New(ish) builds with tiny gardens

[surreygirl1987]

Help! We are trying to find a house to buy and I'm getting in a bit of a spin over it. Despite having a budget of £640k, we are really struggling to find a decent 3/4 bed house with a garden in our target location (not London). The only properties that we like that are big enough that we can afford and which are in the school catchment area we want are (almost) new builds. The houses are lovely, modern, spacious... but the gardens are practically non existent. I have two little children and really wanted them to have a decent garden for them to grow up in. Our 4 priorities are catchment, house space, garden space and parking (in that order) but nothing ticks all the boxes in our budget and many only 2 out of 4. We plan to live in our next house at least for their primary school years. Has anyone bought a house like this with just a tiny patch of grass for the garden and loved it? Regretted it? Not sure whether to offer on the one we saw a few days ago or just wait it out and hope something comes up (we have sold and have moved into rental to break the chain). Many thanks.

Are there any parks nearby?

How tiny is tiny? What could you get in the space?

You can put requirements on here for a wider search and suggestions...

Have you considered something smaller 100-200k under your budget with a larger garden and room to extend.

A small garden would be a deal breaker for me unfortunately.

We’ve just moved out of a new build house that’s as you describe - it was great inside (more bathrooms than people, lovely living space) but tiny overlooked garden with zero shade or space for entertaining. Our new house is 1970s, needs decorating and only has one bathroom (no more en-suite waaah) but has a lovely garden. Have got chickens and collecting a puppy on Thursday! I couldn’t do another summer in that house, with no shade or space to sit and relax in the garden.

Thanks for the quick replies!

We are glued to Rightmove, @jackstini so won't have missed anything but thanks for the offer. Garden space of the one we saw the other day... hmmm how to describe... smaller than the footprint of the house itself but not as small as some others we have seen which were literally a 2m strip of AstroTurf. This one you could at least fit a swing and a couple of deckchairs into. That's pretty much it though. Not big enough to kick a football around, for instance.

@partypoooooper thanks, yes we were thinking about that, but the problem is because of our mortgage it wouldn't actually make a huge difference to how much available cash we would have. Obviously we would have a bit more as we would need a smaller deposit ... but it wouldn't be enough to do major work on thr property and because we have two children in full-time nursery (costing an absolute fortune!) it would be years (until they're in school) until we'd actually be able to start saving for an extension. Argh it's impossible isn't it!

@whattodo121 glad you are happier in your new place!! I think I could end up feeling like you about it - not so much for myself but for the kids. They deserve a place to run around in. There is a recreation ground across the road actually, but it would be years until they're old enough to go and use it safely on their own. I guess maybe this is the kind of house that might be more suited to us when they're teenagers. Thanks.

@bekindorbesilent there is a recreation ground across the road actually! But they're currently a baby and a toddler so it would be years until I could send them over to play without my supervision. I like the idea of the children roaming round our garden for hours on end the way I used to as a kid but there's just no space to do that in this one.

The garden was a deal breaker for me. I’ve always said - you can change most things but you can’t change the garden size and the road the house is on.
I also have two small DC and always imagined them running around a big garden with a swing, slide etc.
We eventually compromised on the house (total renovation) but have an amazing garden

Yes, that's exactly what I have said in the past as well! I guess I'm just feeling desperate as we've been looking for months and found nothing. We did put a very lowball offer a couple of months ago on a lovely property that ticked every box but (unsurprisingly) it was rejected (though still hadn't sold actually). Hmmm I think I need to decide whether to wait it out or what to compromise on. I don't think the garden is it though. Thanks!

Roaming around a garden for hours on end? I can't imagine that, not even in one 100ft.
Are there actual neighbourhoods in your preferred area that have big gardens?
Frankly, I've found a small garden is fine for very young kids, but when they can kick a football or use a cricket bat, no garden is big enough (my last was about 40ft wide and 80ft long, and I think my son and his friends broke six windows over the years).
If you want acres, you are going to have to go rural.

The houses with teeny gardens are usually also very close to neighbours and over looked. For that money that would be a deal breaker.

We've went for a much bigger garden and compromised with an unattractive dormer bungalow with surprisingly spacious rooms. No regrets.

We were in the same position as you and the garden was our deal breaker. We put our old house on the market a year ago, sold immediately and then couldn't find anywhere. At the end of March we fit found a house with a big enough garden (narrow, but around 25 metres long). We broke the chain too and waited - I'm so glad we did. We moved in last week and seeing my boys playing for hours in the garden makes the waiting and stress all worth it. We have a park across the road and another a few minutes away, but they cant go on their own. Our compromise was no private parking and an end terrace rather than detached or semi, and I dont regret it a bit.

We rejected many otherwise perfect houses because the gardens were too small. In the end we started looking at different areas, and ended up buying in a village instead of the town we had planned to. I’m so glad we did! It’s all turned out really well. I love our large garden so very much, and this area has turned out to be lovelier than I could have possibly imagined. So my tip would be widen your search area. Consider other school catchments.

@livingintheclouds really? My entire childhood was spent in the back garden and it certainly wasn't 100ft! My almost 3 year old also practically lives in our current garden at the moment and I had hoped for him to have an outdoorsy childhood like mine. It's absolutely not acres we are after - just a normal sized garden, big enough to kick a ball around in and have a swing set in, like the garden i grew up in (which was much smaller than yours- 80ft, wow!).

@OUB1974 that does sound like us. I think I'll probably always feel guilt on some level if I don't give me kids a reasonable garden to play in, now that I think about it. I'd probably rather have a slightly smaller house rather than feel guilty every day! Yes - the recreation ground across the road was swaying me but that wouldn't really be useful until they're much older. I guess the house we are looking at might be a good house when they're teenagers but not before.

@ewwsprouts you're right. And I would be delighted if we could find a bungalow like yours in our price range! The market is just ridiculous right now.

Thanks everyone. My husband and I talked for a long time last night and decided if we get desperate, we will go with a new build style house - they seem to be popping up fairly regularly - but we will hold fire for at least another few weeks to see if anything else comes up (or maybe the ones we like get reduced!). Appreciate the points made.

We bought a house with a small garden and I've regretted it ever since. It's 11m x 11m but looks short and wide due to it being on a slight incline. House is a 5 bed detached and it was the one thing we compromised on. It's more the fact that the bungalows at the back of us are really close, rather than the size of it. We looked at one with a similar sized garden that backed on to a golf club and that felt ok. The kids have enough space for toys though, and we have a park 5 minutes away, plus it's south facing. I do have a habit of looking on Rightmove though. It's so difficult when you're under pressure to buy!

A park is probably more sociable and if well maintained will have better kit for the kids. We had (and got rid of) a swing set. If the garden is big (and not swampy) enough for a slide and a trampoline and possibly somemud that keeps my two happy for hours and we get out to places with proper "big" slides fairly often too!

Hi OP, IME most new build developments have at least a handful of plots with decent sized gardens - it just depends of what your budget is, what part of the country you're in and how early you get in (in terms of the development process).

We're moving to a new build in a lovely village in semi-rural SE this Autumn, 4 bed detached with a 300sqm garden for within your budget. It's a slightly smaller development than the mega Redrow/Barratt estates going up nearby - we looked at pretty much every new build development within a 5 mile radius but they were all concrete jungles with houses built on top of each other, no green space and very few trees etc.

We have a tiny garden at the moment; it's overlooked, v sloping/lumpy, not great for 2.5 year DD and pretty rubbish for entertaining. A decent sized garden was a big factor in us deciding to move; we also have a lovely park around the corner at the moment but it's not the same as DC being able to potter or run in and out while your cooking dinner, etc.

What part of the country are you in? If you're near me I can probably find you something

Wow!! Sounds like you've got a great one there!!
We are relocating to Hampshire... and thanks for the offer but if the properties are on RightMove we will have seen it. The only 'new' newbuild developments in the school catchment are too expensive for what we want unfortunately. We are limited by school catchment areas (two schools we would consider) and commutes, so looking in specific areas - otherwise we would have got somewhere good by now. Achool catchments are annoying! I've even tried leafletting - had one call of someone who said if their buyer pulls out they'll call us but otherwise I guess we keep looking! Hey ho.

We bought our first house in March after months of searching. I would have loved a newish build but as you say, the gardens are ridiculously small.

In the end we fell in love with a 1920s mid terrace even though it has one fewer bedroom than we need - but it has a massive, gorgeous garden. We love it and because the was cheaper than planned we are in a position to convert the loft and get the extra bedroom we need.

Good luck with your search, it's totally worth waiting for the right property to come along.

We bought a detached 1960s house and really recommend this type of house. Big rooms, good layout, decent garden front and back and great drive on a cul de sac very topsy and Tim so not the kerb appeal of Victorian etc but perfect for families.

Surely a garden the same size as the footprint of a 3-4 bedroom house is big enough for the things you've listed? Obviously you can't if it's the size of an alley, but in proportion to a house of that size should be fine?

You should still have space for a small table & chairs, a swing, some borders/patches for growing veg with the children, and then a little green open space to play ball games or paddling pool in summer.

You really don't need a big space for ball games, you just have to learn to be a little more thoughtful.

A couple of primary aged or younger children who are only playing with each other, or you, don't need a big space for ball games. Then going to a park to run/race around is also more special than if it's the same as what they can do at home (which gives you more tricks up your sleeve to entertain them!).

We went for a small garden and the perfect house, currently one nearly 3 year old and no regrets. Its... argh, 21 metres squared? South facing. Has a swing/slide set, raised beds including a veg patch, a shaded area with a table and umbrella for adults/eating meals out and a sand pit/water table. We couldn't fit a trampoline, we can fit a small paddling pool. We've obviously devoted it entirely to our toddlers whims, but for us the trade off has been worth it. We're on a quiet cul de sac, less than 5 minutes walk to two schools we want her to go to, loads of the kids from the neighbourhood seem to play out. We're walking distance to parks and v central. It is an urban vibe, lots of bike carriers etc etc. I did want a bigger garden, but equally I know we'd struggle to maintain it. What we have I think is the perfect size for now. When she gets bigger, 8-12, I imagine she'll be out playing with her friends in front of the house, and beyond that I think she'll rather our location than if we'd moved to suburbia to get the big garden.

I will say I probably wouldn't have bought our house with its current garden - we did the buy and old house and extend trick but ended up extending more than we thought. However, the house is perfect, the location is perfect, and the garden is probably better suited to the reality of our lives than the fantasy in my head.

@user27424799642256 yeh the house we saw the other day is a 3 story house so the actual house footprint is quite small. The lounge is very small actually. Another downside, but not a dealbreaker on its own.

@cindarellasbelly I thought you meant for a moment that is was 21 metres in both length and width and thought whoahh! But now I realise what squared means 🙈 Yes this one is probably a similar size