Would a small garden put you off buying?

[Minta85]

We’re considering buying a house that has lots of great points (detached, parking for two cars, ten minute walk to town). But the garden is small, though not overlooked. How much of a problem might the garden size be when we’re trying to sell the house in the future? It has a small patio and lawn - big enough for a trampoline and for sitting in but too small for a football game or big family gatherings.

[Stilllookingfor]

If the location is very good and house also good, and the garden not too small (ie not a machouse with a patio and you have a patch of green big enough that a trampoline would fit) then I think would be perfect. If not overlooked, even more perfect. Unless you are in love with gardening or you do not mind the cost of upkeeping, a big garden becomes a burden once kids are teenagers. Location also trumps everything and also, that there isn't a big downside that needs to be reflected in the price like being next to a big road or behind railroads no public transport, no schools, etc. So if you have no "no-now" go for it!

[Minta85]

We’re not keen gardeners so it’s good to know that small can be positive from a maintenance perspective. I grew up in a house with a big garden but we were lucky enough to have a gardener!

[pumpkin1976]

I know this post is old but I’m getting pissed off with the amount of people who’ve seen our house (we are selling) and commented that the garden isn’t big enough for their bloody giant trampoline. That seems to be more important. Our garden isn’t small, we have one big patio and another smaller one, lawn and flower beds. It’s also not overlooked. I’ve told the estate agents I don’t want feedback if it’s about the garden. My daughter has managed to go through life without a giant trampoline and turned out okay 😂 I just needed to vent a bit as you can tell it’s peed me off.

[MoirasRoses]

Ha @pumpkin1976 - our garden is small (not tiny) but we have fitted an 8ft trampoline in it in a handy corner where it doesn’t completely dominate. I think the trampoline sold our house, no joke. We had a bidding war & both begged us to leave the trampoline 😂 we got £100 in the end which was more than we paid so we are leaving it 😂

We’ve bought a house with another small garden. It’s probably smaller but it’s weird shaped. We aren’t gardeners & we are busy with work & kids. It has room for the kids to play, a 6 seater table & chairs, a slide, possibly a little trampoline or some rattan furniture.. it’s south facing. That’s all I need.

Different strokes for different folks. A lot of people on here ‘need’ large, non overlooked gardens but honesty, it depends on your budget. I can’t afford the 3/4 bed house with large garden. I can afford a 3/4 bed townhouse with a smaller one in the desirable area I wish to live. In Yorkshire, it’s extremely common for many houses to have tiny gardens to be fair.. plenty of old cottages & stone built terraces with not much outside space. Again, all depends on your budget..

[NotQuiteUsual]

Not havjng a garden was one of the reasons we picked this house. I hate gardening, the kids barely use it. And we'd all prefer to go down the park anyway.

[Bluejewel]

If it’s in all other respects a detached family house , a small garden not big enough to kick a football would put off a lot of people .

[Notemyname]

Until very recently I would have said yes, but we're in the process of buying a detached 4 bed on an estate with a similar sounding garden. It's the compromise that we have decided worked best for us out of the available properties in the end.

Massive downsize from our huge current garden but the other factors outweighed in the end. Can't say I'm not sad as it wasn't the dream, but it's practical for our family.

[SpaceOP]

As you're planning to live there for a good while, the potential resale options are irrelevant and you should buy the house if you like it, and f the garden works for you. In time, someone else will also like the house and the size of the garden, but the resale value is only relevant if you're buying it and planning to flip it again very soon, with the goal being to make a big profit.

I've never really understood this worry about resell value of a house you're planning to live in for 10 years or more. An estate agent told me that doing my loft would make my house less valuable or interesting to buyers because the garden would be small in comparison to the size of the house. But me and DH are probably going to live here until we retired so frankly, I could't care less about mythical buyers in 20 odd years. And when we DO sell, I assume another couple will come along who don't want a big garden but do want a beautiful big bedroom. Worst case, we'll have to sell our house for slightly less relatively speaking than other similar houses.

Also, a friend wanted to do a back extension in london years ago. Everyone told her she was crazy because her garden would then be TINY. She did it anyway because she was so unhappy with how the house was and couldn't move at the time. When she did sell, about 5 years later, she was laughing all the way to the bank because by then not only had the area taken off, but loads of neighbours had done the same and the new garden size was considered pretty much standard.

[JacobReesMogadishu]

It would be a positive for me. I dislike gardening and just need a spot to sunbath.

[Roselilly36]

If it’s a family house a small garden can be a dealbreaker, it was for us, we looked at some ideal houses but some of the gardens were really disappointing size wise.

[FatimaMunchy]

Define small. DH grew up with 1/3 acre, so every house we have lived in since has had a small garden.

[ChocoTrio]

You can make a smaller garden charming. Fairy lights and trellis etc.

[sunshinesupermum]

So if it is an older property with larger gardens around it it could be a problem.

Why would this be the case? Larger gardens are far less likely to be overlooked.

[ChocoTrio]

@Minta85

Just realised this a few months old. So, OP what did you decide?

[ChocoTrio]

@sunshinesupermum

I interpreted that as meaning it could be a problem re-selling (as that was the op’s question) because the garden would be smaller in comparison to neighbours.

[Suzi888]

As long as it was south facing, I wouldn’t mind.

[megletthesecond]

It depends how close you are to parks and playing fields. Or if you live away from a main road.
Little kids don't need that much back garden space IMO (trampoline/ goal/ sandpit /mini veg patcb etc) and if you're somewhere quiet they can play out at junior school age. Then you get your garden back.

[Minta85]

Hi @ChocoTrio we didn’t buy the house in the end, though for reasons other than the garden size.

[organisedmother]

I’ve jus my brought a house with a small garden but it’s a cottage the only people seeing into my garden is the church, would rather a small garden than an overlooked one 100% also remember u live in Great Britain! You will probably only get a lot of use from your garden, may, June, July and August