House without a garden - link

RoxieW

Would you buy a house without a garden?

I've viewed this house
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-19797656.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy
and wrote it off originally as there's no back garden and I have two young children.
However, this summer our garden has not been used at all. Even on hot days the boys are either at school or on a weekend/holidays we take them out somewhere. They dont tend to play in the garden.
I like the potential of this property, although I think the current owners have ruined it with their own taste - ie THAT bathroom!
My other concern is that it would be difficult to sell in the future due to the lack of garden/parking etc.
Also - all of the windows are frosted glass which meant quite a claustaphobic feel, despite the space inside. The owner said we should be able to replace them - how can we find out if this is the case?
If I did put an offer in it would be for £150K reasons being that it has been on the market for over a year at its current price - without a single price drop. And I feel we'd have to spend quite a bit on it ie new bathroom/kitchen/decorating to get it to modern standards. There are 3 bed bungalows in the area on at £150K that havent shifted. Ther are also 3 bed new builds at £170K which I feel will sell for around £150K also.
Any opinions? Would you buy a house without a garden? Any other pitfalls you can see that I havent noticed?
Thanks

Running_Horse

In our area there are three houses without gardens that have been on for ages despite being the cheapest available. Even if you don't use a garden much, you will find it much harder to sell on in the future.

pinkkaz

RoxieW wrote: »

Would you buy a house without a garden?

Yep. And that house looks pretty big, so I don't think a garden is necessary. It's nice to have one of course, but if you don't really use it then it's just another space to keep tidy. There's always the park if you need to get out of the house.

And don't worry about selling it on. If you're thinking of buying it then there must be other people willing to buy it.

pinkkaz

ps really don't like those organ pipes over the lounge door - bit tacky!

tbs624

People who go for chapel conversions don't really expect there to be a garden - is there any outside space at all?Plenty of people * are* happy with just a couple of bay trees in pots as their outdoor space.

It's often a trade off isn't it - smaller house + large garden or plenty of indoor space and nowt outside?

You can check what's allowed with windows via the the Council Buildings Control Officer.

The property does have those two basement rooms as well, plus "a feature organ" in the master bedroom

chickmug

As an EA take it from me that even if you come to terms with it you WILL have problems selling in the future even though there is a lot of floor space for the money. I would of also thought, in that area, people are more conservative than in the South East?

Whenever we get places without gardens it is much tougher. Sometimes a place has only a rear patio garden - or shall we say a courtyard - or shall we say a back yard!! But even those who are not kee on gardens may have a dog and want at least a back yard for it to do whatever dogs do now and then

BrandNewDay

Is the bathtub in what was the altar area? Is it a former baptist chapel and is that where the baptistry was?

Running_Horse

It's like living on a busy road. Some people don't mind it, but the market will always be more limited.

Sazzyukrafc

It's up to you! Everyone has different things of their check list. Some need certain amount of bedrooms, some need a home office, some need a garage etc...

You don't need a garden. If it's near open space and you don't really use the garden, then I don't see a problem.

Of course, when you come to sell it, it will limit your market, but there will be people like you who don't need a garden

GracieP

BrandNewDay wrote: »

Is the bathtub in what was the altar area? Is it a former baptist chapel and is that where the baptistry was?

I thought maybe the vendor is a reincarnation of Cleopatra.;)

OP, I'd absolutely never consider a house without a garden. We moved house in July and in our old house we had awful neighbours so we almost never used the garden. In the six weeks that we've lived here we've used the new garden more than we used our old one in 2 years, even with this summer's crappy weather.

So even though you don't really use your current garden, that might just be because the garden isn't the right garden for your family. When I was a child I spent a huge amount time in the garden. We had our own kids garden with a two-storey treehouse and a great rope swing, so actually half the kids in our area spent hours everyday in our garden.:cool:

The other thing that a garden does is provide a private area around your house. How much of this house is directly onto public land? How would you feel about people walking right past your windows? The current owner obviously had a problem with it as they frosted the windows.

Are the walls of the house anywhere near where kids might kick a football off the side of your house? Not your own kids, but other ones. I have friends who had to live with that in a rented place and moved after 6 months because they couldn't stand it.

If none of those things are problems, and you love the house enough to still want it. The last thing to work out is how likely you are to sell it. If you think you could live in it for the rest of your life, then who cares about resale. But if it isn't somewhere you potentially see yourself in forever, then you really need to think long and hard. Most people wouldn't even view a family property without a garden, so selling it will be extremely tough.

Mozette

I would buy a house without a garden - one of the plus points of my current home is its small garden. I don't like gardening, and I'm not really the outdoor type - and when I want a bit of 'serious outdoors' there are some really nice walks by the nearby canal. So I get the outdoors I want with minimal gardening: if I think about it, the main time I go in the garden is to cut the (handkerchief sized!) lawn.
However it is one of those things that will limit your resale ability; also the resale price, but then your purchase price will be less than if it had a garden.
I would say if you like the house, and want it for your home, then if the lack of a garden isn't an issue for you, then buy it. Just bear in mind you might have a bit of a longer than average wait when you come to sell.
Certainly with a bit of redecorating it could look stunning.