Is a 27 foot garden too small...

[BirdsRoundandRound]

...for a 5 bed house?

Trying to decide whether a rear extension is a good idea or potentially going to cause issues if we need to resell?

We have a mid-terraced 1930s house with a lean to (currently housing the washing machine). Its falling away from the house due to shallow foundations (a common issue in these houses) so we need to decide what to do to replace it. One option is a small utility extension, however to make the most of the downstairs space (currently a fairly cramped knocked through kitchen diner) I'd ideally like to do a 3m extension to give us more space, storage, downstairs loo and utility.

The loft is done so we have 5 bedrooms.

If we do the extension the garden will be only 27 ft. We would design it well so it has an outdoor dining area, room for bbq, garden equipment storage shed, but it's still small (and because of the way the gardens are we already have the smallest garden on our road.

Would this put you off buying? Is the garden too small for the amount of bedrooms?

With the cost of extensions seemingly v high at the moment due to supply issues, I'm wondering if moving to enable all we want is better, but obviously that's around £60k in fees and stamp duty down the drain (we're in London).

I think you're in a bit of a quandry and think you need to do what suits you rather than think about what might appeal to other people.

To be honest, your house sounds a bit unbalanced already - 5 bedroomswith a "fairly cramped knocked through kitchen diner" wouldn't appeal to me. For a 5 bedroomed house (which would be my ideal) I'd want a "matching" sized downstairs i.e. quite big.

However, if you extend and make the downstairs bigger, I wouldn't consider your house because of a 27 foot garden - thats not big enough for a 5 bed family house. If I didn't need a garden for a young family etc because my children have moved out etc, I wouldn't need a 5 bed house. I think you're in a difficult position therefore whichever way you go - the best thing you can do is what works for you.

Hmm I think you're right.

However we bought this house as is (and there were competing offers as we are v close to an outstanding primary) so I think in it's current form it does appeal to some. It's just now after living here I want a separate utility and more space. The garden didn't register as small when we moved but when working out where the extension will come to it really does!

Our kitchen diner is 18.4ft x 14.5ft so not that small, perhaps just badly laid out...

Lots of people don’t care about small gardens. You will lose some value from it but I think you’ll gain more from extension

It would probably depend on what else is available around you. I would prefer a smaller house with a bigger garden, but I imagine it depends a lot on family size and age of children. Could you improve your existing layout to gain more space?

It depends more on your perspective I think.

We have a family house with a postage stamp garden - but that suits us perfectly. We are not gardeners, just need somewhere to put a shed, a bit of lawn & a patio to sit out in summer.

Even if we moved to a much larger house we wouldn't suddenly be wanting more from the garden.

Desirable school catchment will probably cause many to over look downsides.

It’s only 36 foot now? So you’re just extending by nine feet? I think honesty it makes no difference it’s a tiny garden which ever way you cut it.

In a perfect world someone looking for five bedrooms wouldn't want a terrace with a small garden, but in London people take what they can afford.

The garden you propose sounds perfect for me now, but I wouldn't have chosen it when DC were young and now they're not, I don't need 5 bedrooms. That said, if I had to compromise on either the garden or the living space/bedrooms the garden might have lost out.

As always, the price will need to reflect what you're selling but if you're planning to live in it for more than a year or two do what works for you.

Hmm thanks for all the input, food for thought (even though I'm not really sure what to do still!)

In our area most Victorian terraced or semis have a small back yard. If you want a large garden you have to compromise on size of house. I would be happy with a large house and smaller manageable garden as long as there is room to sit outside.

Thanks Tulips.

I think the fact we have a 1930s perhaps makes people less willing to compromise as the expectation is that they have bigger gardens? And for most people victorian is more desirable (although we have lovely high ceilings and big rooms, just not as pretty outside!)

Gardens in London tend to be smaller so I'm not sure people would be so put-off. There are plenty of 5 beds round here with smallish gardens. For most people, more indoor space is important provided the outdoor space is well laid out. Are you near any parks? I think that makes a big difference to people with children.

The houses in the new development sites nearby have tiny gardens for their size so it's a something people may consider if the inside is nice enough.

Where I am in London there are lots of extended 5 bed houses with that size garden, it wouldn’t put me off.

We’ve just moved to a big house with a small garden and are extending. I have two DD’s 13 and 10 and neither of them used the garden much at the old house. They like to splash around in the paddling pool in the summer or sit out and read which they can do in the new garden still so a small garden wouldn’t necessarily put a family of older children off particularly if you were close to a park/green space.

We value the indoor space over the garden because if we go outside, it’s to go walking/play tennis/NT property rather than the garden. Also, with work and activities, a big garden would be hard to maintain unless we got someone to do it.

Yes we are near numerous really lovely parks so that's a good point.

This isn't our house, but is similar in age and size (apart from we have 2 beds in the loft) and to how it would be post extension, except our garden would be on one level and would be lawn (with beds either sides) with a nice dining area at the end of the garden.
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/113036474#/?channel=RES_BUY

And retrieve, we sound very similar in terms of ages of kids and activities that we do (our local park is great for tennis and football)

That garden doesn't seem that small. I've seen a lot smaller

@BirdsRoundandRound it really depends on where you are based. A lot of the responses see London as a monolith but it really isn't.

Personally a 30ft garden for a family home is too small (my 2bed garden flat in Ealing has a garden the same size and was perfect for a bbq but felt too small when toddler cousins came over at the same time) so it would be a no.
Now, married and looking for a family home we are only considering want 70-100ft (4 beds) so that we could extend if wanted.
Though if money were tight and there was ample green space in easy walking distance some might be okay with it.

Personally you are putting a lot of faith in that offsted rating. Maybe look at the prices of similar property in the area but in catchment for a lower rated school before investing as that could be your market.

Well wanna, the house I just linked to would fit that bill to be honest...

And there definitely are some houses with 70ft plus gardens round here, but not in the majority and they do seem to be attached to smaller houses

Fair enough -you know your area/market better than any of us but personally that is a yard not a family garden.

The interior is gorgeous though (know it's not your house)

No I appreciate your input as I assume your thought process will be shared by other buyers. I suppose it depends how much they want to live in the area to a certain extent.

I probably need to think about this in terms of us living in the house, but worry about spending more on the extension than is added to the value, and then making it harder to sell if we do need to...

Not really on topic, but surely that's not what's classed as a landscaped garden on a 900,000 pound house??

Honestly I think its fine! We're buying something similar and the layout really works for us as we will be permanently wfh so need the additional living space as offices. The garden isn't huge but personally I think its in keeping with expectations in a city.

Both ways are comprises (everyone has to compromise when buying!). I don’t personally think you can legislate for what a future buyer would choose, as a tiny garden won’t make it unsalable.

Decide which one YOU want, then cost up the extension less any increase in the value of your house afterwards, and compare to the stamp duty & moving costs & mortgage interest increase if you move.