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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:
Pallisers · 21/11/2021 23:47

@heregoes74

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
In fairness, you went to a viewing and didn't cop that the garden wasn't south-facing. The owners could have believed they had a south-facing garden too. The estate agents could have copied and pasted from a previous advert and forgot to leave out the garden bit.

Maybe they aren't cunts and people aren't lying. Maybe it was just a mistake. You made the same mistake.

safariboot · 21/11/2021 23:48

It's the most trivially easy thing to check. Look up the road on any map that shows it.

Unless you're talking about land was claimed as your garden that you don't even own or something, in which case you should have stated that in your OP.

MrsSkylerWhite · 21/11/2021 23:56

MNFHD

Your damned if you do and your damned if you don't OP most people on mumsnet seem to be looking for an argument. Take all the nasty comments with a pinch of salt.“

The only person using nasty, unnecessary language is OP.

Needdoughnuts · 22/11/2021 00:00

Why are you blaming the vendors? No estate agents have ever asked us which way our garden faces. If it's important then it's something they themselves will have checked/included. (With the standard disclaimer about details of course).

Cassandrainthenight · 22/11/2021 00:00

@Blondeshavemorefun

Almost 50
And lived in my house for 20yrs + 😂

Hahahaha 😂😂 well I guess the garden is at least not Northern facing, you would have noticed it being in permanent darkness in the winter...

Tip: if you see the sunrise more or less direct out of any windows, they are facing east, if you see the sunset out of any windows, they are facing west 😁

GreyhoundG1rl · 22/11/2021 00:01

Your damned if you do and your damned if you don't OP
Damned if you do or don't what?

RitaFires · 22/11/2021 00:30

I chose my house based on the living accommodation not the way the garden faces. I did check using suncalc and google maps before I bought but that was curiosity to know more about the house not a factor in why I wanted to buy it.

The house isn't suddenly defective because it points a different way than you thought, you can have fun selecting the best plants to suit the light your garden does get and figuring out the best place to put sitting areas.

mobear · 22/11/2021 00:38

DP and I checked every house we viewed with a compass on our phones. Many were listed incorrectly.

whynotwhatknot · 22/11/2021 00:38

you do know but you dont want to say?

im really confused now-as it goes i hate my south facing garden no shade unless very late the living room is at the back and its like a sunhouse

saraclara · 22/11/2021 00:38

@RitaFires

I chose my house based on the living accommodation not the way the garden faces. I did check using suncalc and google maps before I bought but that was curiosity to know more about the house not a factor in why I wanted to buy it.

The house isn't suddenly defective because it points a different way than you thought, you can have fun selecting the best plants to suit the light your garden does get and figuring out the best place to put sitting areas.

But the garden and the accommodation can be intertwined. If your main living room has patio doors to the garden and your garden is north facing, that's going to be a very dark and cool oom.
Mumstights · 22/11/2021 00:40

@heregoes74

I'm obviously really Fucking stupid as I just assumed the estate agents would verify what the vendors might have claimed, otherwise we could all just bloody lie about anything in our houses. Clearly I shouldn't have been so trusting 😱 (read : stupid) but also, I don't expect to be lied to or professionals to not question these things especially if it is part of the blurb to draw people in.

Nothing on documents we've received yet, won't get land registry docs for at least 6months apparently because of backlog

That’s not how it works.

Estate agents are representing the home owner so the estate agent have full responsibility for what they write.

Start a complaint. Get a deadlock letter. Go to property ombudsman.

Hoesbeforebroes · 22/11/2021 00:51

@RoRoYoYo

OP - I'm wondering if you have just moved near me! A house on our estate recently sold. It was advertised as having a south facing garden but in fact it faces north.
So the front garden faces south!

Typical estate agent smoke and mirrors.

Nasturs · 22/11/2021 01:15

My garden faces south and I love it. In summer I sit out under a parasol and pretend I'm baking on a beach.

FliesAreMad · 22/11/2021 01:19

It would have been easy to check, I have a compass app on my iPhone and I assume they’re available for androids too.

ulez · 22/11/2021 01:33

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Furries · 22/11/2021 01:36

@heregoes74

Thanks for the oh so many rude and condescending comments, can always rely on Mumsnet for that 🤔 I'll have to wait until the sun comes up in the morning to check direction, I'll be sure to update you all then 🤣
Sorry, I’ve only got as far as this in the thread, but couldn’t go any further before posting.

So, you’re pissed off that it’s not south facing. And wondering what recourse you have to complain. But you STILL don’t know what direction your garden faces?

Bloody hell, critical thinking seems to be very much in short supply nowadays.

Grayskelly · 22/11/2021 02:09

How could anyone buy a property without checking the orientation?
It affects everything - heating/cooling costs, natural light, the garden, how comfortable the rooms are. It's so easy to find out, impossible to change and important to know.
And yeah, if it's any variation of SW, you've lost nothing as it's probably as good or better anyway.

BarkminsterBlue · 22/11/2021 06:31

@ulez

May not add value per se. But much easier to sell / very much desired in my experience. I have my first home with a SF garden and wow what a difference. Can dry clothes in the line outside in the winter and have to stay under an umbrella in the summer as it’s scorching for 12 hrs a days. Would miss more than the house.
I really don’t understand the fixation with south-facing gardens. Scorching for 12 hours a day in summer sounds absolutely unbearable.
Blondeshavemorefun · 22/11/2021 06:31

[quote Cassandrainthenight]@Blondeshavemorefun

Almost 50
And lived in my house for 20yrs + 😂

Hahahaha 😂😂 well I guess the garden is at least not Northern facing, you would have noticed it being in permanent darkness in the winter...

Tip: if you see the sunrise more or less direct out of any windows, they are facing east, if you see the sunset out of any windows, they are facing west 😁[/quote]
Sun rises out the back garden and sets out the front so garden is east facing ?

CellophaneFlower · 22/11/2021 06:44

Wow. Did sarcasm pass a lot of you by? Really not sure being told by almost every poster how stupid she is is helpful at all... especially since she's admitted herself she's made a mistake Confused

OP I'd be annoyed too. I always double checked the garden orientation before I viewed each house, but that was mainly to check they hadn't exaggerated a little in their description. I certainly wouldn't have expected them to totally lie (although obviously don't know how wrong they were in your case).

DaphneduM · 22/11/2021 08:15

Our garden faces south, and near the house it's way too hot to sit on the terrace apart from first thing in the morning. It's saving grace is that there are some very tall trees at the back boundary which give a nice lot of shade to sit in. I love our front, north facing garden - have had great fun making a woodland/wild type garden. My daughter lives in a small modern house with a south facing garden and the heat is relentless - our grandson's nursery is so hot it needs aircon on. Did we ever find out from the OP which way her garden actually faces?!!!!!

NovemberNovemberDarkNights · 22/11/2021 08:27

I viewed a house recently. Didn't 'love' the house, but LOVED the huge oak tree, but the north facing, Astro turfed garden... bit of a give away that f'all grows!

agent & home owner tried to convince me that it gets lots of sun in Summer, but on the sunny October day, it was dark, gloomy & miserable. Yeah, no thanks all the same!

Darkpheonix · 22/11/2021 08:33

I am guessing it's slightly off south, given the op refusing to say. You don't need a compass or the sun to come up.

I would also guess the estate already thinks she is 'one if those people' already.

AngelsWithSilverWings · 22/11/2021 09:04

I never understand the negativity around north facing gardens. I had a south facing before and now I have north facing. The only difference in my experience is that for a north facing garden you have your patio at the back or down the side and for south you have it right outside the house.

We get sun all day somewhere in our current ( not very big) garden whereas in our old south facing garden we lost the sun much earlier due to the positioning of other houses around.

We have a south facing balcony on the front of the house but the heat is unbearable out there in the summer so we never use it.

Chewbecca · 22/11/2021 09:06

My garden is NW, possibly more NWW. It’s fan shaped and a decent size though and the sun / shade ratio is ideal. We have differing areas of sun and shade from morning through to sunset. People discounting or de-valuing a house due to garden direction are missing out on some gems.