Moving to a smaller house with huge garden.

[robotwellyboots]

Hi, know there has been a similar thread about this recently but i wondered if anyone could help me - im really at the end of my tether.

We moved to a huge (to us) 2050 sq ft "executive" style home with a wide but shallow south east facing garden garden just over a year ago.

the house is amazing: large rooms, bright, some rooms need a lot of decoration as decor is 16 years old but on the whole, it is fine.

The neighbours garden on the south side that we rely on sun for has started letting their trees grow right up and if they aren't cut back or styled, then we will have a much shadier garden.

A 1960s bungalow with extended bit has come up on a lovely road with a huge 100ft long, nicely wide but north west facing garden, is 1500 sq ft and has the most ridiculous huge driveway.

Its not dull inside but certainly darker than im used to now. on the sunny south east side at the front, there are two small bedrooms and a smaller reception room.

DH is in love, i was in love and we have our our house on the market to buy it. Lovely owners have accepted our offer and are giving us 2 months to sell here as their new place is still being built and they are not really in a huge hurry.

Im now having a massive panic and can't sleep, can't focus and am irritable. I feel literally panic stricken (i know there are lots of real problems in the world).

The rooms are 2/3rds of the size of rooms we have now and do feel on the skimpy side.

Im worried i will miss the home i'm in as it feels huge and spacious but i wont miss the garden.

i'm panicking about staying in case the neighbours trees growing up shading our garden.

I really cant answer the question of which is more important: house or garden. I love a big house but i also am craving a big unrestricted sunny garden.

Is anyone about the talk about this?

The financial side is all covered - losing a lot but can afford to move.

Help! DH is getting angry as he says if we are going to be dickheads and withdraw, its best not to let it drag on to a second week.

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Have you been back to visit again? A northwest facing garden could be dark near the house because of the shadow. Are you moving just because your neighbours' trees are blocking your light? Could you ask them to cut them back? I moved from a bigger house 3 years ago and I'm still not used it - none of my furniture fit.

The upside is a big garden means you could extend.

I haven’t been in your position but just wanted to make a couple of observations / ask a couple of questions, which I hope might be helpful in clarifying your feelings:

• you haven’t been in your current house for long at all. To be looking at moving so quickly suggests a big house with a garden you don’t love is not “forever home” territory to you and that you might feel you’ll outgrow your home - not space-wise but in terms of how you feel about it. I note you already say you won’t miss the garden and this is without it being shade-blocked by trees yet.
• what if your neighbours do agree to cut down their trees, but then they move and are replaced by someone less amenable? How much of your happiness in the house/garden is dependent on something outside your control?
• does the 1960s house have scope to extend? If so, are better off getting yourself onto the bigger plot sooner rather than later and before you’ve filled the larger house with things that you won’t have room for in the 1960s one yet?

Sorry one more thought - you’ve said you can’t decide between house or garden, so like most people you would ideally like both! What are the other options for you to achieve this? It may be that the 1960s house, if extendable, is the best way forward that will eventually get you more than if you hung on in your current house for longer.

Hi, agree with PPs that you should look into possibilities for extending the new place. Friends of ours moved into a bungalow and extended upwards (think it already had one or two upstairs rooms so not a true bungalow) so it's now much bigger than their previous 4 bed semi.

The bungalow sounds pretty awful to me, tiny and dark. You will be spending 90% of your time in the house especially during winter (which in itself is dark, dingy and depressing) and you will probably feel a bit trapped in it.
I have a tiny, dark house with a massive garden and while I personally prefer a bit of a dark house the garden is a huge committment.
From spring to autumn I have to spend at least an hour after after work every single day weeding, mowing, planting, weed and feeding and god knows what. I'm getting on for 60 now and would really like a smaller garden as it takes all of my time.
The fact that you are having all of those doubts means you are not sure and should wait, other houses, better ones will come along.
Half my garden is in the shade and I love it, it is a lovely cool place to sit out of the sun and there are so many beautiful shade plants it is a real little oasis, everyone says it looks lovely.
I'd stay put until something you really want comes along.

oh wow, thanks.

1500 sq ft is it after an extension with loft conversion so top two bedrooms have limited height. the rear patio outside is finished beautifully with indian sandstone and we love it. we also will be at the max budget if we want to keep our ltv rate, so will have no money to extend.

it is one that we had our hearts set on 6 years ago because of the plot size but we couldnt move for a number of reasons. so it is one we've like for a loooong time and is not just a snap decision.

i do feel that this current exec house was never meant to be a forever home and was just to give the kids huge and max indoor space inside until they are finished secondary, so this is actually 14 years time. it was something i never had as a child (large spacious rooms) and i always wanted a big bedroom as child/teen.

if i could have a guarantee the neighbours would keep tress to a sensible height, i dunno, think we'd still be hankering after the bungalow.
if this bungalow didnt happen or if we couldn't get it for whatever reason, we'd stay put there.

we are well versed on gardening commitments as our house before this had a 120ft garden but was width of our terrace.

i really cant decide if i want small house, amazing garden. sorry, forgot to say, garden has a permanent structure with electricity and is 10ft x 16ft in size. no big wow but still another nice feature.

You sound like me unless i have a choice of one I spend days, weeks, months fretting over it haha.

yes madcatlady, that's me!! on a serious note, i do longstanding stress issues.

Follow your heart buy the bungalow with the garden. I would :)

You wanted to buy the bungalow six years ago but couldn't and now suddenly it's available again? There's your answer! It's obviously your meant-to-be home. We've just moved into a house we loved but almost missed out on. Vendor accepted higher offer, so we found another place which was fine but I didn't get "that feeling". Luckily for us, our vendor pulled out of our sale the day the number 1 house came back on the market unexpectedly. Meant to be! (And we got it for less than our original offer!)

I don't understand all that panicking about trees shadowing a garden.
So what? In a hot summer you will be grateful for it and a tree shadow isn't solid, it moves with the movement of the sun and the leaves.

Having said that, the bungalow sounds lovely.

The bungalow sounds lovely, how big are the rooms exactly, could you lighten the bungalow, white walls, light floors?

Madcatlady your devotion to your garden sounds far more than most people would do. We had a HUGE (4 times the size of OPs old garden) at our old house. We did have a gardener. He came once every other week for 2 hours. I did the mowing - once a week in the summer, less in the spring/autumn and that was all. We mainly had lawn and then some shrubs and trees. Op - you don’t need to worry about having such a high maintenance garden just because it is larger.

OP - is the bungalow in the same area? Any pros/cons other than the building itself. Can you extend it further/make it your own? A big garden isn’t the be all and end all (we have a MUCH smaller garden now although still a decent size - think about 100 foot long) but I do love still having that outside space. We have big bifolding doors at the back to get that inside/outside feeling. We have always bought projects and made them our own and it’s a really satisfying (if slightly painful during the building process) thing to do!

I think it’s understandable to have concerns, it’s a big change but a house is just a shell you can make it whatever you want - bigger windows/French doors, move walls, put in roof lights. Good luck whatever you decide!

Madcatlady - that wasn’t a criticism btw, I have friends who spend hours and hours in their gardens - for fun, imagine ! It’s just a decent sized garden doesn’t need to be a huge time commitment, that was what I was trying to say!

Is the bungalow dark inside? If it is don't move as there is nothing worse than a dark house. And north west gardens aren't great, l think as very little sun. I saw a small garden recently, beautifully landscaped, and it was just perfect. Could you get your present garden done professionally taking neighbours trees into account? Make it a little oasis of peace.
When your dc are older space inside is brilliant as they need extra tv room for their friends so ye are not disturbed. Also can have lots of friends to sleep over . We have big rooms and space in our house and it was just right for teens as we wanted kids to be home but happy to have all their friends here. Now they are gone we would like to downsize.
My advice is stay and accept garden and just stop looking at other houses and be content where you are.

In a big garden the aspect matters much less because unless surrounded by skyscrapers the sun will always be there somewhere. I would ask to view again at a totally different time of day to last time. Go without dh or kids and just give yourself time to have a good look around and pay attention to how you feel. Try not to play “this house or Our House” but just imagine yourself living there and where your favourite bits of furniture will go.

ah thanks for more replies.

we've spent another miserable day arguing and shouting. then both sobbing then DH getting angry that we are pissing about.

im trying to get another viewing but hope the sellers dont get angry at us.

my current house's main living areas have been lovely and super bright since 9am (will be til 4pm)and the bungalow will be getting its main living room sun at 3pm (i'm guessing) until 8pm.

the bungalow will be getting its main living room sun at 3pm (i'm guessing) until 8pm.

That is in the height of summer now, can you work out what sun the small bungalow will get in the winter? I know I'm biased, bought a small house with a massive, lovely garden (including gardener's outside loo and just hated living there. The garden was lovely, but the house was small, and dark...

Can you keep looking for a big house with a big garden?

I would stay where you are and talk to the neighbours about cutting back their trees. I have a large garden and the upkeep is horrendous with young children. Your current house sounds much nicer than the bungalow and you will spend most of your time inside the house.

I have a tiny house with a big completely south facing garden. I agonised over the purchase because a slightly larger house directly opposite was for sale but their garden was completely north facing.

I'm so so glad I chose this house. Even on a wet day my south facing rooms are bright and warm, the north facing ones are darker and colder but one of them is my bedroom so I'm happy about that. I can see some of the neighbours garden and it never really gets the sun because of the shade of the house itself. Their bedrooms are clearly also hot because they permanently have the blinds down just now. All in all I made the right choice.

However, the difference in size of the two houses wasn't that much in my case. In yours it sounds like you would be sacrificing a great house for a big garden but one that could be gloomy and a lot to maintain and one that you might not even use that much in the winter.

I have a great garden and we use it a lot but we still spend way more time in the house, it's the house that matters really. If I were you I would keep looking.

Saw this on another forum—it might be of use in your situation:

"High hedges and trees can cause a particular problem for adjoining property owners where they block light from the neighbouring land. Under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 and the High Hedges Regulations 2005, there is a statutory means of redress through the local authority where a hedge or tree/s is more than 2 metres high.

When does this legislation apply?

The legislation applies to owners and occupiers (for example, tenants) where::

there are 2 or more trees or shrubs over 2 metres high above ground level and which act as a barrier to light, and
the reasonable enjoyment of part or all of a property, including a garden or part of a garden, is being adversely affected by a tree or high hedge that is situated on neighbouring land, and
the land which is being adversely affected is a domestic property

How does the legislation deal with problems relating to high trees and hedges?

The owner or occupier of the land which is being adversely affected by the tree of hedge complained of should take reasonable steps to try and resolve the matter with their neighbour. If a resolution cannot be reached, the owner/occupier may make a complaint to the relevant local council, which has the power to order your neighbour to reduce the height of their tree/hedge. A fee is payable to the council if you wish to make a complaint.

Before reaching its decision, the local authority will weigh up all the issues and consider the case on its merit. In relation to hedges, the council must consider whether the hedge is growing on land owned by someone else; whether it’s the hedge, or a portion of it, that is causing problems; whether it’s mostly evergreen or semi-evergreen; and more than 2 metres tall. Clearly, whether the hedge blocks too much light to a neighbour’s garden (or house) will be a consideration, but, do note that the legislation does not guarantee access to uninterrupted light to your garden."

www.inbrief.co.uk/neighbour-disputes/trees-blocking-light/

Sorry if someone has already put this...but why would you be worried about trees providing shade in a south facing garden then look to move to a north facing garden that would be shaded from the afternoon onwards?

thank you for more replies.

the garden at the bungalow is 100 ft and wide, so garden gets a lot of sun after house casts it show the first 10 ft on the back of the house.

me and dh have spent all day being miserable.