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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

414 replies

Emelene · 06/10/2021 18:19

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?

OP posts:
Hugoslavia · 06/10/2021 21:10

I think that you already know the answer. The house will not be the same house that you bought as you bought it partly for the garden. You will not be gaining £100k. You will be gaining £100k - the depreciation in value of your property due to being overlooked and losing 60% of your garden. So, your property could depreciate by tens of thousands. At the very least you should get an independent valuation. I think that you would always feel that someone else was living in your garden and resent that.

Doris86 · 06/10/2021 21:10

There used to be a row of houses near me with massive gardens. A developer got planning permission to demolish the houses and build flats on the site. Most of the house owners accepted offers from the developer. However there was one owner who dug his heels in and wouldn’t sell. The development couldn’t go ahead without his house. He held out for ages, and apparently ended up accepting an absolutely enormous offer from the developer.

TertiusLydgate · 06/10/2021 21:11

60% of the garden? No way.

We are lucky to have a large garden and when my kids were small, it was the dream - they had their own dens, rabbits with a huge garden of their own, massive trampoline hidden away from view...and the birthday parties and campouts were fabulous.

I'm sure it will be a very special childhood memory for them and I wouldn't trade it for money.

NewlyGranny · 06/10/2021 21:11

No
No
No
No
No
Don't sell.

FlyingWhistle · 06/10/2021 21:13

How much are the planning on selling the houses for? I would ask them to double their offer and see what they say. You hold all the cards.

Wineat5isfine · 06/10/2021 21:15

I wouldn’t do it!!

Not only will it devalue your your house, you will lose your lovely view, trees etc and then have to put up with building work / constant noise for a long period of time.

Developers are money hungry bastards 🤬

Keep your beautiful big garden and get those fingers green!

Williamshatnershorses · 06/10/2021 21:16

No way - keep it! If there’s established planning precedent now, you could build there yourself years down the road and make much more than £100k.

billy1966 · 06/10/2021 21:23

30ft is a tiny garden if you had a 100ft.

It will utterly change the feel of your home having a house so on top of you.

What about aspect and sun?

Will the new builds block your direct sunlight?

THAT will also spoil your garden if you are put in shade.

As for the dust and dirt?
Just awful.

I have a very large garden too and my children and their friends adored it when they were growing up.

Maintenance can be as little as keeping the grass cut.

100,000 is nothing when you think of the reduced value of your home and the huge decrease in your quality of life.

I think you should say no and object.

Good luck.

bellabasset · 06/10/2021 21:23

I'd keep the garden and obtain planning when I wanted to sell, and sell it with planning.

Beautiful3 · 06/10/2021 21:24

No I wouldn't do it. I would love a large piece of land to have chickens and a tree house! Sounds Amazing. I'd hate to be over looked too. Remember that money is not everything. This is your dream home and you're going to enjoy it.

Claudia84 · 06/10/2021 21:24

Don't sell.
Even if the garden seems a lot of work now you can maintain it simply and enjoy it far more in the future.
A big garden massively adds value and gives you options. Even if not chickens could be an outside office or cinema room..?
The developers will tell you what they like in order to get you to sell.
I don't know anyone with children that wishes they had a smaller garden in a new build. All of them desperately looking for outdoor space.

PrincessNutella · 06/10/2021 21:26

100,000 pounds doesn't seem like such an incredible offer, honestly.

Maddy456 · 06/10/2021 21:27

No no no no no. If you sell do that land then the value fo your house will come down by the same amount. Keep hold of any land you have got.

Winter2020 · 06/10/2021 21:32

Would you have bought your house if it was 100k cheaper but had the small garden/patio and a new build overlooking you? I’m guessing not.

I really don’t think it is likely that you can go from a huge garden to a tiny one and it not affect your house value. Also to go from not overlooked to overlooked and not affect your house value - of course it will.

I think the other houses will be built even if you don’t sell. There is a rule of thumb of a third cost for the plot, a third for the build and a third for profit so it sounds like it would stack up. Even if the developers pulled out your neighbours can offer their plots for sale with a precedent for planning permission being granted.

lnsufficientFuns · 06/10/2021 21:32

Don’t do it, you will completely regret it, honestly

Over time, you’ll be able to raise far more cash as land most probably will become more expenses

Keep it for a rainy day - selling half her garden for my neighbour out of financial trouble - reassuring to have the the option.

On the other hand

You might pay of a big chunk of your mortgage but your House value will be hugely diminished when you do come to sell

XingMing · 06/10/2021 21:32

And it is not the developer's final offer......... do not believe that old chestnut. No nice site that can be developed easily costs only £100K, and if your land is the key to unlocking development of a third house, then the price rises.

PurBal · 06/10/2021 21:39

It needs to be enough to pay off the mortgage and compensate you for the loss in value to consider it to be honest.

Bipbopbee · 06/10/2021 21:40

Definitely not.

TatianaBis · 06/10/2021 21:42

30 ft! That’s tiny. And all overshadowed and overlooked by a house. My garden in London is 100ft. There’s an indoor swimming pool at the end of it that belongs to another house and I wouldn’t want that wall any closer.

itsallgoingpearshaped · 06/10/2021 21:51

More than half of your garden gone and you'd be overlooked.

Your house will not be worth what it was.

I wouldn't do it unless we needed the money, and even then I'd ask for double and offer only 40-50% of the garden.

neeenor · 06/10/2021 21:51

I wouldn't do it.

GeorgiaGirl52 · 06/10/2021 21:56

@LowbrowVictoriana

You weren't expecting nor are you dependent on that money, so you can continue to live without it.

If you sold your garden and changed the whole feel of your lovely house, you'd regret it bitterly forever.

This^ What if there is another pandemic. That extra 100 feet of garden might keep you sane! Don't think of it as a "garden". Think of it as a playroom and a dining room and a living room, just with the sky for a ceiling. Kids playing, bbqs with friends and family, birthday parties, a dog, hanging washing to dry, having a cup of tea at the end of the day - all in your garden.
SaltySheepdog · 06/10/2021 21:56

Ask the estate agents what it’s worth is and sell it for that amount. Over pay the remaining mortgage and then move in a few years

Cattitudes · 06/10/2021 21:58

It sounds as if they are massively undervaluing the land and underestimating the impact on the value of your property. They are either trying to rip you off or they don't have the cash flow, neither of which bode well for them being considerate builders completing the build in a timely manner. If they had the money then surely they would have bought the house you have bought, divided the garden and then sold your house with a smaller garden and then done the development. They didn't do that either because they didn't have the money/ they knew it would massively devalue your house. I would ask for at least 200, which will enable them to build the four houses and even if you sell at a loss you should be able to buy somewhere nicer. To be honest though I would probably just pop a fast growing hedge up and enjoy the garden.

TatianaBis · 06/10/2021 22:02

@itsallgoingpearshaped

More than half of your garden gone and you'd be overlooked.

Your house will not be worth what it was.

I wouldn't do it unless we needed the money, and even then I'd ask for double and offer only 40-50% of the garden.

It’s not just that they will be overlooked, it’s that the house will look out onto a wall.