Overlooked House

RelievedSheff

Richard1212 said:

BobT36 said:

Not sure you can do, however I pass up on houses (especially new builds) for this very reason. 

It looks absolutely HORRIBLE with all that you see from the garden / back windows is other people's houses looming right over you. New builds are overlooked from every possible direction, including sides and diagonals. Sometimes 12 houses! Ridiculous lack of privacy, on top of most being shoe boxes. 

I could just imagine hating myself every day if I bought something like that, I'd feel so "penned in". This is me who would like to live like a hermit though, so I'm on the other end of the scale than someone who isn't bothered or who likes the "buzz" and wants to "feel in touch with their neighbours". 

Worries me that when our current housing stock is too old, all that will be left is these horrible, overlooked shoe boxes with 0 privacy. Hate how they build them like this, now. 

However, I usually rule these out BEFORE viewing them. It's usually evident from the pictures (despite estate agent's best attempts to take angles pointing back at the house) and satellite / street view scrutinising. 

Nobody said bhsmith's home is a "horrible overlooked shoe box" and I think your remark is disparaging especially as it has been described by the owner as a "lovely" house. Nor does bhsmith think he is "penned in" or he wouldn't have bought it in the first place. I'm sure he took into account all aspects "BEFORE" he bought his present home.

You are entitled to your own opinions but not IMHO at the cost of "looking down your nose" on bhsmith's home. If you are happy in your old Victorian terrace or whatever you have, well that's fine---but others have different priorities. And that is why bh will sell his house to someone who thinks it's a lovely house and does not mind being overlooked by neighbours -----if everybody detested having an "overlooked" garden, half the houses in Britain would not be sellable ( blimey, even a pre-War semi is usually overlooked completely by the other half of the semi, and probably both halves of the semi at the foot of the garden !).  I hope bh comes back to this site to let us know of his success in due course.

Exactly this.

Our previous 1930s semi had a terribly overlooked garden. We hated it and very rarely sat out in the garden.

We are in a new build now and it has a very private walled garden. We spend as much time out there as the weather allows. 

Someone will buy the OPs house. After all they bought it and were not put off by the over looking.

MultiFuelBurner

The only thing(s) I will add is that extremely overlooked gardens will command a lower sales price than similar properties so perhaps you have yours up for two much money. Despite you thinking it's well priced.

Still earlish days though but consider

Three options stick it out til someone pops along that doesn't care about being overlooked, plants some trees and keep the price the same or reduce the price so it's the stand out option for sale.

Why are you moving is it because you are overlooked and don't use your garden as intended?

Martico

I'd be in the cohort of "not bothered", if that helps. A couple of winters ago, several of the fences (inner city mid-terrace) separating my and neighbours' gardens blew down. We chatted, decided we liked each other and were actually happy to have lost the fences, and now it's easier to chat when we're out back, it's really good. 

Dustyevsky

Overlooking isn't new. I remember living in a Victorian terrace with a small, very overlooked garden. Also, the posh Georgian town house where I had a top floor flat, had 3 other flats below  with a great view over the basement flat's garden. No one thought that odd; it was the same for the other two dozen or so subdivided houses in the rank.

 At least with a newer build, people have the benefit of  greater energy efficiency. It might not be wonderfully private, but speculative construction has gone on for centuries, gaining the maximum use from expensive land.

gwynlas

If your house is elevated I would have thought you would be doing the over looking of others. As suggested the right planting and hard landscaping will give the illusion of privacy. Check out willow panels that could be set individually behing planting beds or to screen patio as well as the suggestion of potted clump fprming bamboo. Garden Centres have old stock to clear as they are going into winter you might pick up some bargains that ypu could take with you

Abbafan1972

Martico said:

I'd be in the cohort of "not bothered", if that helps. A couple of winters ago, several of the fences (inner city mid-terrace) separating my and neighbours' gardens blew down. We chatted, decided we liked each other and were actually happy to have lost the fences, and now it's easier to chat when we're out back, it's really good. 

We are the opposite to this. I don’t go out in my garden to chat to the neighbours. Have done what we can to block them out and have privacy. 

Skiddaw1

I agree that just because it's a new build doesn't mean it's either a shoebox or overlooked. We're in a relatively new build (albeit a local developer rather than one of the national house building chains) and we're neither. 

OP, I wouldn't worry too much- some people are bothered by it and some aren't. The right buyer will either see past it or won't care and you're getting viewings, which is the main thing.

Ksw3

Would you feel comfortable sharing a photo? Perhaps we could come up with something? 

timehastoldme

We had the opposite problem, neighbours obnoxious trees gave us privacy but potential buyers didn't like them, until one didn't care. We took a hit on the price, but not as bad as it could have been. Patience, and reduce if you have to. 

bhsmith12

Thank you for all your responses - I hadn't thought about screening off the patio area, that's a great idea and willow panels won't be as expensive as screening trees at the bottom/sides so will look into that now!!