Help!! Have I just bought the wrong house?

[EllisRoses]

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...

There is no perfect house
My garden is north west and its really lovely, however its not really overlooked at all

Honestly we're fine with the parking situation, my question is purely about sunlight. With the kitchen/diner having windows each side it wouldn't too gloomy, I don't imagine? Dual aspect is usually nice and light?

Also confused as the row of houses with our plot are all of the most expensive houses, why would they put all the biggest most costly houses on that row if they're going to be dark and gloomy inside with no light in the garden? Surely this would of been thought through?

If you are in the south with our increasingly hot summers, a south facing garden is too hot to use a lot of the time. My garden is south east facing and gets very hot, as does the back of the house. Cooking is hard work on a hot day. I would rather live in a north facing house. There is no price difference in north and south facing gardens anywhere I have viewed (and I viewed a lot when moving two years ago).
I have a shared drive which means the house is cheaper than separate ones but no-one nearby has any issues with it.

With the kitchen/diner having windows each side it wouldn't too gloomy, I don't imagine? Dual aspect is usually nice and light?

Well the diner bit will be light but the actual kitchen area not so much. But this bothers some people more tha others so may not be an issue for you!

You need to go back and have a look. I live in a south facing new build, I practically cried last summer it was so hot. 33 degrees INSIDE. I don't know how my neighbour managed with a baby. New builds are very well insulated.

It depends what you want. Are you realistically going to spend time gardening? Would a young family moving in do much gardening?

Evening sun- back from work having dinner outside is nice. I get the sun from about 11 in a south facing flat. Its hard to get everything.

In regards to having a look its hard to really judge what the garden will be like without the house being built and seeing how much shade that will create. Doesn't help it's October and raining everyday! We aren't fussed on gardening at all, I just want a bit of sunshine to sunbathe in and the kids to have enough sun to whack a paddling pool out.

It's a sought after small development in an area there aren't many new build developments, and it's proving popular with young families. We are over 2 hours away from any areas full of large new build developments like Persimmon and the like. I can't imagine we'd have too much difficulty selling up, but we're looking to be here for 15/20 years anyway.

I think plot 13 looks lovely, big garden, ground floor has dual aspect. You'll get sun in the front for a lot of the day, and shade to sit in out the back. Biggest problem for me this last summer was lack of shade.

I personally when I move will not buy a north facing garden but this is because I plan to do more gardening. Honestly for a first time buy there is a lot to settle into and you may not be growing things, a low maintenance garden is good. Nice fairy lights and an outdoor heater. In my south facing balcony I have killed everything twice and it currently looks like a desert.

How tall is the house OP? If it’s 2 storeys then won’t block too much sun

Also since you are not having a garage then you should get sun coming over the car parking spaces and lighting up that side of the garden, which is nearly half I think?

So all in all there will still be plenty of sunny areas I expect.

Just the kitchen will not get direct sun! But tbh in summer that may be a blessing.

Also if you have or plan to have very young children then shade near the house is a blessing as they can play there without frazzling in summer

I have a house facing the same way as yours. The top of the garden is lovely and sunny, as is the front of the house. The rooms facing the back don't get any sun apart from in June. The patio by the house is always shady. It's fine with small children, keeping them out of the sun, but you might find you'll want your outside tables etc to be at the top/middle of your garden rather than by the house.

@EllisRoses

We've opted for no garage as they were small, more for storage than cars, and 15k extra.

My only worry about your plot was your garage on west side which would shade your garden, so no garage is good. Obviously you will get shade from neighbours garage but less of your plot will be shaded. You can put a decent shed in the least friendly part of your garden

It’s not ideal, but you might get some mid day sun along side your garage, because of the width of the second car parking space and the gap between your house and the neighbours house. Tbh, I‘d rather deal with a Northwest facing garden (if it is big enough to provide sun in the back), than to have a South facing garden that is small and overlooked. On a hot summers day you might be glad to have some shade, during the hottest time of the day.

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

Nonsense

I have a south east facing garden and previously had a north facing garden and it hasn’t really changed my life in anyway. I use(d) both gardens in exactly the same way and kids do not care about which way a garden faces.
Although I am not a gardenWe and don’t care about growing stuff I just want to be able to drink wine in the garden and not be cold.
I think you have buyers remorse which is a normal reaction when you have spent a huge amount of money. You want to get it right.
Well done for getting on the property ladder with kids.

The kitchen/diner has french doors on the kitchen side and large sash windows on the dining side. We are thinking of switching the french doors to bifolds in a few years when finances allow. So that would allow even more light in. DH wants to stick with this plot but we want to be here long term so I just don't want to end up having to move because by the time the house was built we realise we have no sun at all. Ahh so difficult!

I have lived in a north east facing house for the last 20 year and I really appreciate the shade on the patio at the back of the house in the hot sunshine. Before that I lived in a south facing new build and the kitchen was unbearably hot. I have never understood the obsession with south facing gardens, I think it is much pleasanter to have some shade.

I never had a problem finding a sunny spot for a paddling pool in my NW facing back garden.

We had a NW facing house previously and we still got quite a bit of sun in the garden, it really isn't a big deal.

@EllisRoses

The kitchen/diner has french doors on the kitchen side and large sash windows on the dining side. We are thinking of switching the french doors to bifolds in a few years when finances allow. So that would allow even more light in. DH wants to stick with this plot but we want to be here long term so I just don't want to end up having to move because by the time the house was built we realise we have no sun at all. Ahh so difficult!

The kitchen diner has windows both sides. The lounge has the french doors - ignore this! I'm getting myself confused!

We have a south facing garden - it does get hot in summer.

The sitting room that side isn't so bad as patio doors open into garden but the one bedroom that is south facing is pretty much unusable for a few weeks in really hot weather.

Unless your unlucky with other house placements putting you in shade you'd still get some sun with a Northwest garden.

My garden faces north west. It really isn't a problem. In the winter, when the sun doesn't come up over the house, we're indoors anyway and daylight hours are short. As the days lengthen, the sun gets higher, the garden has light & shade, we have lovely sunsets. And I really like a north facing kitchen - it's so cool!

You need to put a triangular summerhouse in the most North Easterly corner - behind where the garage would have been - so that you can sit and face south east. I personally wouldn't mind at a north facing garden at all, as long as there is a protected sunny spot, which is south facing. The dual aspect will mean that the house is lovely and light but stays cool in heat - there will be more heatwaves to come in the next 20 years.

You can put a nice shed for storage up, instead of garage, for less cost.

My parents have always had a shared drive, and whilst there have been one or two niggles, there has also been a lot of shared life in the driveway. Knowing that there is someone so close, you have to make allowances/try to get on/plan ahead so that you don't block each other in, but in their case, it has definitely been more of an advantage than a disadvantage.