Would buying a townhouse with a small overlooked garden be a mistake?

[Blackletterofthelaw]

We have found the perfect 4 bed townhouse in our current village, offers the extra space we need (have two young children) and at a price that is affordable. The house is in a smallish 'luxury' development and has two play areas so has been designed for families. However the garden is small and overlooked with the gardens opposite backing onto our garden. All the houses overlooking including ours have terraces and balconies. A compromise worth making? We love the house and location. Picture attached of development layout, the house we are considering is the end of terrace in the row to the left of the picture. Opinions, anyone loved in similar property or scenario? Thanks

I personally wouldn’t; they’re all so close together there’s no privacy. Also worth considering that’s it’s all well and good it being designed for families with play areas but no good if the teens decide to claim it or you don’t like your neighbours.

Only you can say. I can't bear to be overlooked so I never used the garden in my old place, which was in a lovely neighbourhood. You need a list of your priorities and then choose accordingly, this will be particular to you.

That sort of development looks like a nightmare for parking and noise.

I wouldn't. That kind of thing doesn't appeal to me.

We spent two years living in a cramped development. I actually think the house contributed to my depression. It was claustrophobic. The garden was tiny and had no privacy... It backed into the car park for a block of apartments. Then the front of the house was down a footpath, with more houses opposite.

It's hard to tell how small and cramped it is from the photo.

There's a hell of a lot of houses there, and what looks like a hell of a lot of flat opposite? It looks very urban for a village.

I wouldn't. you'd be overlooked and if the whole development was designed for families, can you imagine noise there'd be from squealing kids or noisy families all. the. time. My idea of a nightmare.

Also I dislike townhouses anyway - the footprint is usually small so you only end up with extra bedroom space or say a lounge upstairs that I don't think works.

Have you been able to view one yet? Even if it's a shell or is this all off plan? We looked at a very similar development when we were moving as it ticked all the right boxes in terms of number of rooms for DC, space for a study etc and crucially....we could afford it. What we found when we viewed though was that the size of bedrooms etc was brilliant but the downstairs space was compromised so the house felt very top heavy. Although it worked on paper I just don't think it would have worked for us as a family where the majority of time we're in the kitchen and living room and not hanging out in our bedrooms. We ended up buying an older property which needs loads of work but has a much better layout for us.

Townhouses are very hard to sell on. I'd be worried about being stuck with it if decided to move on.

And no, with small kids, I wouldn't want the small cramped garden space.

I get that it's within budget, and looks nice and shiny, but you've got to think ahead about your exit plan. And once it's not new and shiny who will want it and why?

It's hard to tell from the picture how crowded it would be, but developments like that can be lovely for DC growing up if the neighbours are nice. We live on a development of about 70 houses and it has been fantastic for our DC, they can go and knock on friends' doors (not at the moment obviously) when they want to play or chat through the garden fence. Occasions like Halloween are always really good fun.
It sounds like there is good communal outdoor space so having a small garden won't be so much of a problem. I actually prefer it as I'm not into gardening and don't really want to pay for a gardener, so a small garden is great as the DC have a larger space just outside the front door.

@TracyTomatoes

Townhouses are very hard to sell on. I'd be worried about being stuck with it if decided to move on.

And no, with small kids, I wouldn't want the small cramped garden space.

I get that it's within budget, and looks nice and shiny, but you've got to think ahead about your exit plan. And once it's not new and shiny who will want it and why?

Not necessarily, it depends. Agree that in some areas where there is a lot of building going on, it can be harder to sell on, but some developments become very sought after.

But if you need the space and that the way you can afford it... The small overlooked garden is what makes it affordable, so if the space inside the house is the priority and the location is good, then sure I would buy.

I'd rather compromise on that than location and having a house that is too small.

How old are your dc? What level are the rooms situated? We ended up in a very old house with an upstairs lounge and a baby. Bloody nightmare tbh..

I'm in a Victorian version of one of these, and am looking to get away. I feel very close to the neighbours who love to have bonfires/fire pits. Even when it got to 35+ degrees in the summer, they were at the end of their garden firepit going, which meant we either had to have a baking hot house or a house that stank of smoke.

Not for me, but for some people it's not a massive issue.

We lived in something similar and although I liked the house itself, I hated the fact that the neighbours behind were so close. It felt like we had no privacy as it was possible to look into the other houses so easily.

You might also find that the garden and ground floor of the house are quite shady and dark, depending on just how close the other houses are.

Personally a big thing for us is privacy. We've turned down some beautiful houses in the past when we were searching, because they were overlooked. I'd compromise on lots of things but not that. But if it doesn't bother you, then it's fine.

The other thing about townhouses is that I don't think the layout is very sociable - you could end up on different floors and not really connecting as a family.

Personally, I would say no. Most definitely ☹️

Do you like it OP? What other properties are you considering?

I wouldn’t buy a townhouse, but plenty of people do, the stairs would put me off and a overlooked garden would be a dealbreaker for me.

Good luck in your search.

No.

I mean, yes, it would be a mistake.

SIL had a townhouse rooms are very tiny and difficult to all sit together in same room if you have guests (once you get furniture in and DC won’t be little for long).
I think I would go for less bedrooms and floors and bigger rooms if possible.

My worst nightmare is a new estate like that but others love them so it is very personal. The townhouse would be a complete deal breaker with young children as often have kitchen and living room etc on different floors which can be a nightmare when trying to cook and also ensure they don't kill themselves or each other.

I lived in a ground floor London flat when I was younger that had a first floor flat with a balcony above, it was mostly ok but did feel a bit weird when they were on their balcony at the same time as we were in the garden; more like being in a park than my garden! A lot will depend on who your neighbours are too to be honest, if they're anti social in any way it could be a nightmare, or it could be fine.

I wouldn't mind if it was just that someone could technically see/hear but wasn't noticeably in the space, if that makes sense. However I'm not overly sensitive about privacy, it matters more to some than others.