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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:
SinoohXaenaHide · 07/10/2021 04:12

The current offer isn't really good enough so yanbu. £100k isn't enough to compensate for what you would lose, and 60% of the garden is too big a slice to go. You would be left with only about 40 ft of garden which is barely anything. 100ft is a nice size and you could go a little lower if it would be beneficial to the development project to take a smaller slice but I wouldn't want to be left with anything less than 75 ft in your position. If possible, keeping some of the mature trees on your side and undamaged.

If your neighbours go ahead without you, you will still have all the mess and noise and the being overlooked, with no compensation if you don't sell. So maybe worth negotiating with the builders for a deal that balances things better for you, rather than just saying no.

ivykaty44 · 07/10/2021 07:04

TheUnbearable Land in towns for development can be more rare than in the countryside as there is less available and more people want to live in towns than villages, thus it can be the same or more expensive due to supply

LaMariposa · 07/10/2021 07:06

Keep the garden - I think that’s what you’ve decided. Where I live large gardens in town are a rarity, and we paid significantly over asking for a doer-upper with a massive garden.
All the neighbours we’ve met so far have said how glad they are we aren’t developers, as the massive back gardens are very desirable building plots - all planning in this area has been refused in the past happily.
We have a greenhouse, a shed, chickens, and trees, and are planting fruit trees this autumn. We’ve space for our children to play. Priceless.

IamtheDevilsAvocado · 07/10/2021 07:37

@Doris86

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.
This ^^

Sounds as if you've kind of got a ransom strip... They need your land to extend their plans /access/impvoe their gardens...

£100k is chicken feed to them... Almost criminally low...
Although I know where you are in the country does make a difference.

I'm in the south (not south east). Parents neighbours sold a tiny piece of land... For 2 Town houses (small footprints) with tiny patio gardens... TWENTY YEARS ago for 200k..

anything local to us now costs 3-400k for a small ish building plot.

PanicBuyingSprouts · 07/10/2021 07:47

I'm in the south (not south east). Parents neighbours sold a tiny piece of land... For 2 Town houses (small footprints) with tiny patio gardens... TWENTY YEARS ago for 200k

I'm in the NW (and it's definitely not the Cheshire triangle Grin). There's a plot near to us for 3 tiny houses abs it's up for £400K.

Agree that the amount they're offering seems very low.

Madcats · 07/10/2021 08:01

A £450k house would surely cost no more than £200k to build (and they are proposing one and a half on your plot (and was your plot also the access for the rest too?).

You would be living on a building site for a good 18 months (probably 2 summers).

Then your new neighbours would be able to gaze into your conservatory until you grow a decent hedge (that will take up even more of your garden.

No thanks.

Hold on to the land until they come up with some better proposals and get professional advice about its value and devaluation of your house.

AhNowTed · 07/10/2021 08:04

@Emelene

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

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

Correct decision.

Would you have bought the house with a tiny garden overlooked by a new development. No.

londonrach · 07/10/2021 08:05

Then it down as you lose more than that in value of your house. If you going to be there for abit the garden is important.

bumblingbovine49 · 07/10/2021 08:05

I wouldn't sell it for less.than three times that. I would consider selling it for 300+ though. That is me though . You know what the garden and privacy is worth to you so of course you can refuse

PeggyArmstrong · 07/10/2021 08:15

I am so happy that you aren't selling your garden. This really stood out to me

The development can’t go ahead as planned without our land.

Yet they were only offering you a measly £100k! Cheeky fekers!!

myusernamewastakenbyme · 07/10/2021 08:15

Ive just sold my house with a 100ft garden...when i bought it 17 years ago it had open field views for miles at the back....the farmer sold the land and houses started being built directly at the bottom of my garden...I sold for an amazing price and have bought a house with the tiniest garden ever...I dont miss my big garden at all...in fact i love the fact that my tiny garden is perfect and i have nothing to do out there and no constant maintenance.

HavfrueDenizKisi · 07/10/2021 08:21

There's not a chance in hell that I would sell in your circumstances OP.

Not only do you end up with a truncated garden and the disruption of building work, you also would have the comings and goings of families; their noise; cars; kids screaming; house alarms etc etc for ever. Completely changing the house and garden you bought.

I'm guessing if you don't sell they will not buy the others either, as it makes it less financially viable for the (greedy) developers.

GoWalkabout · 07/10/2021 08:27

£100k for my daughters future? Yes I would, but in your shoes as you don't really want to but are not sure, I would say no several times and see what their final offer is and then take it and bank it for my dc. They were idiots to not buy your house.

Fairyliz · 07/10/2021 08:32

No turn it down. They are pressuring you because they know it is desirable land and they want to get in quick.
I’m sure if your financial position changes in say five years and you desperately need the money other builders will be interested.

BigFatLiar · 07/10/2021 08:44

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

Swings, slides, sand pit, play house. Once they're running around in the good weather a garden to play in is great for kids. Keeps them happy.

LookItsMeAgain · 07/10/2021 08:57

I've only read the first 100 posts but the one thing that jumped into my head was if lockdown has shown anything, having outside space to relax in, to entertain yourself in, to live in is just as important as having indoor space. The fact that you have such a wonderful garden is to your credit. I wouldn't sell it at all.
You'll still make your mortgage payments but it will take a little longer to clear the mortgage.

DancingQueen85 · 07/10/2021 08:57

Sounds like they really need your land and are likely to offer more money. I'd tell them to up their offer and then move.

Champersandchocolate · 07/10/2021 09:02

@Emelene What is the size of the land? Seems a VERY cheap price. We paid 300k to build a development of a 5 bed Georgian house, sweeping driveway, private garden overlooking the country side.

It was along side the old house with bushes and trees as a boundary so no over looking.

I don't think your getting a good deal - the developers probably want the plot more than you are willing to sell... hold out for the right price!!!!

If the money does take your eye, put an advert out there and attract more developers - don't just take the first offer.

LookItsMeAgain · 07/10/2021 09:04

@Emelene

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

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

Just after getting to this point in the thread and I have to say I'm relieved for you. It must have been a difficult decision to come to but one that will work for you.

Enjoy getting your garden landscaped and enjoy using it!

EvilPea · 07/10/2021 09:07

Good I’m really pleased you’ve made that decision. These back garden developments are catastrophic for wildlife and are causing a lot of the flash flooding.

Look after your patch and the wildlife that call it home. Flowers

Londongent · 07/10/2021 09:14

Good decision. If you have space to build a full detached house at the back of your garden, you would be better getting planning permission for that and then selling the land separately

superplumb · 07/10/2021 09:19

Turn it down. 100k would probably be knocked off your house value anyway if they built on it. As long as you can pay your mortgage, keep the big garden and enjoy it while you can.

PineappleWilson · 07/10/2021 09:21

Good for you. You may find that they come back with a larger offer. Explain to them that families are looking for more outside space now, post-Covid, as they've seen how important garden space is for their kids and how it gives the possiblity to build home offices at the bottom of the garden.

Out of interest, can they still go ahead without you? Would you have been the entry to the proposed estate or the far back end to it?

2Two · 07/10/2021 09:22

The difference for the developers if they can't have your land is that, instead of building four £450K houses they will build two at £450K and a smaller one at, I guess, around £350K? So for an outlay of £100K plus building costs they would be making and extra £800K. On that basis it really wasn't a generous offer anyway.

HarrietsChariot · 07/10/2021 09:28

Glad you turned it down. I'd probably have gone back with a counter offer, 30ft for 300K, because it would be worth losing a bit of the garden to more-or-less pay of the mortgage completely.