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?

I think £100k is far too low considering

• reduction in value to your house due to tiny garden and overlooked
• disruption to you
• proportion of their profit

If I wanted to keep my garden, I would say outright no. If I was tempted, I would say £250k please.

There is a beautiful Grade II listed cottage in a village near us which has been on sale since April 2021, with no takers. It originally had a long, mature garden, and is at the end of a row of similar (detached) cottages. It is currently a lovely, peaceful area in the middle of a beautiful village.

The current owner has been trying to get planning permission for a HUGE house (the garage of which is as big as an average 3-bed house alone) at right angles to the bottom of the garden. She would be leaving approx. 40 feet of garden with the cottage and any potential buyer would face the loss of peace and quiet, the noise of construction, and once finally finished, the disturbance of vehicles coming and going to this large garage immediately beyond their garden.

Understandably the neighbours down the lane have joined forces to oppose the plans, engaging their own expert lawyers, in an attempt to safeguard the peace, quiet and privacy they currently enjoy.

The proposed development is completely out of keeping with the village in general, is of an unreasonably large size, and increases traffic problems in the narrow lane which serves it.

If it is eventually permitted, it will certainly negatively impact the neighbours, detract from the value of the (as yet unsold) cottage due to the lack of garden and disturbance, and permanently change the peaceful nature of the traditional village.

I think most people can accept a reasonable level of development, but this level of greed is sadly becoming common, with the results ruining neighbourhoods.

Be aware that your house will be significantly devalued and much more difficult to sell if and when you wish to do so. People of all ages and life stages place a premium on peace and quiet, and not being overlooked.

If you are overlooked and lose 60% of the garden how much will that change the value of your house. You aren't getting a £100,000 for the land. You are getting £100,000 minus the loss of value to your house. Make sure you are factoring that in.

It doesn't sound like a good deal.

You will definitely regret selling it as soon as the builders move in, because of the disturbance they will cause when building.

Not wanting to read through 11 pages of the same thing - ignore if capital gains tax has been mentioned.
You will pay it at 18% basic rate and 28% higher rate above your annual allowance so you will not get £100k.

Unless you are desperate for the money don't sell.

when people talk about overlooked & houses at the end of the garden do they mean like this?

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110190980#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/114249938#/?channel=RES_NEW

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/113542073#/?channel=RES_BUY

[quote buttermutt]when people talk about overlooked & houses at the end of the garden do they mean like this?

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110190980#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/114249938#/?channel=RES_NEW

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/113542073#/?channel=RES_BUY[/quote]
Do you not see the difference between buying a house that is already overlooked by a house at the end of a small garden (and which is priced accordingly) and having houses built there subsequently?

So instead of having one neighbour on one side, you will have them and another at the foot of your much smaller garden?

Against a bigger garden with a pergola draped with festoon lights and outdoor sofa for summer evenings, space for impromptu tennis games, a play frame with swings/slide, room for a trampoline, paddling pools, a tepee/wigwam, a bouncy castle on your kids' birthdays, space for them to learn to ride trikes/bikes/roller skates..? The chicken runs, the veg plots, play house...

I wouldn't. So many larger gardens are being divided and built on, there are far fewer than there used to be and mature, well planned gardens will become more and more precious (I hope). It would be dismal if we all had compact gardens and there were none of the fabulous, larger ones left. You can fit a few trees and large shrubs in a big garden, small gardens are really restrictive in that respect.

100K is not a good offer either. Not for what you'd lose.

To be completely honest, if I were in your shoes they could add a nought on the end, and I still wouldn't sell.

Incidentally, depending on where in the country you are, £100k could be way too cheap anyway.

Have you spoken to an estate agent re potential value if you lose half of your garden/privacy? I would refuse. How long will it take to build the houses? Presumably there’s going to be # if your garden and next door’s=1.5 houses and there are 4 owners being asked? Is your neighbour keen? Is it going to ruin relations if they say yes but you don’t?

Apologies if I’ve missed this in your posts OP, but is the developer buying the land ahead of a planning permission decision? Because if they own the land but get turned down for what they want to do with it, they’re probably going to want to sell it. And they won’t care who buys it or to what use it’s put, and you could amend up with anything right next to and overlooking your house.

No, I wouldn’t sell.

End up with, not amend with!

@ForensicAccountant

Not wanting to read through 11 pages of the same thing - ignore if capital gains tax has been mentioned. You will pay it at 18% basic rate and 28% higher rate above your annual allowance so you will not get £100k.

Won't that depend if the garden was in keeping with the house size (if a mansion) and under half a hectare is fine anyway.

It falls under the ppr exemption that covers selling your house.

You’d be absolutely insane to take the money, 100k is an insult — they’re planning to sell the houses for 450k each, and would get 1.5 houses on your land, which tells me your land would directly facilitate an extra 2 houses; which would be 900k in total.

If the developers can’t afford to buy the house and garden at market price then tough titties, that’s just business.

Thank you all. Decision made.
We are not selling.

Now I’m off to look up fabulous garden ideas.

Well done op hope it works out

@SoupDragon where did I say there was no difference? My question was are those properties examples of overlooked property. As a Londoner I only know being overlooked!

And in London I don't think it has much impact on prices

well done for coming to a decision OP

I'm too late to add my tuppence-worth to the debate, but absolutely yes to your decision OP!! You will value every inch of that space as your dcs grow and have safe space outside to roam around and play - my dcs are now in their teens and still spend hours playing in the garden in all weathers. Enjoy your new home & outside space!!

Your neighbours and other villagers won't thank you, you'll lose much of your garden and you'll be overlooked.
Why did you want the house with that large garden anyway? If it's because it's idyllic then why sell it?

It's happening everywhere now... a lovely peaceful idyll being carved up to create a mini housing development. It's just for money.
Then the original owners sell up and move somewhere 'nicer and more secluded.'

So if there are to be 1.5 houses on your section of the development (if I've read that right) and land is worth a third of property value, you're actually looking at it being worth over 200k not the 100k they are offering. Honestly I wouldn't be hopeful that you'll get to disagree with any updated plans for your neighbors sections based on you being overlooked, doubt that will make any difference to the planning decision unless you get substantial loss of light.

A building plot has been sold in my road for 250k recently. Were in the Midlands, it’s a very nice road but just a road in a town not an area of outstanding beauty or a quaint village.

You made a good decision but they really were not offering enough.

I totally wouldn't. We preempted this happening here (fields next to us) and although our garden was a decent size, half acre or so, bought some of the field at agriculture price to give us a 'buffer' in case it was developed and guess what - the council have allowed development of the other land, previously green belt, for house. So we're so glad we did it and no we'd never sell.

Genuinely, don't do it. My mum and dad were offered this a decade ago and said no despite other neighbours saying yes. Now housing estates have popped up all over the show and they and the neighbours are so glad they didn't. Please, keep the house with a lovely long garden. They are becoming so rare. I have such fond memories of our long garden x