Semi with no side access - would this bother you?

[JimmyMcNulty]

We are thinking of putting in an offer on a semi with a large garden. The unattached side has been extended so there is no side access (it is sort of on a corner and goes up to the edge of other people's gardens).

We've never had much of a garden before and were wondering if it would be a big pain to upkeep a big garden when everything has to come through the house. We really, really love the house though.

Is there somewhere at the front to store your bins?
We were forever tripping over ours.

Apart from that, it wasn't really a problem.

My dd has a house/garden like this, she loves it, the lo's cannot get out - only grass cutting come through, they are bagged up, oh and bikes, but she has tiles in the kitchen and laminate in the hall, so no problems for her, good luck, hope it all works out for you.

Think through what things you might have to drag through the house on a regular basis - bins, recycling, gardening equipment, garden rubbish - will any of this cause you to curse the place on a regular basis? eg if you have a front lawn, will you have to get the lawnmower through the house every week in summer?

Other than that, an enclosed garden is good for children's safety and for security - no-one nicking toys or getting in through your back door easily.

We're in a terrace and manage fine! Certainly wouldn't put me off a house.

Wouldn't work for us as we have lots of bikes...

You could get a locked shed for things like the lawn mower etc so then it's nly the bins you have to worry about unless you ust keep those at the front of the house?

Buying a house is always a compromise. A large safe garden should have room for a dry lockable storage space for lawnmower and tools etc, so you should be fine.
Saying that, after a few years in a house like you described, I would avoid it if at all possible myself. I could be persuaded if it was really amazing in many other ways, but personally I found it impractical in several little but annoying ways.
Rubbish storage is a pain definitely - we had to drag them from the back to the front once a week and not nice dripping them through my cream carpets.. Also, we had a fortnightly window cleaner who had to lug his ladders and stuff all the way through to do the back - major stress. Oh, and if you plan any extension work at the back of the house or big work in the garden, it will really put your costs up. We had to hire a crane to lift things up and over a neighbours fence. The machinery trashed her garden too so involved a lot of grovelling and big bouquet of flowers..

Oh - and to add, it is great having a locked storage shed in the back garden but if you have any garden at the front - where are you going to store the tools and mower for them? they are likely to need to come through the house too. In summer, that can me a juicy green grassy mower through the house several times a week - drove me potty

There's room for bins at the front. And we could bring stuff through a way that only has hard floors. I can't see us extending out the back. Sounds like it wouldn't be a biggie then.

Thanks all!

There's just a drive at the front, no lawn.

When I was 10 we moved to a semi opposite a major rugby and cricket ground - and we had people constantly wanting to use our path as a shortcut to the grounds at the front after parking somewhere near the back. It was a real pain, and we also had quite a bit of opportunist theft from our kitchen. Given a choice between a semi and a terraced house of similar size, I'd choose the latter every time.

I know when I lived in a Victorian terraced, I was constantly hoovering and washing the carpets as a result of having to carry stuff through the house.

Hi,
I live in a semi that has been extended with no side access. I love it. Ok sometimes we have to bring garden rubbish through but I use big ikea bags and it is fine. Bins are out the front and the drive is gravelled so no mowing. We never have a problem with worrying if people can sneak around the back and it is nice and secure for the kids. It is an old house with loads needs doing but in a fab area and is so quiet and peaceful with lovely schools. You can't put a price on that x