Back-to-back house

pulliptears

Milton Keynes is full of them too.  DD rented one for a while, can't speak for all but hers was a tiny one bedroom and she and her partner struggled for space.  She was fortunate that it had a sunny garden to the side which she could use to put a clothes line on so she could dry her washing outdoors.
There was the issue that noise came from both side and rear and the rear neighbours weren't the quietest.  She was there for a year and it was pleasant enough.   Just consider space and noise.

zagubov

pulliptears said:

Milton Keynes is full of them too.  DD rented one for a while, can't speak for all but hers was a tiny one bedroom and she and her partner struggled for space.  She was fortunate that it had a sunny garden to the side which she could use to put a clothes line on so she could dry her washing outdoors.
There was the issue that noise came from both side and rear and the rear neighbours weren't the quietest.  She was there for a year and it was pleasant enough.   Just consider space and noise.

That sounds more like a cluster home than a back to back (as in blocks of four houses having a neighbour to one side and the rear). Common in new builds near the edge of London. They're better than flats in the sense that there's no neighbours above and below but the obvious loss of space to a stairwell. Plus no leasehold.

RedFraggle

Silvertabby said:

hazyjo said:

Is it terraced too? If she'll have neighbours 3 sides, that might put some off, especially with no garden. I would possibly consider a conversion flat with a garden if they're a lot cheaper than back to back houses.

If that is the case, then the house will only have windows at the front?  Would be very dark.

No, they're not dark. Many of them are double fronted. There are also blind-back which are the same just without another house behind. 
If you haven't ever been in one I can understand they sound strange but if your friend wants to buy one I'm not really sure why you think she shouldn't. 

spoovy

I live in one now.  It is a bit on the dark side as there are only windows on one wall.  That single external wall is great though in the winter as you barely need to turn your heating on at all!

sammyjammy

If its a victorian terraced type property that is back to back and runs straight onto the street I wouldn't buy one, most of these were knocked down by the street many years ago, the ones that are left are likely to be in very cheap and probably undesirable areas.

best_egg

Lived in a small Victorian back to back in Leeds for about five years and I would live in one again.  We had no garden or yard (front door opened onto the street) but it was a lovely little house.  It wasn’t a dark house as the windows were a good size and it was one room deep.  You could here the neighbours when the house was quiet but it never felt intrusive or intolerable.

HampshireH

My friends live in one.

Its small (not sure id manage with 2 of us)

But its not dark and its lovely and cosy inside. They have a front garden which they have developed into a nice usable and private space.

They have neighbours on 3 sides

Just be aware if those sides are rentals.  They have found the rental from behind the nosiest in terms of transfer of noise but thankfully the stairs meet the internal wall so it acts as a buffer on both sides when upstairs

freesha

Thanks all for your comments. I will pass them on. It is definitely the Victorian-style she is after, mid-terrace so neighbours both sides and at the back. I personally think she will miss a garden (lots of those she has seen open straight on to the street; very few seem to have a 'front garden'). But you're right about the low heating costs. Thanks again.

RelievedSheff

freesha said:

Thanks all for your comments. I will pass them on. It is definitely the Victorian-style she is after, mid-terrace so neighbours both sides and at the back. I personally think she will miss a garden (lots of those she has seen open straight on to the street; very few seem to have a 'front garden'). But you're right about the low heating costs. Thanks again.

I don't think I would even consider a property without at least some outside space, even a small yard is better than nothing.

Being in lock down has made us very thankful for our garden. It may be small but it was somewhere to get outside in the fresh air.

freesha

RelievedSheff said:

freesha said:

Thanks all for your comments. I will pass them on. It is definitely the Victorian-style she is after, mid-terrace so neighbours both sides and at the back. I personally think she will miss a garden (lots of those she has seen open straight on to the street; very few seem to have a 'front garden'). But you're right about the low heating costs. Thanks again.

I don't think I would even consider a property without at least some outside space, even a small yard is better than nothing.

Being in lock down has made us very thankful for our garden. It may be small but it was somewhere to get outside in the fresh air.

Totally agree. She was also looking at a flat which has a garden, which I think she may find is better.