Great house, but . . . . very overlooked

westy_1981

Hi all,

We have been searching for ages and have found a house that ticks every box we want ticked. But, the houses behind are higher up a slope so they look directly into your garden.
I get the impression that it did not bother the vendor in the slightest, so they have not bothered to do anything about it ie planting trees / hedges etc. The garden is not huge so you couldn't go overboard but with trellising / plants etc growinp up and above the fence it would at least break up the view of the neighbours and vice versa of them looking down on us.
Am i being daft in worrying about it, especially as the house is so great? Arrrgghhh!!!! There is always something isn't there!
Thanks for any advice

USM

It would bother me enormously. Privacy is so important, both in the garden and when considering people's view of your windows etc.

somethingcorporate

If you think it may bother you then I can guarantee it WILL put someone off.

We'd give it a miss too for that very reason.

That is one thing about buying property - there is always a compromise.

tanith

I agree with the others I like some privacy in the garden.. we are overlooked but have grown some trees at the bottom so now only overlooked by next door.. only you can decide if its a step too far..

go_cat

If you can put up with it for the short term you can get connifers that grow in 3 years to about 8ft!!!

Short term add trellise (Sp)

It is about compromise ...we are currently deciding between perfect house with small garden vs nice house and larger garden

InkZ

It would probably affect you when you come to sell, but it's up to you whether you think it's worth it. A privet garden was a big factor when I was looking to buy.

GDB2222

It wouldn't put me off at all. I don't do anything in the garden that I would mind the neighbours seeing. Besides that, all suburban gardens are overlooked to some extent. It's just a matter of how obvious it is.

hazyjo

Agree with GDB2222. Ours is a bit overlooked, but we don't really do that much out there. Did see next door but one mowing her garden in her bra (definitely not bikini top) and sarong the other day though lol!

Ours looks worse than it is, I think, as there's a crescent of houses to the left of us. There are a lot of a windows as they're 3 and 4 storey houses. Your mind sort of tells you there'd be 20 people/flats looking over, when in fact it's only people from 2 or 3 houses.

Jx

talulahbeige_2

It would put me off but not for the beign overlooked reason.
We currently live in a house that is low down and surrounded by other houses and 2 sides, we get virtually no light in the living room becasue of the positioning. You can only imagine how depressing it is to have to put your lights on and a jumper when it is a gloriously sunny day

abankerbutnotafatcat

Unless you are very rich it all tends to be a compromise. Presumably the over-looked garden is factored into the price enabling you to get a bigger/better house/area for your money. If it doesn't put you off and you can potentially minimalise it with plants etc then there will be others who will also put up with less privacy for more space. I would certainly consider it.

becky2011

To be honest it's not something I could live with but guess everyone is different. Once you buy though you could be stuck there for a long period of time so it needs lots of thought!