Buying a house without a garden

[Cookiemg]

Hi

I need a range of opinion. We have a 9 week old girl and are looking to buy a house asap. We are currently renting in Edinburgh as we have sold our old place but haven't seen anywhere we would want to buy. We viewed a stunning place on Sunday and I fell in love with the house but it has no garden.An old man lives below and has a massive unkempt garden attached to his property but access is only available through his house. There is a small public park at the end if the street . I have always wanted a garden for her to play in, for washing and for having bbqs. Realistically though, I would hate the maintenance of it and how many great weather days do we have for sitting out? My husband does not want to move for 10 years so I feel under huge pressure to get it right!

Thanks so much

i think you might regret it. where are you looking?

I would strongly advice having somewhere with a garden. My ds is nearly 3 and sincehe was able to crawl has loved being outdoors. Even if you only have a tiny garden, they are so much better at amusing themselves. They can go out in all weathers anyway - ds plays in the winter too.

Also, you have to think of re-selling in the future. A family home with no garden might be hard to shift.

I wouldn't and couldn't live without a garden as long as the choice was available - within those first 10 years there'll be little friends coming to play in the summer, parties, sleepovers and so on. You might want outdoor pets at some stage. How will you watch the garden birds! Even a little paved outdoor area, no maintenance, or a balcony, is better than nothing.

we don't have a garden and have a 16month old. its a nightmare. get a garden

Strongly advise against. Your DD will NEED a space to play and you will find the house very hard to sell.

Thank you all, you have confirmed my suspicions. There is a front garden with some beds and grass which belongs to the old neighbour, this is adjacent to the driveway and two garages. I am hoping, and there is no guarantee, that we could use the front garden. I'm so annoyed about all of this given that there is an unused paddock at the back

Thanks again

The house is on Nile Grove on Edinburgh, just off Morningside Road. It is an amazing street and in a great school catchment area. All is so perfect except the garden issue!

I'd go for it
my kids spend about 2 minutes in the garden before clamouring to come back inside

that is a lovely street, i would be tempted too!

Dp and I looked at a house in a road we LOVE, but it had no garden to speak of, we thought about it every which way and just couldn't do it...okay we haven't had the greatest of summers in the last couple of years but any time the temp creeps into double figures and the sun is out then dp and I are out there chillin'. so not just for the children, but for you too......

I agree with everyone else. It's not impossible to have children in a house without a garden, but I think that you would regret it.

I have a tiny courtyard that is shadowed for most of the year (too cold to use), have a six year old boy who has grow up in this house and... I would say that I particularly miss not having the garden, especially when you end up with a crowd of visiting children climbing over the walls of your house.

However, I wouldn't move to any other place. I live in walking distance to the historic part of a very nice medieval town full of interesting things to do. I have a good school just across the street. There is a good park at the end of the street which I rarely use (mostly because of the weather).

So... I would say, that if the place is good, the area is great, and there are open spaces nearby, I would buy the house. However... that neighbour doesn't sound very good, if the gardens are untidy therefore making the place look unkempt from the outside... well, I guess I would try to avoid having such a mess outside in a permanent basis.

there are lots of lovely houses in the morningside area with gardens i am sure you will find the right one good luck

I woudn't buy a house without a garden if you have kids.

You will really regret it. I have no garden at the moment and it's a nightmare not having outdoor space to unleash my two preschoolers.

We have parks very close, but it's a faff to get them all trussed up, pack a bag to take etc.

You could have an easily maintained garden, small veg patch, lawn and patio etc.

The unused Paddock is interesting though. Is there no way you could try to buy it?

Ideas:
Is there the long term possibility of buying the garden flat too...?
Either you like gardening or not. It is after all just a room.
On continent people live happily without gardens in large flats.
It may be difficult to sell as a family home for the same reason that you are having doubts.
Tbh, unless your garden is enormous, kids will need to go the park anyway.
I love gardening, but my garden, a generous 60 ft is way too small for my kids for more than a hour. A local park to run around is even more important than a garden imo, unless you are someone who likes gardening, and has a sympathy with plants.
Allotments can also solve land hunger issues!
In centre of Berlin, flat dwellers buy allotment space elsewhere to solve garden issues.

dont do it, you will definately regret no garden.
my DC are always outside, and if its raining and we have to stay in its awful, we all get cabin fever.
keep looking, you will find the right house

Hi

Again thanks for your responses. To answer the questions; the front garden is tidy it's just a large part of the back that is not. We wouldn't be able to afford the ground floor accommodation. I keep thinking in my vain attempt to make it all work that we could build a door at the back of the garage and possibly buy some land from the neighbour, long shot again. When I view the place again tonight, I'm just going to pose if ad a problem and see what the owner says x

link! iam dying to see it. or even a wee clue about were to find it.

Our last house had a detached garden and that was a nightmare with a small child as meant i had to be out there with him all the time rather than letting him play whilst i got on with other stuff. Also made getting drinks/paddling pools very hard work.

It also made selling our house very hard.

So no matter how lovely the house i'm afraid for me an attached garden would be non-negotiable.

Good luck though with trying to sort out a deal with regards to the neighbours un-used garden.

Up to you, depends on how much you love the house and area, but I'd be very cautious. We rented a house with no garden for a year while we were looking to buy and we HATED it. It was a crappy summer but on the odd days that it was nice I really missed being outside.

It's so much easier to open the back door and let the kids play in the garden. My nearly 3 year old rarely comes in the house at the moment and my bum shuffling baby is in her element eating grass and mud too. Much easier than taking a buggy and suncream and all the gubbins to a park.

And, when they're in bed, we have a lovely bbq for two each night. Marvelous.

We moved from a flat to a house with small garden last year and it has been marvelous - a real sanity saver. I don't think it would matter so much with older children (10/11 and up) but with little ones a small child-friendly garden is a must (IMO, obviously).

garden essential in my view - sorry. i know that street (we used to live in bruntsfield - loved it) and i can imagine how lovely the place is but entertaining the kids just becomes so much harder without outdoor space. and think about playdates - to be able to chuck everyone outdoors/onto the trampoline or whatever is such a sanity-saver!