatever.

I wouldn't do it in a month of Sundays keep looking. Everyone I know on a shared section has had neighbour problems of one form or another. Why complicate your life?

Thanks very much everyone! I guess it depends how many houses are round about, at the moment we are in a very private position with no near neighbours ~ half a mile to next door! So although it would be nice to have closer neighbours we don't want to hear them playing their music! Thanks, that advice has certainly given me some food for thought

Noise from neighbours I find is a bigger issue here, no double glazing or brick walls to block the sound - so the further away you can get the better.

Bear in mind it seems to be every Kiwi blokes dream to spend the weekend out on the driveway with his mates revving the doodahs out of some clapped out old banger or swinging a chainsaw. I can hear our neighbour washing machine when sitting indoors, they have it out on the deck. Besides the barking dogs left outside in all weathers and the smell of rancid old BBQs wafting through your windows - far away is good!!

Heavens Alive!!! I will no longer complain about my lack of neighbours. Why the washing machine on the deck? Closer to the clothes line?

I've never thought I'd ever see these words used in this order to describe a desired situation...

Oh blimey, there's some horror stories on here! I'm on a back section with our own drive and a quarter acre and *touch wood*, no neighbour woes as yet, so it really depends.

My mum is one of the ones guilty of subdividing her section so that 3 further houses could be built on it so she could build a nice house tucked away in a private section on Waiheke! Anyway, there doesn't seem to be any problem with the shared ROW (right of way). It seems very safe for the kids to play because they are so far from the road. The only neighbour problems we have is actually from a house on a rear section of someone else's property (a bit of noise during the day but not a serious problem).

Having said this, I haven't moved all the way back here to live in a house surrounded by lots of other houses. I have one of these in London. When I finally bring my money over I will be searching for a place with a bit of privacy, although rural does not interest me. I expect to take a bit of time finding a place, especially in Auckland, but I think being huddled in a group of other houses is risky in terms of problems with neighbours.