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Original poster

Help!! Have I just bought the wrong house?

254 replies

EllisRoses · 12/10/2020 12:56

We've bought plot 13. I didn't know this whole north/south facing thing. I'm a first time buyer. I did ask the estate agent how much sun the back garden would get and he said morning sun and from mid afternoon onwards, I thought that was perfect as the kids will have shade during the hottest part of the day but we'll have sun the rest of the time. Now I've seen a post about north facing gardens and I googled and oh my god. Damp, dark, no sun ever, nothing grows? What have I done!! There's more plots available but it would be difficult, if not impossible to change at this point and everything would need to be redone, mortgage, H2B, the lot...

Help!! Have I just bought the wrong house?
OP posts:
Itsokthanks · 12/10/2020 14:29

Doesn't it depend on the size of the garden and surroundings? We have a large NW facing garden and it gets the sun all day in the summer in different area's. The only shade we get is under the neighbors tree.

WeAreFromThePlanetDuplo · 12/10/2020 14:30

What is at the end of your garden OP? The other side of your back fence.

SurreyHillsGirl · 12/10/2020 14:30

I would change if I were you, I have lived in houses with north face gardens previously and after living in my (present) house with a south facing garden, I would never buy a house with a north facing garden ever again, they are dark and get v little sun. There is a reason EA always list 'south facing garden' as a positive.

Viviennemary · 12/10/2020 14:30

Shared drives are a nightmare. We had one in our first house. Horrible neighbours. I'd rather have no drive.

MikeUniformMike · 12/10/2020 14:31

I wouldn't by a house called No 13. because it would put buyers off.

userxx · 12/10/2020 14:33

I've got a shared drive and its not an issue, never has been and there's been 3 different lots of people living next door.

Peasbewithyou · 12/10/2020 14:34

Hi OP, I have a small south facing back garden that gets roasting in summer and the north facing front garden has lots of lovely plants in it and gets the sun in the morning which is when everything needs warming up. Personally a north facing garden wouldn’t worry me!

TooTardy · 12/10/2020 14:34

there is a 20% premium for South Facing gardens

hahaha! Do you genuinely believe that houses on one side of West/East running roads are 20% more expensive than the other side.

I have a gorgeous south facing garden, do you want to buy my house? I promise to only add 15%

ahhanotheryear · 12/10/2020 14:34

My parents have a south facing garden, its unusable on very hot days, I have a south facing yarn also unusable. We are both in Yorkshire. My last house had a small north facing yard, the sun caught the top of the yard so I could sit in the sun if I wanted or sit in the shade.
Go and look on a sunny day at the plot, see where the sun is.

chocorabbit · 12/10/2020 14:37

If the garden is long enough there will be plenty of sunlight. What I would worry about is whether the reception got any light as you will spend much more time indoors. You don't want a dark and gloomy hpuse, especially in winter, do you?

StarUtopia · 12/10/2020 14:38

Reasons you should change:

No one wants a north facing garden (check out Rightmove)

Plot no 13 could well be house no 13 (again, enough to put people off)

No garage (where on earth is your 'man' going to put all of his tools etc? Might not bother yours but will definitely bother the next buyer.

Shared driveway.

Struggling to see many positives if I'm honest?

TooTardy South facing gardens definitely put the price of your house up. Ones on our side of the road get snapped up and are about £40k more irrespective of their condition. The other side of the road there are currently 3 for sale with no interest.

Iola4 · 12/10/2020 14:38

Shared drive would be an issue for me...we specifically picked a plot, one of only a few, without a shared driveway.

BruceAndNosh · 12/10/2020 14:39

We have a north west facing garden and it's fine.. It's more a problem if you have a very small or narrow plot
The current trend is for the back of houses to have large areas of glazing (the ubiquitous bifold doors off the kitchen)
Bifolds with a south facing garden is my idea of hell

tealady · 12/10/2020 14:42

31 or 33 both look good to me for the direction and wrap around garden. Nice wall on the boundary and it would be great. North facing can be ok if the garden is big enough and not affected by mature trees etc,. But for a typical smallish new build garden I do think it could be a pain to be north facing.

NellyJames · 12/10/2020 14:43

I’d go for 31 on the corner if it’s still available. Corner houses on estates often have walls around the garden which looks nice too.
Shared drives can be fine but a) you don’t know what your neighbours will be like and b) many people really don’t like them so it may affect resale.
North facing can be ok if your garden is long but if it’s no longer than the shadow of your house it could well be always in shade.

GameofPhones · 12/10/2020 14:43

I have a south facing garden and it can get scorched and too hot to go outside in full sun. IMO an offset direction is better.

NellyJames · 12/10/2020 14:43

Grin x posted with @tealady

Original poster
EllisRoses · 12/10/2020 14:45

@StarUtopia

Reasons you should change:

No one wants a north facing garden (check out Rightmove)

Plot no 13 could well be house no 13 (again, enough to put people off)

No garage (where on earth is your 'man' going to put all of his tools etc? Might not bother yours but will definitely bother the next buyer.

Shared driveway.

Struggling to see many positives if I'm honest?

TooTardy South facing gardens definitely put the price of your house up. Ones on our side of the road get snapped up and are about £40k more irrespective of their condition. The other side of the road there are currently 3 for sale with no interest.

Its plot 13, not house 13. The estate agent already made a point to tell us, not that it bothers us. No, we aren't adding the £15k garage quoted by the developer but there's planning so we can add one down the line if need be, probably cheaper too. It's one of the only ones with side by side parking, which we deliberately looked for so surely other people would too.
OP posts:
PenguindreamsofDraco · 12/10/2020 14:45

We have a small north facing garden and part of it is in the sun from sunrise to sunset, just different parts depending on the time of day! It doesn't look like there will be much blocking the sun from any direction with your house, I can't see why it would be a problem.

Quickchange5 · 12/10/2020 14:45

I’d not buy a north facing garden - but then I like you steer clear of main roads too . I think you have a balancing act to do and decide what’s more important to you - whilst scanning the plan to see if there’s another plot that would tick the boxes.

OrangeCinnamon1 · 12/10/2020 14:47

@ellisroses had exactly this panic when we bought our plot (DH wanted corner plot equivalent to plot 16). I do not know why I worried so much ! The right hand side of the garden is boiling ...I had a patio put there with outdoor sofa and getting a summerhouse in other corner for cooler days. The soil was uneven and full of builders rubbish..something to look out for. Slight disclaimer I'm more NW facing and on sunny south coast.

I think you will be fine especially if not overlooked /in all other ways is perfect plot for you. You may need to be creative and do a bit of research about what you grow if you want borders etc. Garden on a roll available through B and Q does a set especially for shade. I'm more of a patio planter myself.

OrangeCinnamon1 · 12/10/2020 14:48

[quote OrangeCinnamon1]@ellisroses had exactly this panic when we bought our plot (DH wanted corner plot equivalent to plot 16). I do not know why I worried so much ! The right hand side of the garden is boiling ...I had a patio put there with outdoor sofa and getting a summerhouse in other corner for cooler days. The soil was uneven and full of builders rubbish..something to look out for. Slight disclaimer I'm more NW facing and on sunny south coast.

I think you will be fine especially if not overlooked /in all other ways is perfect plot for you. You may need to be creative and do a bit of research about what you grow if you want borders etc. Garden on a roll available through B and Q does a set especially for shade. I'm more of a patio planter myself.[/quote]
Absolute bingo there for the MN posters who like to ascertain what purchases makes one a bit common Grin

MrsMcTats · 12/10/2020 14:51

The shared drive is a no from me. I like to have full control over our house plot surrounds. It would drive me mad if my neighbour either filled their drive with motorbikes (or a car 'project') or just didn't care for it, leaving it moss and weed covered, impacting the look of my property.

minipie · 12/10/2020 14:52

What would bother me is the N facing kitchen - I live in my kitchen and wouldn’t want to be without sun in there. Would it be possible to swap the design so as to put the kitchen at the front?

For a sunnier garden but still a decent position away from the big road, you could consider plot 10 - although it faces the same way as 13, there’s nothing to its left so should get lots of sun from the west, if you don’t build a high fence. Although only in the garden still not in the kitchen.

minipie · 12/10/2020 14:53

Re the shared drive - is there room for a slim fence to separate it?

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