Would you buy a house which is overlooked?

[Whereareyousunshine]

Viewed a property which ticks every box apart from the garden which is massively overlooked by one house at the side. Due to the angle at which the neighbour’s house has been built, I’m pretty sure they can see into the garden from their downstairs and upstairs windows. There is a 6ft fence up which is in excellent condition but the neighbouring house feels so close due to the small size of the garden. It doesn’t bother me so much as I don’t really go out in the garden but does bother my OH plus I worry about selling further down the line. This will be our long term family home but I guess you never know what happens and we may sell sooner than 15-20 years.

Part of the issue is we are very spoilt by our current garden which isn’t overlooked at all and is about 3 x the size. Do we accept this isn’t the house for us and move on? Or is this something to get over if the rest of the house suits our longer term needs? Thank you ☺️

It would be a big no for me, if a 6ft fence isn’t giving privacy I don’t know what will, I would hate that,

You're very lucky if your current garden isn't overlooked at all - most gardens can be seen from neighbouring upper floors.

If it's going to bother your OH it's best not to buy as it will be a constant irritant for him every time he goes in the garden.

I wouldn't mind being overlooked by 1 or 2 houses. We turned down a house recently as it was overlooked by several houses and that felt too much. But just a neighbour or two I would think is ok.

Most gardens are overlooked by someone so it wouldn’t bother me in the slightest.

It depends on your situation.

personally if everything else was what I was looking for & the garden was a decent size then being overlooked would be my compromise.

there's always a compromise.

how quickly I would be that pragmatic would depend on how many houses were coming on the market. Around here there's next to nothing coming on the market, if it otherwise ticked all my boxes I'd snap it up now, but a year ago I'd have been hanging out for somewhere not overlooked.

No I wouldn’t, when we moved I rejected many properties the moment I stepped into the garden.

If my current house had a large garden I wouldn't want to move somewhere with a much smaller one.

Most gardens are overlooked in some way.

Sometimes it is possible to screen sometimes it isn't.

Sometimes if you screen you block out the sun to your own garden.

The biggest issue with being overlooked is not being overlooked per se, but whoever is doing the overlooking.

So for example if you have reasonably normal and respectful neighbours they will not want to stand in the windows for hours at a time arms akimbo staring at you and into your space. And may be slightly embarrassed at the fact they can actually see into your area.

OTOH there are plenty of people who seem to think that staring at other people on their property for hours at a time is a legitimate sport and don't seem to care that much whether they are seen doing it or not. Unfortunately you don't get the choice over what sort of neighbours you are likely to have, or retain.

If I did buy a place that was well overlooked I would always be looking at factoring that into the price, and also thinking about the potential to screen with trees. Shadow analysis can be important here.

It wouldn't bother me at all...but I have lived in London all my life and every garden ive ever had has been visible by neighbours. I actually don't care if someone sees me in my garden.

No, I wouldn't. It's a deal breaker for me, but that's why I don't live in a city. I'd feel hemmed in and the lack of privacy would really bother me.

I think it's quite normal to be overlooked by your neighbours, but generally it's their back bedroom or bathroom, so I guess most people don't spend all day in there looking out.
If the neighbours could see in from ground level, or if they were to the side / back of my garden, I wouldn't buy. There's overlooking, and there's being able to see everything, all of the time.

Our London terrace is very overlooked, not just by neighbours but also the offices which face the back of the houses. It's not something that I really took into account of when buying - in London it's all about schools, proximity to tube, amenities, vibe etc. It would admittedly be nicer to have more privacy but I expect I'd have to move out to an outer zone to get a place that isn't overlooked (or spend 5x to get a rare detached gated house somewhere central).

No, and that's why we were immensely fucked off when a cowboy neighbour built a massive extension and installed a floor to ceiling glass wall overlooking our kitchen, a bedroom and garden without planning permission. Then threw an epic tantrum about our subsequent application to raise our fences to 6 feet.

Not worth enforcement action apparently, so if you do move into a property with a private garden there isn't necessarily protection anyway.

I bought a terraced house in London a couple years ago. When looking, we rejected a couple as the loft conversions of the houses behind seemed quite oppressive, even though it is likely, as bedrooms, not to be occupied much during the day.
It is a characteristic of terraced houses that you are likely to see in to your neighbour's garden from the upper windows, but you'd have to be right at them and really who has the time (or interest) to look at what the neighbours are doing? Mowing the lawn, sitting out chatting, watching their kids play - I've got better things to do than watch, and I assume my neighbours feel the same.
So a huge picture window looking directly down on you from behind would (and did) put me off; a neighbour to the side who would have to purposefully go to their window to observe anything wouldn't bother me.

I wouldn’t like it as I like to sunbathe in the garden in summer. You maybe have to accept being overlooked in London & other big cities but not elsewhere.

But more importantly than what I think is that it bothers your partner. And yes, it could make it harder to sell in future as most buyers will consider it a negative just as you are.

Agreed but we are in London so 🤷🏻‍♀️

if everything else is good plant a few tallish trees and crack on

Hard no from me.

Totally agree with @GasPanic it's not the overlooking it's who is doing it.
House to our left I know they can see in, but she's lovely
House to our right, utter knobs. It's become aggressive and uncomfortable. They've done a development which means in winter (bare hedge) she can walk past and stares as she does it, in summer she rides past and does the same. Literally glaring to make you look away/down until you just want to leave the garden.

Our only solution is planting - in addition to hedge were adding evergreen trees. Perhaps, as the garden is small you could look into pleached trees along the fence line?

I would have thought it was very restrictive only going for totally not overlooked at all. I don't think I have ever seen a garden not overlooked at all - except for farms we have stayed in on holiday.

This. I am overlooked by several houses in my garden. I remember to give everyone a big 👋 when I am nude sunbathing on my sun lounger every summer 🤪

Joke.

Honestly this is such a non issue for most who don't have the budget to not be overlooked. Having a home within budget is a top priority.

would Be a hard no for me too OP but depends where you’re looking, if it’s a town or city most will probably be overlooked. It’s the main reason I live rurally there is no one overlooking the houses in my village

I'd only buy it if I knew I could screen it so that it wouldn't be overlooked. I'm quite good at doing this and have done it successfully before. But you need to budget for it too and only pick trees and plants you will enjoy looking at. Would it be worth it if it cost you £5k or £10k to do?

It's often more effective for screening to plant a group of 7' high plants close to your seating area rather than around the garden fence. You don't really want any trees that get higher than 15 or 20' in a small garden.

Thanks all, interesting to see the different responses. We’ve decided not to proceed, the house on one side is just too imposing. The house we want to buy is detached and quite expensive in our area for it be overlooked the way it is. It is actually overlooked at the back, totally normal I know, and both sides but it’s the one side which I originally described that we can’t get past.

I think someone nailed it by saying it depends on who is overlooking. Potential new neighbours could be brilliant but we just don’t know and on reflection it’s too big a purchase to take the risk. Thanks again, it’s helped me weigh it up!

One thing to bear in mind is that burglars love a back garden that is NOT overlooked.

True^
I'm very overlooked from all sides. I have 3 at the back and five at the side, one at the other. I don't have the budget to buy better and I'm not ashamed to say I'm actually very happy with my lot right now.
One summer eve we sat out with our neighbours (the nice ones before the current tossers moved in) and she said oh God they're at it again. I was a bit surprised at what she might be referring to. It was the neighbours (1 of the 5 on opposite side) having a "session" curtains open for all to see. She said yeh they do it a lot 🤔. I had never noticed because I don't watch the others I focus on my own stuff. My kids said last summer, that man's looking at us again (current tossers who moved in). That's the downside, you can have creepers watching you. Still it's nothing major.