To ask you what you think about this house

[TheJoyofCocodamol]

We are very close to putting in an offer on a new build in a large development just outside a medium sized town. We love the house, the new development itself is very nice but a bit characterless and suburban. However it is close to good schools and lovely countryside so that is the trade off. One thing bugging me is that the garden is north facing. I don't mind not having sun in the garden in the hottest part of the day but bit concerned there won't be much sun on the back of the house and garden all day. Thoughts? The estate agent was a bit clueless when I asked. I've posted a pic of the plot marked in red.

Can’t see a picture, but we’ve got a N facing garden with nothing built to the sides or end. It gets E and W sun throughout the day. Loads of flowers and veg grow in it.

Also meant to say, the bottom of the garden faces South, so also v sunny.

I was in the same position as you 12 years ago. Newbuild, new development, north facing garden plus it's a 3 story house (semi). We get loads of sun to be honest. At the end of the garden in the morning all day & by afternoon into the patio in front of double doors. It's perfect & I am so glad the north facing part didn't stop me buying it.

Can you go round on a sunny day to see if it gets east and west sun ? If there is nt you may have to decide how important having a sunny garden is.

Did you post about this earlier or is everyone worrying about newbuilds with North facing gardens these days?!

My garden is NNW - lots of sun and patio is in the shade for the hot days.

Link?

I had a north facing harden the hottest part of the day the shade of the house cooled the patio.

Lots of sum further down the garden where we had a bench.

Depends if it’s a big garden and if the neighbours shade other areas

Oops here is the link

Here is the link

@Dahlietta

Did you post about this earlier or is everyone worrying about newbuilds with North facing gardens these days?!

Nope haven't posted about this before. I think so many people are moving out of London so there's probably a few of these kinds of posts!

Are those garages either side of the garden, set back behind the houses?

Assuming that the top of the pic is north, the garages would mean that much of the garden will get shade at various points in the day, as the garages in the east and west will cut out some morning and afternoon sun. You'll probably find there are sunny patches at different times of the day in summer, but a lot if will get shade for at least part of the day. In winter it may well be mostly shaded- though how far south you are in the UK will have an impact here- the sun stays much lower in the sky in Inverness than it does in Brighton.

Garden seems quite spacious and open, can you look for an aerial view at other houses in the area to get an idea of where the shadows fall? I would be more concerned the road to 438 looks a bit tight and goes right infront of the window.

On the flip side here, I have a South facing garden and it got so hot that I struggled to use it this summer even with shades up. Also my acers are now mere burnt twigs. My sister's North-East facing garden had sun but also the shade from the house. Lovely.

@Drysnitchinsbitchin

Garden seems quite spacious and open, can you look for an aerial view at other houses in the area to get an idea of where the shadows fall? I would be more concerned the road to 438 looks a bit tight and goes right infront of the window.

I think the white area bottom right is the main road....

A south facing garden is a must-have for me, but then again I love the sun and live up north.

@jetadore

A south facing garden is a must-have for me, but then again I love the sun and live up north.

Ditto, I wouldn't buy a house that wasn’t south facing, can you imagine a lovely hot sunny day and you’re in the cool shade all day, no way for me.

@Dahlietta yes there was a near identical post a few days ago

We also have a north facing garden. We get the sun in it all day. I don't understand why you wouldn't.

My first house had a north facing garden, this one has a south facing garden and I’m about to buy one with a north facing garden again! Yes, the bit by the back door/patio is shaded but the rest of the garden gets sun. It was too hot this summer with no shade at all in my current garden. Especially with two young children.

The bit in yellow will be sunny all day so pop your loungers/paddling pool/sun patio there. It’ll only concern you on really hot sunny days in June-August. Honestly, the rest of the year you won’t give it a second thought. As soon as it is overcast, it just becomes indoor or outdoor, not sunshine and shade.

It looks similar to my garden. We get sun all day at the back of the garden and then we get sun on the patio just outside our kitchen side door in the early evening. We have built the patios to follow the sun so we have a few different patio furniture sets to allow us to move around between sun and shade if we want to. We also have a small summer house in the right hand corner at the back which gets sun all year so we use it a lot in the winter on sunny days.

It only really matters if your north facing garden is also very small and surrounded by other buildings, etc. A larger open garden is unlikely to have a problem, you'll still get lots of sun down the far end and to the sides, it's just the area nearest the house will be shaded most often. You see the effect most of all in winter, when most people don't want to use their garden anyway. In summer you might be thankful for it!

(I had a mid-terrace with north facing rear yard. The bit of the yard by the house never got sun, so I planted up the sunny bottom end and west facing side. It can still work!)