AIBU to turn down developer’s offer of £££ and keep our garden?

[Emelene]

Hi MN. I would appreciate some opinions. We have very recently moved to a village, with an outstanding school, village green out the front and a garden in excess of 100 ft out the back. Our kids are almost 3 and 1 and we see ourselves living here for at least a decade.

The thing is the last owner was intending to sell 60% of the garden to developers, along with the next 3 neighbours along (we are the end plot on the plans). She lost patience and sold the lot to us. Planning permission has finally been granted after previous appeals were turned down.

Under the plans, there would be a house and a half built on our land, so we would be overlooked and lose 60 percent of the garden. We don’t have to sell, but the developers have offered a final offer of £100k. That would pay off about a third of our mortgage. They are pressuring us to make a decision ASAP.

Obviously it’s a huge amount of money and a privileged position to be in … it’s very hard to say no. But. Losing the garden is a high price. We’d planned chickens, Wendy house etc. The house currently feels so peaceful, trees out the back (that would be cut down) and birdsong. So I think it would change the whole feel of our home. But there will be a house built in the neighbour’s garden, so there will be a small element of overlooking…

I’m scared we will regret turning down the money. But our kids are so young and we moved here to give them a wonderful childhood (with a garden!)

So AIBU to turn the developers down and keep the garden? WWYD?

My 2cents says that £100K is about half what the developers should expect to pay for a developable site. Several extended gardens have been sold locally in the last year, and none went for under £200K. I would sit tight and wait for the developer to come begging.

@Emelene I wouldn't do it. Partly because you fell for this house and the memories your children will make I e.chickens ,summer house etc and partly because you would get 100k towards the mortgage BUT losing the chunk of garden and having a house overlooking will significantly devalue your house. They know this which is why they are pressuring you so you don't have time to consider this. Don't give in. keep the dream

the planning permission will hand for 3 years, if at a later date you wanted to build on the plot - you could.

Money doesn’t buy happiness. If you were in desperate need for the money then it would be worth it but you can’t put a price on the joy that comes from being in nature. My choice would be to not sell.

Now there is planning you could always sell or build in the future if you get desperate. The value will only increase.

Such a tough one, especially as your neighbours are doing it too. Is there any room for negotiation eg 40% for £100k or tell them they can have the 60% but it’ll cost them £130k.
Then sell ASAP!

First of all a site in a good location is worth £150k and thats Northern Ireland!

So add to that the loss of value on your house for resale, maybe another £100k.

So I wouldnt be looking for less that £250k if my sums are vaguely right. Find out how much the house they build would be worth, if its £400k plus, I'd be going for £200k plus.

I definitely wouldn't, I would hate to be overlooked. After an extension I was left with a 30ft and I would loved to have more space outside for my children. A trampoline for example dominates the garden.

Please keep the garden and make it a haven for wildlife and your family. It's not just the house building and loss of a wonderful space, but what then if noisy awful neighbours move in? Just not worth the hassle

Accepting the offer would put cash in your pocket but you'd have a long time of awful disruption and the drop in the value of your home would wipe out a fair chunk of that profit. Combine that with the loss of potential... roll on a few years with promotions and that space could become all kinds of things for you with the profit/benefit going straight into your own pocket. I think you would massively regret it.

You really need to just stop and look at the legalities of this. You have just moved in and have a mortgage. Was this reported to your mortgage lender at the time of your purchase? Your mortgage is based on the current value of the property. You need the mortgage lenders consent to sell off land. Before you go any further you need to even check whether this is actually an option!

If it was me I’d instruct a conveyancer to put an overage clause on the garden land. Then, when you sell and someone else builds on it, you will make money.

Surely you could sell it for planning at a later date?

the pressure to make a quick decision is cos they know it ain't all that I reckon!

I have seen both sides of this, and would say don’t sell!

Years ago we bought a new build, and had an old house right on our back garden boundary, the old owner hadn’t wanted to sell so the developers built around him. We looked onto the side of his house and our neighbour looked over his garden. Apparently the offers in his house kept increasing so they may increase enough to make a move worthwhile if you keep saying no?

We now live in an old house on a large plot with a 250’ back garden, and have rejected numerous offers to sell part of the garden. Again, these started within weeks of moving in. I always said I would rather move out than look at a house in what used to be my garden. I will also object as much as possible if any of the neighbours sell and we become directly overlooked. One neighbour further up sold half of of their garden, but as no one else did the builders have had a landlocked overgrown plot just waiting for many years now!

You'll also have to live with builders and all the noise and inconsiderate parking for a year or so

60% of our garden was developed on (school/compulsory purchase). We did miss having a big garden from the age of 5 up to teens. They had to go to the park for football. No room for a trampoline. Also room given up to big trees so we weren't overlooked.

Also bear in mind - they are giving you 100k, they will spend 100k building a house and will make 100k profit. Their profit is directly out of the worth of the land they sold you. If you are happy to lose your garden, why not commission your own house and make 200k profit all for yourself rather than lining someone else's pocket? You would also have more control over it.

You need to ask an estate agent how much if any it will devalue your house by. If you are in a catchment for an outstanding school that is oversubscribed then it likely wont make that much difference as catchment will be a major factor in decision making, not big gardens.

If you dont want a garden that's just patio you could make it a condition that they remove this (and penalties if they don't).

It depends what your pensions are looking like as well. What would it look like if you had the 100k now in terms of less mortgage interest paid as well etc in terms of how much you could chop off your retirement age. When you're 60, if it's the difference between working for an extra few years you might think it's worth it.

If it was your forever home I'd say no way but if you're only planning to stay 10 years then one year of inconvenience and an average sized garden might be a price worth paying for a big jump in financial security

I am going against the grain here and I’d likely take the money, but wouldn’t pay it off the mortgage. Or certainly not all of it. Travel with it, take your children to see the world. Donate some to the local food bank. Buy experiences with it. Your garden will be lovely either way and easier to maintain.

Given the age of your children I'd hold onto the garden; in years to come you will all appreciate the space and flexibility, room for all sorts of sports and outdoor activities. Privacy and security. Safety for pets etc etc

It's not as if the land will lose value; it will still be there to sell in 20 years time. Think of it as a nest egg for your future, a potential pension pot Maybe one day you'd want to build a house for yourselves or your children; or a letting property.

Even if they gave you enough more that you could theoretically size up, I don't expect you'd find it easy to sell a house with the prospect of building work in their back garden for at least 18month - 2 years and then being overlooked in a way they would not be able to judge at viewing. I just don't think it's a simple as pocket the cash and sell. I suppose that depends on the market in your area but worth considering.

Another no here. You can’t put a price on all of that inconvenience and being overlooked. My neighbours on each side have been having relatively minor building works recently and that’s been annoying (and dirty!).

So there would be windows facing our back garden, including where we eat in the conservatory.

I wonder if you can ask for this to be modified if they go ahead with the build because you'll have a chance to see the plans.

If you are happy to lose your garden, why not commission your own house and make 200k profit all for yourself rather than lining someone else's pocket? You would also have more control over it.

^^

also why should any developer rush you into making a choice...

just say actually we haven't come discussion so we will have to pass you up on the offer, as we know you're in a hurry and we need more time...

they want to rush you so you do what they want

100k isn't much for a plot for 1.5 houses... They'd be getting a bargain if you went for it. If I was in your shoes I wouldn't sell. Certainly not at that price.

How much would it knock off the value. I would say a fair whack. But your mortgage would be what the house WAS worth. So really £100000 may sound a lot but its minus the loss in value. A valuer could tell you exact figures.
You also couldn’t put a price on peace.
It would be a no from me for these reasons.

@Watchingyou2sleezes

How old are you? If you're young a large garden is easy to keep on top of, the kids will absolutely love the extra space... If you've even half a mind to sell then ask for double and let it be known you won't accept any offers

This

The balls in your court, name your price.

Get some advice on how much your house would devalue if you did sell.