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).

Yes hungry, we have 2 kids with their own bedrooms and me and DH each also have our own office space (Dh's doubles as guest room) and it has been an absolute life saver the last 18 months...

The way I see the garden is similar to this www.flickr.com/photos/gardenbuilders/12971524785/
Although I think our garden would be a bit longer

Hi Birds. We have a four bedroom with 26 ft garden (London, close to tube and desirable school). It’s fine for us and not out of the ordinary for our area. Have you tried planning out a 2 meter extension? That extra meter and a cleverly planned garden without too many beds might make all the difference to the balance.

I think the problem is what makes your address desirable is being in a good catchment area for a primary school so your market is people with young children who will want a garden they can play in. A 3m patio with a 27 foot lawn is not too bad, there is room just about to kick a ball or have play equipment. If you try to squeeze a terrace and a lawn into 27 feet, there isn't enough lawn for playing.

Then add in the fact that your house is 5 bedrooms so your market is larger/blended families. Having 4 bedrooms with a big master bedroom and en suite is probably more desirable than having 5 bedrooms squeezed into the same space for an average 2 parents/2 kids family.

I think you need to look very carefully at what else is available in your neighbourhood/catchment area. If there are plenty of similar sized homes with larger gardens, you may struggle to sell.

Looks fine to me. In certain areas of London the gardens aren't huge, but that one linked looks better than I'd imagined from your description.

Quite normal for London. Most of my neighbours have extended and have five-bed houses with kitchen extensions and a garden of that size, or quite a bit smaller. It wouldn’t suit me, though. My garden is 30ft with no extension, so the neighbours’ are quite a bit smaller.

People generally don’t have lawns at all. I meant to add.

@chesirecat99 the two beds in the loft could easily be combined to make a big master if someone wanted. It actually suits us better to have them separate as the third original bedroom is a single, so would make it harder to have people to stay. The rooms are all pretty decent sized doubles and our master is on the middle floor, which granted doesn't have an en-suite but the main bathroom is lovely with a roll top bath and separate shower so I prefer it to the smaller shower room upstairs.

Like you say, it's individual choice and some will be put off. Our lawn will remain the same size as it is now pretty much, and not huge but big enough for my son to have a bit of a kick around/practice dribbling

I think that's fine and I normally like a big garden. It suits the house

Where I live in the SE new build houses don’t have large gardens. My two sons played in my tiny garden and I hear neighbours children playing in their small gardens. We do have parks nearby. As soon as they became teens they didn’t step out in the garden, preferring to play tennis at the park, 5 a side at the leisure centre or cycling. For the number of days we get to sit out in U.K. gardens I think a large garden is over rated. We do have excellent schools near us.

It would put me off...we turned down around 12 houses due to garden size...but they all sold to other people so I think you'd just be reducing the pool of buyers. A lot my friends have compromised on the garden to get a bigger house at a more affordable price, so I think it's quite common. It's small either way so I dont think the reduction would male too big a difference.

Looking at the "similar properties" on the link you posted, all the other properties have 50-70 foot gardens, so your garden is already on the small side for the area.

There is an identical house for sale on the same street (and same side of the road) as the link you posted but without the extension. It's on for £70k less. I would guess that the extension, the new kitchen and garden landscaping cost more than that so the vendors of the house in your link won't recoup their costs.

[quote BirdsRoundandRound]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[/quote]
Is that garden the size you'll have after the extension, or before you build? Because it's perfectly average for London, I wouldn't be at all taken aback by it.

Yes it’s fine for London. A lot of the market there is dominated by European Asian and African buyers who prefer smaller entertainment or practical gardens, so you will find a buyer.

Sorry, it says post extension right there...

I’m in London and am surrounded by 5 bed family houses with gardens the size you posted, they are mostly worth £1.5m plus so enough people must like them!! (and the local schools and amenities).

I think the extension will be worth more (both to you and in money terms) than the extra garden space. However do consider if a 2m extension might do it. And which way do you face - the design you posted is for N facing gardens where the other end gets all the sun.

Thanks @minipie reassuring!

Our garden is east facing so back of house gets sun in morning and end of garden from early afternoon onwards, so the dining area would be in the sun.

It will make the property harder to sell, buyers want decent sized gardens in a large family house.

The house sounds really top heavy, which I personally dislike, so it sounds like you do need more room downstairs.

The garden is already small, so using up more to increase the downstairs footprint probably won't put off future buyers, but will improve your enjoyment of the house.

@Roselilly36

It will make the property harder to sell, buyers want decent sized gardens in a large family house.

No, not in London. Most London gardens are small in the first place. As pp said, five-bed houses with extensions and a small back garden or yard are common where I am. Personally, I’d rather a smaller house with larger garden, but they are hard to find.