Tempted by a house but small courtyard garden....hard to sell on??

carefullycautious

Davesnave wrote: »

Eastbourne is old fogey territory, so the lack of a garden won't be an issue for many prospective purchasers, just as it isn't for you.

Total tosh see below

http://www.duport.co.uk/news-centre/2013/march/20130327-young-female-and-ambitious-Go-to-Eastbourne.php

I could not cope with such a small garden with children, but for a couple and dog/s no problem. You even have space at the front of the house to hang washing.
As they have already put a fence up around the small outside space cant see why you could not extend a little further I would see if I could build a wall

geoffky

Courtyard garden.. I have heard it all now.
It does not have a garden...
It is a back yard no matter how much you dress it up.

Davesnave

Davesnave wrote: »

Eastbourne is old fogey territory, so the lack of a garden won't be an issue for many prospective purchasers, just as it isn't for you.

carefullycautious wrote: »

Total tosh see below

http://www.duport.co.uk/news-centre/2013/march/20130327-young-female-and-ambitious-Go-to-Eastbourne.php

Hit a raw nerve there, obviously, but tosh? I think not.

Eastbourne's Wiki notes that it's last available Census data showed "a larger than average over–60 population (just over 25% of the population being of retirement age as opposed to the UK average of 18.4%)"

New local data released this month may well confirm an increase in the younger age groups at the expense of the old, but don't pretend it won't remain a favoured retirement town, just like many more along the South Coast.

I could selectively quote all kinds of things, but for the OP's benefit, I will stick with: "The property market in Eastbourne is healthy with an average price increase of 11.2% between 2011 and 2012."

Whether driven by frenzied, thrusting, business types, or by flat capped, granddads in Honda Civics matters not, the answer seems obvious.... Get in! :beer:

GoldenShadow

For the comments regarding dogs, I have two retrievers and would never consider such a small garden for them. I don't do walking in parks I prefer to be unsocial when out with my dogs so I couldn't make do with a park locally either.

But then I am a country type through and through, garden is never something I could compromise on. I don't do *inside*..!

totallybored

geoffky wrote: »

Courtyard garden.. I have heard it all now.
It does not have a garden...
It is a back yard no matter how much you dress it up.

I disagree. It's not even a back yard (which I could live with), its a side / front garden with a higher than usual fence around it.

I personally wouldn't buy it. I have no issue with small yards as they can be lovely with not much maintenance. However, they normally have more privacy and don't often have a public footpath and road on the other side of the fence.

Mayflower10cat

Hmmm. I must confess, it's an awfully small outside space/yard/patio whatever you want to call it. No room to extend at all from what I can see. First time buyer might not mind, but it's not really in their price range (guessing). Tricky one, buy it if you love it and it's right for you. I love my garden (which isn't everyone's passion, I'll freely admit) and I'd rather go for a larger plot/smaller house with the option to extend in the future.

phoebe1989seb

It is a very small outside space - but the inside looks great and if Eastbourne floats your boat and you're happy to make the compromise on outside space, well why not?

I'd be more concerned about the price around the SDLT/making a future profit issues. When we downsized from our family home and paid off the mortgage we (stupidly) bought a house priced over one of the SDLT thresholds as we fell in love with the character etc. having made a total mistake about the area we then threw good money after bad and spent a further £40k restoring it. Three years later we sold it just under that SDLT threshold OTOH, if you intend it to be your long-term home, maybe that isn't so much of an issue!

We have friends who've brought up two kids (now 9 & 12) in a wonderfully large (2000+ sq ft) maisonette in a Victorian conversion on the South Coast that has a teeny (but very cute and nicely laid out) garden. When their eldest was born they considered selling and moving to a house, but for one thing they'd never have got the square footage in as good an area on their budget and also there are parks, a common and seafront all within a few minutes walk - so they decided to stay put. They've never thought twice about it and now their kids are older, playing in a *proper* garden is less of an issue. They have space to sit, have BBQs and entertain on a small scale and inside they have masses of space......

Another example is DS who a couple of years back bought a flat with his GF in SW London. They have a garden that's so small you can almost touch the back wall as you step outside, but again they've made it into a lovely, intimate *garden room*........and it's much easier for two busy 23 year olds with hectic social lives to maintain