Would you buy your *almost* dream home... if it had no garden?

[Southernbelle19]

We have found a house that we are absolutely in love with. It's the perfect location, size and is beautiful - it has been very well cared for and is very to our taste already and has obviously had a lot of money spent on it. This is brilliant as we are expecting a baby and don't want a house that needs lots of work.

The only downside is it doesn't have a garden, only a small (albeit very nice) back yard. Enough space for a table and chairs and maybe a small bbq but that's it.

I already have one child and we are expecting another so ideally we would want a garden. However, we have viewed numerous properties and all of them within our budget are either way too small, the wrong location or need completely renovating. But this house we fell in love with and ticks every other box.

I should say we are very outdoorsy people and live in the countryside so we will be spending a lot of time outdoors regardless, but obviously not having a garden to run around in is still a compromise.

What would you do?

No way would I buy a house with no garden - absolute no-no for me.

I don't believe any house is 'dream', weird concept. But if it's right otherwise, and you're not into gardening, i'd go for it. We have a good sized back and front garden but both on slopes/tiered so we end up going to park anyway, luckily there's one we can see from our house.

Ours was absolutely fine during lockdown- you just need to be a bit clever with space and build toys etc (like busyboards, climbing walls, chalkboard walls) onto the walls and rotate toys

We use freebie sites to get garden toys that we keep for a few weeks then give away to keep it fresh

It would have also been £150k more for the same house with a bigger garden, that we couldn't afford, and we'd been looking for ages.

OP - if you PM me I can send you photos of what we've done with our tiny space

I think it depends.
Our house has a very small garden, but the house is big enough for our needs and we have a big playroom, which makes all the difference.
We also live within walking distance of a park.

I'm like to amend my initial 'Nope' to 'it depends whether it gets sun'. Check that carefully.

I think you've made the right decision. I love gardening but lived for 8 years in a terrace with a small back yard. I filled it with plants in pots and it was a lovely spot to sit in as it was south west facing.

DH's 3 kids weren't bothered, and their mum's house had no garden either. Lots of people live without gardens completely happily.

What size is the yard and will it get sun?

I wouldn't have when I had young children which is how I ended up saddled with the big garden I have now , although they were never as outdoorsy or sporty as I hoped and the garden was never used as much as I thought it would be. It sounds like heaven now.

The house is perfect because they haven't spent half their lives slaving in the garden - buy it

You made the right choice.

I love my garden but it's a time and money suck you don't need. Enjoy your little courtyard and use the public parks.

@Southernbelle19 with grandparents with a big garden 5 mins away I would 100% go for it! My parents live nearby and have a massive garden with a large paddling/swimming pool, swings and a full sized trampoline (DN's at my brother's house are teeny tbh though she still uses them happily) and both my primary aged DNs go there regularly (my sister also has a small garden though not as small as my brother's).

They love the pool etc but it's also the fact of spending time with my parents! That's invaluable IMO. And perhaps they could be persuaded to get similar stuff to my parents for your kids 😅

I have a small city garden (25ft x 11ft) and I love it! It's big enough for a dining table, paddling pool and a water table and a small BBQ. I don't think you need a ton of outdoor space if everything else is on your doorstep.

No I wouldn't. With young kids it's really good if they have space outside to play Run around. Paddling pool. Trampoline etc. Of course some people can't afford this and that is ok too but if you have the choice it's far nicer for kids to grow up with these things.

I wouldn't want a massive garden but I would really want a bit of garden space. A bit more than you describe.

My children are older now but when younger they spent a lot of time playing in the garden. As teenagers we set up an inflatable pool in the garden for the summer and they regularly use that.

I personally love plants and gardening so really feel the benefit (mental and physical health) of having a nice garden to spend time in.

I wouldn't buy it.

I would buy it and have a lot of pots- I've seen beautiful tiny back yards and it's amazing what you can squeeze in with trellises etc.

There are many family houses like this in our area. It wasn't what we wanted but many of DD's friends have really made the most of the space. If you can fit in something like a mud kitchen, somewhere to sit (and eat?) and somewhere to grow things like herbs or strawberries then it would be great. You've got practical, low maintenance, outside space to let small kids play in and get messy. Especially good if you don't like gardening!

There's a few years when being able to ride a bike, kick a ball and run around in a garden is nice, but they can do that in a park. And after that they need more space again, which few people have. And then they turn into teens and never set foot in the garden again!

Location is more important. A short walk to school and local parks is worth a lot - is a trip to the park feasible on the way home from school?

No I love my garden and it's a lot of fun for DC. DH fortunately loves gardening.

Clearly, my point was that a yard was not a limit. Even when we weren’t out and about (with our dogs of invincibility to look after us) my friend and I found plenty of fun.
We even had a camp fire in the back yard in the days when we had to pinch sand from the river bank as a base and use old bricks as a surround. Boredom and limits are the mother of invention!

Definitely sounds like the right choice for you OP. I do think it is helpful to have outdoor space when they are wee but location can’t be changed. Parks, allotments, friends gardens are all possibly available depending on where you are. We had a massive garden and hardly used it as the boys grew out of the small kid stage and we got busy with work (thanks COL) but it was still so much work to maintain for little benefit. We had dreamed of having “land” and pretty borders but the reality was we didn’t have time to make it productive and the unpredictable weather meant a lot of wasted money on plants that then didn’t grow. I am in Scotland though with hills and forests never too far away, and I do think where in the country / world you are makes a massive difference. When my kids were 2/3 we rented a 3rd floor flat we grew tomatoes inside and used to take a picnic blanket down to the secure shared garden to find ladybirds, it was lovely. Was happier there than the house with huge garden.

Forgot to add that we go to a holiday cottage every summer where we can bbq, sunbathe, hot tub to our hearts content and then go back to our less expensive, maintenance free home. We also sometimes go and help out friends tidy up their garden. You can get your garden fix in other ways.

If you hate gardening, what are you worried about? It sounds perfect for your needs.

Does the yard get the sun? If so then I'd buy it as you live i. The countryside.

I'd go for the house, it sounds lovely. We have a big garden and honestly the kids never use it! And it's a lot of work to maintain. Given how much time you spend in the house versus the garden, definitely don't comprise on inside space

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