Garden size

lb364

I've noticed a house go up for sale but the only downfall is the size of the garden. According to the details, it's about 18'wx30'l - is that considered small?

I'm not too bothered about gardens and am sure you could make it look pretty but would it be hard to sell on with a garden that size? It's three bed so I'm wondering about families with children specifically...

getmore4less

How does that compare to others in the area.

one feature of small gardens is often other houses are closer so you become more overlooked

Might also be a problem with access.

princeofpounds

Quite a lot of newer developments have small gardens. Partly a result of developers wanting to pack them in, but also largely to do with government planning guidelines that wanted greater density of development.

That garden isn't big, but not everyone wants the hassle of a large garden and it's not tiny. For a three bed I think it would be ok... the ones that look really odd are the 4 and 5 bed homes with 15ft back gardens I have seen!

hazyjo

A lot depends on the area and house size, I'd say. Is it a new build type house? A townhouse? They often have small gardens. If it's somewhere like London or Brighton, people expect a 'courtyard' garden and any garden can be considered a bonus in some areas.

I'm considering a house (small/average 3 bed) with a paved garden of around 20'x25', so similar proportions. It is small, but I'm weighing up the compromise against other things.

Jx

phoebe1989seb

It is small, but as others have posted it doesn't always put buyers off. We (only the two of us as our son had just gone to uni) bought a five bed detached (period, not new build) house in 2007 that had a relatively small garden. The garden had once been quite large - with an orchard and pool - but over time portions had been sold off and other houses built pretty close to the original property. Whilst the garden still wrapped around the house and overall it covered quite a good sized area comprising gavelled driveways, lawn, paved and decked areas, it was only 25' at its deepest part.

When we sold in 2011 we thought this might put off potential family purchasers, but in fact we sold very quickly to a couple with three kids and two large dogs who weren't that bothered as there were parks and beach close by.

Some people are perfectly happy with smaller, lower maintenance gardens, although personally it made me realise how much I appreciate outside space and when choosing our current house we opted for somewhere with lots

lb364

Thank you for the responses. It's not a new build and most surrounding houses (except the immediate neighbours) have gardens 2-3 times the size. But it is in a good area for transport and is all we can afford there.

Luckily it doesn't back onto other houses but a sports field, however it is separated by a (horrible!) very tall chain link fence with metal supports into the garden.

OT: Would I be right to assume the fence and supports would be the council's responsibility as it is their field?

Yorkie1

No, you can't assume that the fence / supports would be the council's responsibility because it's their field. They could say the same about the house owner, because it's their garden.

It depends entirely on what the deeds / plans say about responsibility for maintenance of boundaries. And, further to that, it may be that the fence is actually erected on the field itself - i.e. just inside the boundary. So you could have the responsibility for the boundary, but the council maintains the fence as it's on their land. You'll only find this out from the enquiries made as part of the purchase process post-offer/acceptance.

getmore4less

Check the fence but unlikley to need much doing to it for a very long time if OK condition and relatively easy to hide especialy if the posts are on your side no need for posts of your own. Look at what others have done

if the field has public access(not a school or something similar) see if any other properties have created access could be an asset.

Check the aspect(NSEW) opening onto open fields can give great lat evening sun if west facing

lb364

So, in the event it is the house owner's responsibility and it fell down, could they force you to put the same type of fence up or would it be entirely your choice?

lb364

getmore4less wrote: »

Check the aspect(NSEW) opening onto open fields can give great lat evening sun if west facing

The garden, if looking out from back of the house, faces SW - is that good?!

Yorkie1

lb364 wrote: »

So, in the event it is the house owner's responsibility and it fell down, could they force you to put the same type of fence up or would it be entirely your choice?

They cannot force the house owner to do anything if the responsibility for maintaining the fence is the house owners - unless there is a specific covenant in the deeds stipulating what type of boundary must be in place, which would be unusual.