Garden sold off.

pseudodox

I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole with a car lot next door. My late parents bought a building plot next to a petrol station on the outskirts of a village & built a very attractive bungalow with large garden & open outlook across fields & views of distant hills. But after their deaths it took me 2 years to sell the house as potential buyers were put off by the petrol station. It finally sold to someone who had grown up locally & accepted it as a fixed local amenity. But I had to accept a substantial reduction in price to offload the property.

RelievedSheff

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82063378#Comment_82063378

That wouldn't put me off at all. It still looks to have a decent sized plot.

Mgman1965

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82063393#Comment_82063393

SWBO has decided that it isn't, wondered if many others concured its been spoilt for a quick profit by the owners.

UnsureAboutthis

Would that put me off? It dpendns entirely on what I wanted, what was avaible for the price/etc and a t times location ie close to family/etc and meeting most of my other criteria.

I'm not sure re the layout of the boundaries but I guess it creates a little barrier between the place you looked at and the road, ie less chance of crim coming in. However, does the house have windows overlooking, if treess shed leaves in the winter, will they overlook you - stuff like that counts to me. Even if PP states you cant have windows in certain places or they have to be frosted, people can and do change them to clear windows.

user1977

I would be more concerned about what's likely to happen to the ex-petrol station next door.

chrisw

In the first picture, I thought what a lovely house, what's the issue? And then I saw the aerial view and garden shots…

Although, as others have said, the price might have been considerably higher otherwise.

Herzlos

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82063439#Comment_82063439

Why? It's still twice the size of my house with a bigger garden, in a nice location.

Plus it's important to remember that a lot of people don't want to maintain a huge garden, and most new build gardens are small.

It's not right for you though, which is fair enough.

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82063456#Comment_82063456

Also whether more of the adjacent field will be sold off for housing.

Road noise would be the dealbreaker for me… possibly made worse by a section of the adjacent hedgerow having been removed to make the driveway for the new build.

WIAWSNB

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82063378#Comment_82063378

Hmm, it has seriously changed from the dreamy house you recall, then.

Of course selling off the garden for a plot has seriously devalued the house, but probably nowhere close to the amount the owners will have made from the sell-off. They've done nothing wrong - they made the judgement for them, and will almost certainly benefit from it overall. And it means there's another house available for someone.

But the loss of far-reaching views will be a killer for many folk, I suspect me included. Unless the expectation of a 'view' in that 'hood is unlikely in any case - ie, no-one really 'expects' a view there, so it's no surprise this one doesn't have one either. Let's face it - most houses do not have a view. (And what are the chances of these fields being built over at some point?)

Yes, I'd also worry - possibly more - about the use of the land next door. But, if the petrol station was not a goer, and the used-car lot ditto, then I guess 'chances' are it'll ultimately become a residential plot? Ie, the houses there are clearly not cheap, so anyone wanting a quick buck from that plot would surely go for selling it as a residential building plot? Which would be a positive (better than commercial). But, obvs no guarantee.

Horrible dilemma for you. My only tuppence-worth is, in every case where we lost out on what we thought would be our dream home, a better one ultimately came along. Every time. So if you decide 'non', then don't dwell on it - move forward with enthusiasm 🙂

Mgman1965

It used to be this style of house I remember from a good few years ago.