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Original poster

Would you buy a semi with no side access to the back garden?

67 replies

stickygotstuck · 20/02/2021 11:58

Just that.

We just viewed a house that's pretty much perfect inside. All the room we need, nice garden, nice spot too.

However, it's a semi that has been extended right to the boundary line, in such a way that there is no access to the back garden via the side of the house.

No garage but two large sheds in the back garden for all the garden equipment etc.

We love it but we were after a detached house ideally, and this one is top of our budget. Would that be a compromise too far for you?

Background - We had a purchase fall through last October that had been dragging on since March because of lockdown, and very few suitable houses have come into the market since then in our area. Also, prices have gone up since our offer was accepted and we're close to being priced out altogether.

OP posts:

Nicklebox · 20/02/2021 12:08

We have a garage on the side of our house and the kitchen is extended behind the garage, so no accesss there, and no side access it is a problem when bringing garden waste through the house. Also the window cleaner has to bring ladders through to do the back windows. We have a straight run through the house between the front and back door, so this is possible. We didn't have any other choice as we needed more space - We have built bedrooms over the garage and could not afford anything else. I would consider all your other options and work out how to manage any problems having no side access would cause before you decide.

SheWouldNever · 20/02/2021 12:11

Depends how much you would use the side access? We’ve seen a lot of these in our house search, but we have a dog and are moving from a mid terrace and I just really wanted side access in our next house. The ones that have gone to the boundary have about a metre wider rooms on that side, though, so the trade off is more internal space.

user1471528245 · 20/02/2021 12:12

In theory once you have your gardening equipment in the garden storage then you should have no issue however your problem comes if you want to do any major work as everything will need to go through the house also where do your bins live, how do you clear any garden/lawn clippings etc. might be worth a chat with the current owners to see what they do

PresentingPercy · 20/02/2021 12:13

I wouldn’t be keen. Quite a few semis have access via the garage. This sounds over extended to me. Every single thing will have to go through the house. Bikes,garden equipment for the front garden, car maintenance equipment etc. Not for me but I understand your difficulty re prices.

GrumpyHoonMain · 20/02/2021 12:16

Mum had this and when they had major garden work done her house got ruined - had to replace flooring, repaint, etc due to heavy equipment falling or scuffing everything.

NiceTwin · 20/02/2021 12:19

We built an extension on the side return, meaning no access to the back.
Much safer for the kids/dogs and never proved to be a problem in all the years we lived there.
Sold within a week if going on the market, didn't put the buyers off.

NoParticularPattern · 20/02/2021 12:28

If I was originally looking for a detached house and had already compromised with a semi, I think compromising again with no outside access to the back garden would be a bit too far for me. I’m sure there are many hundreds of buyers out there for whom it would not pose a problem or they could live with the inconvenience, but for me it would be a no. General day to day living is unlikely to be the problem you face, but things like window cleaners, garden waste, any tradespeople needing to access the back etc would all need to some through the house. And you can almost always guarantee that they won’t be needing the access at the end of the driest summer we’ve ever experienced, they’ll probably need to be through when it’s the middle of December and it’s not stopped raining since August bank holiday.

Original poster

stickygotstuck · 20/02/2021 12:46

Thank you for your replies everybody.

If I was originally looking for a detached house and had already compromised with a semi, I think compromising again with no outside access to the back garden would be a bit too far for me

I'm leaning towards that way of thinking if I'm honest. We have an end terrace with a large garden now and it feels like trading down to a mid terrace in effect. Only much more expensive .

The falling through of the other house screwed us over. It was devastating as it happened on the day of exchange. And it took us months to find that one as it was.

I think we are getting a bit desperate now, sort of buying on the rebound!

OP posts:

Midlifephoenix · 20/02/2021 13:49

I have a detached and only access to garden is through the long brick shed attached to the side up to property line. It's fine - only time I use that access is for window cleaner and builder to save him (and my floors), but both could come through the house. If everything else is fine it would not stop me. It seems your compromise is a semi rather than detached, not the garden access.

Fortyfifty · 20/02/2021 13:52

Not without access through a garage at least.

HazelWong · 20/02/2021 13:56

It depends on your lifestyle, I guess. Side access was important to us as it's great not having to bring buggies and bikes through the house. We also have a gardener and it's nice not to have to be in or give them keys.

PresentingPercy · 20/02/2021 14:05

Side access can have a gate with a security code for safety. I wouldn’t want to be without side access or access through a garage.

Covidcorvid · 20/02/2021 14:06

It depends. If there was a garage where I could keep bikes then maybe. But I can’t be doing with bringing bikes in and out the house. As for gardening supplies it’s once in a blue moon and I could cope with carrying a bag of fertiliser or whatever through the house.

wonkylegs · 20/02/2021 14:09

My first house had this and it was fine, we had a garage at the front for bikes and bins but access for the garden was only through the house.
It did limit some things but we worked round maintenance etc. Some of it would depend on the route through the house. If you can go straight through easily so can lay plastic and bring ladders easily through if you need too that's ok but if you have to go through lots of rooms and turn corners that might be more of a pain.

user1471530109 · 20/02/2021 14:35

OP my last semi was like this. But there was access from the rear. Is that an option? Also, we didn't have a house on one side of us and we used to lift a fence panel (concrete posts) if we needed to lift through anything very large like a new sofa.

No side access was more of a pain than I realised tbh. It wouldn't stop me buying a house if it was perfect (lived in that house 10 years).

BeingATwatItsABingThing · 20/02/2021 14:42

I have this now. We have a garage though but our dining room is behind it so we can’t get straight through. It’s rarely an issue other than DH carrying the lawnmower through to cut our front grass (we want to block pave the front so shouldn’t be an issue for too long) or occasional garden waste.

We loved the house enough.

purplecorkheart · 20/02/2021 14:43

Probably no from me. We have three wheelie bins (must be wheelie bins per Council). I would not fancy dragging them in and out through my house. Also it is handy to get heating oil delivered as you do not have to be there. It is handy also to be able to lift heavy awkward shaped items into the back garden.

LimaFoxtrotCharlie · 20/02/2021 15:01

We have no side access and it’s rarely an issue. All bikes and bins in the garage at the front. No grass in the front garden so no need to bring the lawnmower through the house.
Occasionally I’ll take the garden waste wheelie bin through the kitchen to fill in the back garden, but that’s only once or twice a year.
Benefit is a 2 storey extension which is at least a metre wider inside due to building up to the boundary. I use the larger kitchen and bedroom every day so obviously that outweighs the very slight disadvantage of losing side access

SwedishEdith · 20/02/2021 15:23

Depends on your lifestyle, I think. I lived in a terraced house with no hall and what drove me up the wall was the front door opening and closing all the time as eldest was in and out to play or bring her bike/scooter through the house. But if no kids, bikes etc then may not be so much of an issue?

In an extended semi now with space to wheel the garden bin back and forth and we do do that quite a lot once spring starts.

Original poster

stickygotstuck · 20/02/2021 16:08

Thanks for the further responses. Opinion is divided then.

This house has no garage. Access to bikes is needed 3-4 times a week. Thinking of putting a bike storage thingy on the drive, which is quite big ti solve that particular issue.

But I agree with PP who said that access at least through the garage is as far as I'm prepared to compromise.

We also need to bring in and store sacks of hay and bedding for pets, and they are messy.

Our current house has access through the side and we use it constantly. It also has a garage.

Yep, it does seem a compromise too far. I think I'm going to cry for a bit

OP posts:

Flickoffboris · 20/02/2021 16:12

If you're end of terrace now, then you'll be downgrading, but for more money.

If all you could afford was mid terrace then of course you should go for it, but if you're after and can afford a detached then don't buy a terrace with a different name.

Mochudubh · 20/02/2021 17:40

I wouldn't. I live in a mid-terrace which was a compromise as we wanted at least a semi and it's a pain bringing stuff from back to front etc. However, there are only 6 in the block so I'll take the lawnmower etc round the end of the block rather than drag it through the house with grassy feet. It sounds as though that wouldn't be an option for you if there are no cut throughs nearby.

ToffeeNotCoffee · 20/02/2021 17:51

We purchased our semi detached house last year. It's been extended to the side boundary with a garage. So there's access to the house through that. A third bedroom has been added on top of the garage.

The bins are at the in front of the garage. I was miffed at first but I now realise how convenient it is.

Sorry OP. You've got needs i.e. straw for animals, bikes for kids etc that make the layout unworkable for you.

Africa2go · 20/02/2021 17:56

I think it depends.

I would because internal space is much more important to me than the odd inconvenience of bringing stuff through the house. We're just in the process of extending to the boundary - we have 2.75m of space so getting decent sized additional rooms by going out all the way.

If you want to hold off for detached, or a semi with rear access, you're likely to have to compromise on something else (internal space / location / size of garden maybe?).

highlandcoo · 20/02/2021 17:59

OP it depends what you're used to or were expecting I guess. In Glasgow and Edinburgh some of the nicest, most elegant and desirable houses and flats are in terraces and have no access to the back garden other than through the house. So it's just what some of us have always known and you find ways around it.

You need to weigh up whether you love the house enough to put up with the inconveniences; it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks.

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