How important is side access?

[Starseeking]

I'm currently buying a semi-detached house at the top of my budget.

It is the standard 1930's semi, so there are 2 double bedrooms and one single, plus a family bathroom upstairs. There is also a garage behind the house, plus a 70ft garden.

There's about 2.5-3m (measured with my eyes!) of space at the side of the house, in which I'd want to build both a double storey plus rear extension to create an extra bedroom and shower room upstairs, then granny annex, utility and kitchen/diner downstairs.

To maximise the house footprint, I'd need to go up to the boundary, but feel uncomfortable about losing the side access to the garden to do so. Am I being irrational, or is side access really important?

It can be. My previous next door neighbour did similar and lost access to the their garden. It wasn’t a problem because we all got along nicely but if they needed work done to the garden they came through ours with equipment, etc. Didn’t happen very often but you have to get on with your neighbours.

IMO it is. If you are doing any extensive work to the garden and need to take a load of garden rubbish to the tip you would have to carry it through the house.

For me it would be a dealbreaker. I wouldn't want the inconvenience of having no side access. It's so useful not to have to trek things (or people) through the house, or beg neighbours to allow access for bigger items or gardening work etc.

Personally I wouldn’t do it, we no longer have side access due to an extension (before we bought the house) and it’s a pain and we have a road at the back so have access to the back garden that way but it’s still a pain eg taking grass cuttings from back to front for the garden collection,

It's a big one for me too!
We use it for pram, bins, big items come through the back doors as bigger, window cleaner, any garden parties.

You’re at the top of your budget but have money for an extension? Why not use it to buy a bigger house?

I forgot to mention that the door neighbour has already extended up to the boundary, so they may already have been using this house for their side access and unlikely to agree a party wall, I suspect.

Thanks all, this is confirming what I already thought. I have side access now, and it gets used for bins once a week only. As DC get older (currently under 6), this is likely to increase with bikes and sports gear.

So frustrating, as this property is really the maximum I can afford following a relationship breakdown, but I need more space to accommodate my DC, parents and nanny.

Taking everything through the house is a pain, but I don't understand how you have a garage at the back of the house. Is there rear access? If so that's a different matter entirely.

But a side extension of that size will cost many tens of thousands. So can’t you add that to your budget and keep looking.

So frustrating, as this property is really the maximum I can afford following a relationship breakdown, but I need more space to accommodate my DC, parents and nanny.

Surely if you have the extra for the expensive extension plans you have some room to increase your budget?

@MooseBeTimeForSummer

You’re at the top of your budget but have money for an extension? Why not use it to buy a bigger house?

Im planning to do the extension in 2 years time when I've saved up enough money for it. Before that, we just have to manage, and it's going to be tight.

Have you costed that extension? If you can save that amount in a couple of years you must earn a fortune.

The house plan looks like this attached, so the garage is sort of to the side, sort of to the rear of the house, but there is no access to the garage from the back of the house (other gardens back onto it).

@HasaDigaEebowai

Have you costed that extension? If you can save that amount in a couple of years you must earn a fortune.

I'd like to get away with spending £150k on the extension, if I can, but again that's tight.

I'd like to get away with spending £150k on the extension, if I can, but again that's tight.

And you'll be able to save that in just 2 years?

My neighbour built a two storey extension up to the fence, on one side of his house, and on my side put a cover over the walkway and uses it as storage space. When he had a tree!! delivered he asked if he could bring it through my side entrance and over my fence. I agreed, but I do wonder what would happen if a fire broke out. He has now got a 6 bedroom house for a family of four.

@Whinge

I'd like to get away with spending £150k on the extension, if I can, but again that's tight.

And you'll be able to save that in just 2 years?

I actually just wanted to know about whether lack of side access to the garden would be an issue for people, but in answer to your query, yes.

@eddiemairswife

My neighbour built a two storey extension up to the fence, on one side of his house, and on my side put a cover over the walkway and uses it as storage space. When he had a tree!! delivered he asked if he could bring it through my side entrance and over my fence. I agreed, but I do wonder what would happen if a fire broke out. He has now got a 6 bedroom house for a family of four.

Is the walkway on your property, or theirs? I'm confused about how the rights of that would work.

Your finances are no concern of ours but to save £150k in two years you must have £105k of spare gross income per annum (which is a great position to be in) in which case are you not better extending your mortgage borrowing now and buying something more suitable from the outset.

I'm mid-terrace, and the garden is only accessible through the house. I would not choose that again.

I'd always keep side access just in case of emergencies and for an additional escape route.

The walkway is his, between his house and my carport and garage.

Dealbreaker for me, we use our side access all the time, bins, bikes, garden waste, whenever we need anything large delivered to the kitchen (eg appliances), deliveries of logs, stuff for the garden (bags of compost, plants etc), we keep camping and other outdoor stuff in the shed and take that to the car through the side passage. Also if you have a front lawn you'd need to cart your lawnmower through the house every time you wanted to cut it.

@HasaDigaEebowai

Your finances are no concern of ours but to save £150k in two years you must have £105k of spare gross income per annum (which is a great position to be in) in which case are you not better extending your mortgage borrowing now and buying something more suitable from the outset.

The mortgage company have stress tested that my monthly payments might double if interest rates rise, and have said they will only lend up to a certain amount. To be honest I'm actually fine with the amount they've offered, as I'll have an eye watering mortgage that I don't even want to think about as it is.

Had to split equity house proceeds in half with EXDP, hence not having as much disposable cash as I should have for the deposit, or for an extension or for a larger house at this time. This property is the largest I can buy in the area I want to move to. Anything bigger, I'd have to compromise on location, which I'm not prepared to do.

I did the same in my last house. The only reason I would have kept side access was to get the garden waste wheelie bin through. Not a good enough reason, so the bins went on the front drive (behind a bush)

I did have a second front access door to the side utility room so muddy dogs and shoes came in that way.