Northeast facing garden

mto

Hi folks,

We are interested in putting in an offer for this property

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-23114673.html?premiumA=true



however the only thing that is putting me off is the fact that the back garden is NE facing. We are currently in a 3 story victorian terrace with a NE garden and there is never any sun due to the height of the properties.

OH is very very keen on the property and the garden is the only thing that is putting me off but I know I'll have to compromise somewhere. How much of an issue would this be to you - do you have a similar property and if so how much sun does it get.

Thanks
mto

WorzelG

Well it likely wont get any sun from the early afternoon onwards. Only you can answer how important that is for you..

andy.m_2

I wouldn't.
Our last houses have all had Westerly gardens so have had glorious sun from lunchtime onwards.
To that end I couldn't be without it now.

little_miss_muppet_face

We had a north facing garden in our last house, was lovely and sunny until 3pm ish.. then went sooo dull and cold, our neighbours across the road kids were having water fights in the back garden in lovely sunshine and we were sitting in ours trying to eat our bbq in the freezing cold, our neighbours took pity on us and invited us over to enjoy the sun.. Not long after we put the house on the market and bought a new house with a SW facing garden, never again would i buy a garden that didnt get the sun well into the evening.. Thats only my feeling on it though..

digitalphase

It would bug me, but I am a hobbyist gardener.

Personally, for that sort of money, I don't see why you should have to compromise on something like this.

Tmesis_2

digitalphase wrote: »

It would bug me, but I am a hobbyist gardener.

Personally, for that sort of money, I don't see why you should have to compromise on something like this.

I agree. We've got a south facing garden and I wouldn't want anything else. We had a north-east facing garden in our last place and we just couldn't use it.

One thing, though - it looks from that photo that the end of the garden gets sun. My first house had a north-facing garden but it was long; I* built the patio at the far end and it got sun all day - effectively south facing. Could that be an option for you?

*when I say "I", I mean "my dad"

Better_Days

It does depend on the height of the property, the height of the neighbouring properties and the length of the garden. I have a north east facing garden and it is fine, but I have a bungalow, with a bungalow one side and a chalet bungalow the other side. Our garden is about 50 foot long

I get the sun on the back of the house in the morning. This works well as it makes the living room, which is at the front of the house and is dual aspect lovely and sunny in the afternoon and evening.

The garden gets the sun in part of it all of day and I have a lovely decking area which faces south/west if I want to sit out in the afternoon/evening. Because our property is a bungalow it doesn't result in long enough shadows to cause a problem.

There has been a thread about this before and someone kindly came up with a mathematical formula to work out the shadows, but it was rather 'over my head' I'm afraid.

Also take note of where the windows are, especially the rooms that you will using most. I have been in properties on a sunny day that have hardly a ray of sunshine due to the orientation. We discounted an otherwise lovely property for this reason (part of the problem was the neighbours huge leylandi hedge to the southern boundry).

mildred1978

I have a northeast facing garden and don't have any issues whatsoever with it. Everything I've planted has grown. One end of the garden gets the sun in the morning and the other side gets all of the late afternoon/evening sun. Perfect.

The area closest to the house tends to be in shade, but that's fine. It's where I've put all of my son's toys.

Mrs_Z

When we bought our property I had the same concern (the garden is north facing and miniscule). We did go ahead with the purchase and it still bugs me. We get sun for half the garden during the height of the summer which is ok. The worst times are spring and autumn when the neighbours' gardens are basked in the sunshine and ours is not. If we ever move again it would be a deal breaker for me. However, it does depend how tolerant you are.

harrup

Don't do it - you can change virtually anything about a house except it's position.

And you won't find out how much this issue might bug you until you have bought it. After which you are stuck with a dark, damp, sunless garden for most of the day and year.

For some people -not an issue. Only you know how much, if any, sun you need to feel contented. I once rejected a gorgeous property for this very reason. It was probably the ONLY house I have ever viewed where I wouldn't have changed a single thing in it. It had everything I ever wanted from my ideal home.....except that north facing dark garden. Which, I knew, would have driven me barmy. If there would have been a way to pick up that house, brick by brick, and move it to a different location I would have. I cried after telling the EA we wouldn't pursue the sale..........

Think carefully......position is REALLY important.

downsizer3

You can see from that aerial photo that the shadow of the house covers about half the garden.
In the winter it'd be worse with a lower sun.
Personally - I'd not be keen but I bought my place largely because of the garden as that's one of my priorities - you'd have to weight it up.