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Original poster

Would it be mad to downsize with a family and lose a garden?

51 replies

littlecrystal · 04/07/2013 16:17

We are family of 4 with 2 boys.
Have seen two houses in the area I want to buy.
House No 1: 3 bed terraced house with garage (garage about 20m away), garden (overlooked by another row of houses), further from a road (need to walk over the green to reach the house ? all houses like this). On top of our budget, so we will sit have to sit tight and possibly no improvements for a long while.
House No 2: 2 bed detached house with a garage, garage on the ground floor and the house is on the 1st/2nd floor, a large terrace/balcony instead of garden. Parking next to the house. Feels ? hmm.. detached! Not overlooked and quite private. Comfortably within hour budget, so we could upgrade to everything new. Could put a partition wall in the bigger bedroom and have two box rooms for the kids. This house is also end of chain which is BIG advantage to us.

Which one to buy???

I prefer the feel of the detached/not overlooked but people think I am mad to go with smaller if I can afford bigger! Or mad to go without garden if I can afford a garden! Obviously if I am considering losing a garden (I have one now) I do feel we can live without it. So really looking for opinion of people who may have downsized similarly for good! Unless you tell me I am clearly very mad!!!

OP posts:

RCheshire · 05/07/2013 13:04

Garden a huge prerequisite for me - especially given the ages of your children, that's top 'garden age'!

DontKnowHowToHelpMyself · 05/07/2013 14:06

When you are used to having a garden, you really don't realise how hard it is to cope without one until you are in that situation. If the balcony is large enough to sit out on as a family with a table for dinner/bbq etc, DC to play and also big enough to have a washing line across then fine, but still it's hard being above ground with the worry of the DC's potentially falling off it - very difficult to relax.

Do not underestimate the loss of your own bit of grass! I feel that has contributed to my 'low mood' strange as it sounds, especially in summer. It's also a PITA having to take the DC to the park to play every time they want to go out (dodging dog crap) and not being able to do something else while you know they are safely playing outside on their own bit of grass.

You actually become jealous of people with gardens, which is something I never imagined being jealous of before .

It's quite shit actually. Don't do it!

SuitedandBooted · 05/07/2013 14:16

I would never even look at a house without a garden, and I reckon I'm not alone. What happens if you want to sell it? You may find that your upgrades haven't really added a lot of value. There is actually a house in our village which sounds similar - newish build, detached, balcony, etc. It has been an absolute bugger to sell, and the vendors are still renting it out (2 years!), as they simply can't get a buyer prepared to pay. And this is a v.nice village in Hampshire, where houses are at a premium, and sell quickly. Our estate agent neighbour calls it "the mistake"!

Exhaustipated · 05/07/2013 14:20

I agree with the pp- writing as someone who moved from the countryside into the city and lost a garden in the process. We live right by a huge park, have a large balcony and communal garden, and I'm still desperate to move somewhere with a private, enclosed garden (I have a 3 yr old boy and a baby).

Don't do it, especially as you're buying for long term (we're renting). I wouldn't worry about noise/being overlooked- that's just normal IMO. Having no garden with small kids feels much less normal IME, and can get a bit depressing tbh :(

IWipeArses · 05/07/2013 14:33

Depends entirely on what the nearby area is like. Are there parks? Flat bits of quiet road to cycle on? Shopping centre with free bit of soft play etc?
We have a huge garden, it's always got someone else's cat shit in it and needs mowing, hedge trimming etc. mostly the weather isn't nice enough to be out there. A detached house with no garden sounds like heaven.

valiumredhead · 05/07/2013 14:47

Garden, always a garden with boys!

bimbabirba · 05/07/2013 22:34

Can you convert the loft or the garage to get an extra bedroom if the house is under budget?
I have three boys and yes they play outside but not necessarily in the garden, more at the front of the house or they go to neighbours' houses.
Follow your gut instinct! What works for others may not work for you!

BeenieBaby · 07/07/2013 07:55

I'm not fussed about a garden either. We move from a 3 bed with a paved patio garden to a larger 3 bed flat with no garden. I love the new place. The kids never used the patio and went to the park instead anyway (both under 3). And we no longer have pests like woodlice or earwigs making their way in. And fewer spiders. (I hate bugs). But I would be concerned about the space and there's no way we could move into a 2 bed. The kids have a room and we have one room but we need a guest room and study /storage space. I think the number of rooms would be an issue.

rubyrubyruby · 07/07/2013 08:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

PattieOfurniture · 07/07/2013 08:36

Tbh the trampoline comments, could not drag them out of it, weren't applicable to my ds either till 6 months ago, we've had it three years only now he uses it daily (he's 7)
I would go for the 3 bed with garden

rubyrubyruby · 07/07/2013 09:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AvonCallingBarksdale · 08/07/2013 13:16

Mine are 9 and 6 and are on the trampoline all the time.

Original poster

littlecrystal · 08/07/2013 21:28

I may need to stress that trampoline is not the point of my choice :) I have put my heart on hold and decided to go for 3 bed. I am not so fussed about the garden if I am honest and would love to live in a house above the ground floor, but we'd better get that 3 bed space...

OP posts:

pigglepaggle · 09/07/2013 14:20

With this heatwave I'm thinking how you would feel living on the 1st and 2nd floors of a house. It must get hot and you've nowhere to escape to.
I'd feel very trapped and would need some space around me.
Hope you make the right descision!

Original poster

littlecrystal · 09/07/2013 14:49

Oh that 2 bed house is nicely surrounded by trees and feels very private...
Also living on the ground floor I am slightly fed up with the visitors (slugs, flies etc), thinking that higher up they are less frequent.

Don't get me started on dreaming about the remote, detached, private 2 bed house again!

OP posts:

Original poster

littlecrystal · 09/07/2013 14:52

I am contradicting myself again, but can there be any more use of the garage than storage, if it is truly non convertable, i.e. has up and slide doors and a small window to the side. Could my future teens escape there? It is just below the townhouse but not accessed directly.

OP posts:

NoComet · 09/07/2013 14:57

Neither. 2beds no garden is a total non starter, the other sounds a bit quirky and annoying. I'd sit tight and see if something else comes on
The market.

valiumredhead · 09/07/2013 15:45

Tbh wee didn't have a garden until ds was 6 but goodness it was essential the older he got, it was easy when he was younger but later on they need to get out as much as possible especially when they have their mates over.

If I had to choose between minute house with garden or big house with no outside space I would go for outside space every single time!

ChippingInGoAndyGo · 09/07/2013 15:56

Neither. What's the rush?

Original poster

littlecrystal · 12/07/2013 22:48

Oh dear. I keep changing my mind. There is no rush but I feel unsettled. I feel like I will have to move at some point (due to secondary schools), so it is better to move now than wait until the last minute and take a risk of not being able to sell, or not being able to get a mortgage, etc.

In short, I have spent this whole evening walking around the 2 properties in question. I LOVE the location of the 2 bed house. It is so private that it feels that the whole sky around it is a part of the house. I LOVE that it needs renovation, so I can put my stamp on it.
I don't love the 3 bed but I recognize that I need (ideally) the space. Currently we are in a large 2 bed period property and it would make sense to go larger, not smaller... Not that I need larger. I am ok with the space I have at the moment. But it is customary to go larger than smaller.

The fact that the 2 bed house has only a balcony (=large roof terrace) does not bother me in the slightest (now as I think of it after a couple of )

OP posts:

nameofanother · 12/07/2013 23:30

Can we have links?? That would defo help!!

Original poster

littlecrystal · 16/07/2013 08:42

My dilemma has been resolved in a way that my bank will not lend me enough funds to buy the 3 bed house. If I am honest, I feel relieved as it would have been on top of my budget. Now I have a dilemma between staying put or make an offer for the 2 bedder. Its balcony is 15ft x 15ft.

OP posts:

purplewithred · 16/07/2013 08:46

2-bed will probably do for a while - maybe until DS1 hits secondary school. Could you convert the garage and include it in the house to give more living space later on?

valiumredhead · 16/07/2013 13:28

There's an odd in between age from about 8.5-11 where kids want to be a bit independent and play out on their own but not quite old enough to go to the park by themselves. I was very grateful for a garden during that period, so ds could properly let off steam playing footie/trampoline.

Frecklesandspecs · 16/07/2013 20:22

I would not give up my garden now having lived in a flat for 2 years with 2 kids. Hanging the washing indoors used to drive me mad for a start! ;-)

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