Buying a house with an extremely steep garden?

[maz80]

I'd like to get people's views on a house we have just viewed, please. We have found a beautiful house to buy in a wonderful area but the garden is very steep - it's on five tiered levels (the highest is above roof height). The top tier is decking and has room for a table and a shed. The other tiers are very narrow. The path is shared with the other house and their side is overrun and has fewer tiers - so a very steep slope. Just outside the house there is a path going around the house. We're quite worried about putting an offer on the house because of the garden - we have a 2 and 4 year old. There are lots of parks nearby so we could just use those instead. What does everyone think?

I wouldn't do it. We looked at houses with gardens like that before we had the DC and now think thank god we didn't buy one. You would have to fence it all off if you wanted the DC to play in the garden. Mind you it won't be that long before yours are sensible enough not to 'fall off' the garden!

Depends how much you love the house, how important a 'running around' garden is to you, and how much the price reflects the unusual garden! Also bear in mind that if it's making you think twice, then when you come to sell you might find it harder.

Personally, if I thought I could find what I wanted elsewhere, with a normal garden, then I would do that. Nothing better for me than lounging around outside in a sunny garden whilst the kids run around. Wouldn't want to have to go to the park most days, it would get dull.

Need to see it really.

Mum and dad have a steep garden - but it's very big so there are flatter areas too. They tiered a lot of it themselves and those bits were never dangerous to my DC TBH even though they went there day in day out when they were small.

We've got one (steep garden), and kids the same age. Our top level is also open on to woodland - much the same as other houses around here OK we need to be careful and the kids are mostly contained to the lower level.... but I certainly wouldn't reject it as our kids love it and there are endless possibilities for adventure trails, slides (we have slides going from one level to another). I is also amusing to see kids apparently bouncing higher than our roof when they are on the trampoline on the higher tier behind the house.

Sorry,

It is also amusing to see kids bouncing higher than the roof...

PS. Some of our neighbours have built spectacular tiered "dens" for their grandchildren on the same slope.

I acknowledge however that this is not the sort of garden where adults lounge around and leave the kids to it - not at this age anyway

Loving the idea of tiered dens and slides down the garden! Can I come round and play?!

Bear in mind that with the garden being broken up you may not have room for equipment you'd like later on, like trampolines or swings, and it makes games like football more difficult.

I wouldn't do it, but one of the main reasons for that would be that I think it would be harder to sell and I always like to think that any place I buy I'd be able to get rid of relatively easy, even in a bad climate. One of the reasons you probably love the house is that the price for the overall property is lower because of the garden, so the house may be nicer than other ones in the same price bracket.

Having said that, if it's a house you intend to be in for a long time, and you're prepared to put up with not being able to relax with the children outside for the time being, then maybe it's worth thinking about. I think for me it would depend on the quality of other houses in the same price bracket - ultimately when we were looking being able to look out onto the kids playing outside was one of my big priorities.