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Original poster

Misled about south facing garden

279 replies

heregoes74 · 21/11/2021 20:20

Hmmm... Just wondering if anyone has any advice as to what I should do (if anything) about being sold a house with a south facing garden but now we are living in the house it's very quickly dawned on me that it's not in fact a south facing garden 🤔And the compass confirms this.

Does having a south facing garden add to the value of a house (I would have thought so) so should I contact estate agents, or will they think I'm nuts. Hate the thought we have been lied to. Yes, we didn't take a compass with us and check when we viewed, on the 3 viewings it was summer and bright and sunny. Gah, it doesn't spoil the garden but does annoy me.

OP posts:
D4NS · 21/11/2021 20:41

🤣🤣🤣

Contact the Estate Agent and say what? They’ll claim it was a genuine error and remind you it’s completely on you to confirm any details in an advert.

It would have taken less than 60 secs to check on Google maps…

usee · 21/11/2021 20:42

@worriedandannoyed

A south facing garden gets sun all day yes but I don't think this adds value AT ALL to a house. Most people want some kids of shade so as long as it's not north facing (and this is actually fine if you have a long garden as you still get sun at the bottom) I think it'll be fine. Most people don't want to sit in full sun in the garden do they?
Agree with this, we have a south facing garden (bought by accident as we didn't really care) and HATE it! The back of the house is always blistering in summer (even with curtains shut all day) and we can't sit in the garden without a gazebo as it is too hot, even then we have to chase around for a tiny bit of shade. Awful, will never get a south facing garden again
GameofPhones · 21/11/2021 20:42

South facing is not good in a small garden. It gets scorched on a really hot day, impossible to sit in comfortably without shade.

Zarene · 21/11/2021 20:43

Estate agents are pretty much allowed to say anything, as they're just repeating what the seller tells them.

That's why you have a lawyer.

I've never checked directions with a compass, but I'm another one surprised that you never looked at a map.

veryouting2021 · 21/11/2021 20:43

OP you're not going to get any documents saying which direction the garden faces in, even when the LR backlog clears (ours took 12 months to be online).

Which way does your compass say it faces? There's quite a bit of difference between it being say SSW, or it being East facing.

Itsmemaggie · 21/11/2021 20:43

My iphone has a compass app as standard

Pinkorchide · 21/11/2021 20:44

Never assume EA details are correct. I would always look at a map before even viewing a property for all sorts of reasons. If you’re using a compass to confirm it’s not south facing I would deduce that it’s not that far wrong? So if it’s just the fact that you’ve been lied to that annoys you and you can live with it as is I would just leave it. Can’t imagine what you’d gain by saying anything.

LuluBlakey1 · 21/11/2021 20:44

Our garden is south west facing and gets lots of sun- we checked on the map before we bought it. It still has one shady border. What direction does yours face and how big is it?

usee · 21/11/2021 20:44

Oh and sorry but if orientation of the garden were really important to you, you were really naive not to check. Most phones have a compass on them these days!

LaurieSchafferIsAllBitterNow · 21/11/2021 20:45

where does it face then??
I mean it cannot surely be too far off the mark unless you have no knowledge whatsoever of how the sun moves across the sky. You had three visits on sunny days?

Titsywoo · 21/11/2021 20:46

Agree with this, we have a south facing garden (bought by accident as we didn't really care) and HATE it! The back of the house is always blistering in summer (even with curtains shut all day) and we can't sit in the garden without a gazebo as it is too hot, even then we have to chase around for a tiny bit of shade. Awful, will never get a south facing garden again

Same I prefer west facing as you get sunsets the back of the house doesn't get too hot.

thedarkling · 21/11/2021 20:46

If I liked the house I wouldn't give a rat's ass which way the garden was facing. It's the uk, nobody gets any sun anyway.

Which was is the garden actually facing?

Original poster
heregoes74 · 21/11/2021 20:46

Thanks everyone, message received loud and clear, I guess I just hate the fact that some people are utter cunts and can lie about these things. #noideawhythissurprisesmereally

OP posts:
GerbilCurse · 21/11/2021 20:47

We have a south facing garden, personally I'd prefer a west facing one so you get the evening sun. It's something that's so easy to check, I wouldn't ever go by the estate agents description. In their world they'd describe a garden as low maintenance when in reality it's a solid concrete yard

SickAndTiredAgain · 21/11/2021 20:48

What direction does it face?

I don’t really know why you’d need a compass, surely you looked at the house on a map? Or just at the sun when you were there?

Sturmundcalm · 21/11/2021 20:49

think the value thing partly depends where in the UK you are... in scotland i wouldn't buy a house with a north facing garden for anything! agree with everyone else though that since you were able to visit/see the house and garden, and had the option to look at google maps, etc that you are really unlikely to have any kind of comeback.

ShaunaTheSheep · 21/11/2021 20:49

If you are going to moan, at least provide the facts Wink
How were you misled?
Which way is it actually facing?

KaleJuicer · 21/11/2021 20:51

Unless the compass indicator on the map on the land registry drawings was wrong you’ve got no recourse as most people can figure out where north is by looking where the sun is so it wouldn’t be held as being deceptive (sorry that reads really snarky but I can’t think of a nice way to put it!)

Grida · 21/11/2021 20:52

Estate agents aren’t impartial. They work for the seller, not the buyer. They make money from the sale which is why they have a reputation for bending the truth.

A580Hojas · 21/11/2021 20:53

I'd never buy a house with a small south facing garden, and would think hard about buying a house with a larger south facing garden.

West is best, imo.

Softwonder · 21/11/2021 20:54

In terms of desirability it goes South, West, East, North. However especially if it's quite a small garden, south can be really overpowering in summer. Best is west in my opinion. Mine is south east and has great sun in the morning but we lose all sun I the summer at about 7pm in a small area in the far corner, then that's it.

Fastforwardtospring · 21/11/2021 20:55

Which way does it face? Might be time of year. We have south facing garden but we moved in the winter, I remember panicking about little sun, but the way our house is positioned and trees means when the winter sun is low in the sky we only get a bit of sun, come spring and it’s very sunny.

TheAntiGardener · 21/11/2021 20:55

My north-facing garden really is postage stamp size and the house is tall - at this time of year it is in full shade. But even my garden gets a reliably sunny spot for most of the day in summer. Last year I did plenty of sunbathing.

Op, I think you’re fixating on this as part of the general stress around buying a house and worrying if the decision is the right one. I had a similar thing with obsessing over the size of certain rooms, which were smaller than in my previous house. I don’t think about it at all now. You’ve seen that your garden is lovely and sunny, so I think you will also get over the fact that it’s not the orientation you believed it was. As for value, I’m not sure it makes a huge difference. On my street, there isn’t much difference in value between the two sides. The houses opposite are worth a bit more, but then they are also slightly bigger and so are the gardens - any premium for the south-facing garden is very small.

Takedogshithome · 21/11/2021 20:58

Agree with this, we have a south facing garden (bought by accident as we didn't really care) and HATE it! The back of the house is always blistering in summer (even with curtains shut all day) and we can't sit in the garden without a gazebo as it is too hot, even then we have to chase around for a tiny bit of shade. Awful, will never get a south facing garden again

See you have just described my perfect garden.

Which way does it face?

tupperwaretowers · 21/11/2021 20:58

What direction does it actually face?

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