Garden small + north facing

bromine

We are interested in this house that ticks most of our boxes, although living space is smaller than we'd like. I'd like to know your thoughts about the garden though.

See attached photo, the black dot is on this house. It's is one of a small group of houses that have much smaller gardens, about 20 ft, whereas others are atleast double that. It's also NW facing. Another issue is that, because it's near the end of the road, the houses in the perpendicular row (on the left) will cast a shadow in the evening, which is the only time when a NW garden is supposed to get direct sun. Also, there's a house directly behind the garden. All these factors are making me nervous that we won't be able to sell this house in a few years' time (which is an important consideration for us).

My question is this: do you also think this house will be difficult to sell? Would you be put off by the ggardenif you liked everything else about this house?

Greymug

So you're already thinking about selling a house that you haven't bought yet?

That's....interesting.

houghton91

It will only be 'difficult to sell' on this particular issue to people who don't want a small garden who probably wouldn't consider it in the first place. If someone loves the house and the garden isn't a massive priority to them then they will still buy it.

pinkshoes

So you're already thinking about selling a house that you haven't bought yet?

That's....interesting.

It's a really sensible thing to consider!

@bromine yes the garden would massively put me off. What is the point of outdoor space if it is always shaded and dark??
The parking doesn't look so great either. 

robinwales

Depends on garden length. Our garden faces north but it is not a problem as the garden is 130ft long, and our summerhouse is halfway down. Shorter gardens are much more of a problem, especially in winter when the angle of the sun is much lower. If you want to sit right outside the rear entrance (patio doors) then any garden facing north could be a problem. Average 2 storey roof height must be at least 20ft, so a garden of say 30ft depth is not going to feel like southern California. 

RelievedSheff

If you are considering buying it now then people will surely consider it when you come to sell it.

Not everyone wants a huge garden and not everyone is a sun worshiper. 

Titus_Wadd

We chose a house with a small East facing garden because at the time the children were very little and could play out in the shade on Summer days, but we could sit in the evening sun when thesun ishigh enough in the sky to shine over the roof of the house.  Once the kids were bigger the garden was too small but they could go down to the playing field or friends' houses to kick a ball into their neighbours' gardens!  The Summer planters didn't dry out as quickly.  I think architects have the ability to plot the sun's movement around a building and always thought Estate Agents should find a way to use similar technology, particularly for N facing houses which still get the sun when the sun's position is high enough.

There will be folk who religiously search for only west and south facing gardens; but there will still be others for whom it's not a deal breaker.  Someone buying a small garden might not be that bothered, a bonny front garden display to boost kerb appeal might swing it if they love the house.  It wouldn't put me off; I've had skin cancer!  Parking struggles might be a factor though.

davidmcn

It hardly makes it unsellable, obviously some people will prefer larger/sunnier gardens, but I suspect you'd struggle to demonstrate that e.g. houses with north-facing gardens have lower prices than the houses on the other side of the road.

What the people with larger gardens have done looks interesting - are we in "beds in sheds" territory?

MaryNB

RelievedSheff said:

If you are considering buying it now then people will surely consider it when you come to sell it.

Not everyone wants a huge garden and not everyone is a sun worshiper. 

And not everyone can afford to pay a premium for a south facing garden. Mine is small and NE facing and I was pleasantly surprised to see the end of it catch some (very brief) sun even in February. 

moneysavinghero

Does look like the sun is going to be blocked most of the day by either your own property or that house behind it. Whats all the black stuff in the garden of the house behind? Looks like a tyre dump.

gagahouse

Try using this website https://www.suncalc.org/.
You can find the location of the house, put in a shadow height of 6m and then you can see the shadow cast for different times of the day at different times of the year.
I had the same worries as you before buying a house with a 10m north facing garden. It gets plenty of sun for the time when you actually can sit outside (mid april to mid sept) and during the very hot days we had last summer I appreciated the fact that my lounge which looks onto the garden remained cool in the shade.