Offset Garden

Littlebobo1981

Hi I posted a week or so ago asking for advice selling our home, anyway feedback from viewings (via estate agents) is that the problem with our home isn't the house which generally people like ...it is the offset garden ...we are in the process of fencing this in to give it a more private feel but wondering if anyone has any experience of offset gardens and what i can do to make it more attractive to potential buyers ..?

Cakeguts

I don't actually know what you mean by offset garden. You might have to do a sketch.

Littlebobo1981

The property is not directly outside our property, so you have to come out of our back door and it is shared access (with outbuildings one of which is ours) to the left and then turn right and walk about 15-20 seconds and turn right and then up a small path to our garden, it's not far away as such just not directly outside our back door ..does that help ?


Not sure how to upload a sketch ???

Cakeguts

So your garden is not attached to your house? You have a garden that is a short distance away from the house? Who owns the land directly outside your house. The bit you have to go over to get to your garden?

Littlebobo1981

It's shared access, but the garden is that of my next door neighbor.

iammumtoone

An offset garden is where the garden is not directly accessible from your house, you need to pass over other land to get to it which normally has shared access, although the garden is yours.

Sorry OP but I looked at a few houses with offset gardens and I didn't like the set up. They only thing that would encourage me to buy was as if the house was priced the same as if no garden or very small garden, when the offset one was large.

Can the garden be seen easily from a window? If not young families will be put off as they will not be able to keep an eye on their children whilst they are playing in the garden.

If you are pricing the same as a house that has the garden attached I think that is where your problem lies.

Good Luck you will get a buyer who that situation suits.

Littlebobo1981

We are priced 20k lower than similar properties with a back garden directly outside, the garden can be viewed from ours as we have a small child ourselves, we also have a front garden which my other neighbor actually has fenced up so that is used as their back garden ...perhaps that is something we could consider ..doesn't help that my neighbor in the middle is very old and his garden is rather messy but he likes it that way ..he's lovely but imagine it might put off a buyer

Littlebobo1981

It's a starter home for FTB or couples not really designed for people with children hence we want to move ..!

i think if we fence it in and make it more like a getaway retreat it might help ..never been an issue for us but can understand it's not for everyone

iammumtoone

AFF8879 wrote: »

Offset gardens are more common where a house has been divided into flats and the garden split up accordingly. It would be quite unusual to see an offset garden in a "whole house" and I imagine would affect the value quite significantly as a garden is one of the main reasons people choose houses over flats, and could create privacy issues / concerns for parents who won't be able to look out over their children playing from the kitchen etc.

Its not uncommon round here I looked at a lots terrace starter homes and a few of them had them, most of them were older houses so must be some historical reason for it, maybe people didn't used to be so bothered by it as to have garden rather than yard must have been a luxury wherever it was situated.

iammumtoone

Littlebobo1981 wrote: »

we also have a front garden which my other neighbor actually has fenced up so that is used as their back garden ...perhaps that is something we could consider

If your front garden is large enough to be used as a back garden I would do that as then you can sell your house as the offset garden being 'extra' much like a allotment.

All the houses with offset gardens I looked at they were the only usable space (front gardens if any were tiny).

I would have offered on one if they had a front garden big enough to use as a garden meaning the offset bit was 'extra'.

Littlebobo1981

Yes, the house is a period property and the house was one but divided into terraces and the pig pen was given to this property ..which is now our garden