Has anyone sold off part of their garden for building?

Oh yes & 2 of my neighbours have been unable to sell their houses in a very popular cul de sac due to the plans for this development being discovered by solicitors of prospective purchasers - which of course is what you employ them for.

As I sit here I am deafened by the constant WHINE of a large crane thing which I presume is drilling & it situated at the end of my garden where a neighbour sold off his house & 2 others sold the ends of their garden & they are building 14 new houses. It has only just started & will take 18 months. The noise, dust, inconsiderate parking by workmen & mess on roads not to mention heavy lorries trundling past all day is driving me mad already.

If you value your own & your neighbours sanity please don't do it!
They start at 8am & are supposed to finish at 6pm but rarely do! They also work Saturdays & we noticed something going on on a Sunday too so you can imagine how much we are looking forward to peaceful times in our garden this summer!
When it is over we will have the noise ( & parking problems- they have only allowed the bare minimum of legal car spaces)of 14 families where there was once a quiet garden.
You buy your property for it's ambience & we have lived here in a quiet road happily for over 25 years. There was nothing we could do to prevent this & believe me- we tried!!

Yep - in the midst of divorcing my first husband, (20odd years ago) several houses in our road were approached to sell off part of our rear gardens which were very long. We accepted the offer and hurriedly erected a fence to divide the garden before putting the family home on the market. The deal was very protracted - but eventually we were paid - half to my ex and half to me. My half bought me a red Mazda MX3 coupe - oh how I loved that car. Newly divorced and driving a car that made heads turn was just what I needed to boost my self confidence. I haven't owned anything so dashing since - more practical modes of transport. But it was such fun at the time.

There is now a new road and a row of houses backing onto the original homes - but over time it has mellowed and they look as tho they have always been there.

Don't forget that if you sell off your own garden it will significantly lower the overall value of your house and another building in close proximity will be off-putting to potential buyers. You might not have any ideas of moving now but it could prove difficult in years to come.

On the other side of the fence, my sister was down the bottom of her garden one day when the neighbour adjoining the end said, 'Do you want some extra garden?' Cut a long one short she bought an extension to her plot of about a half again for a mere ten grand. Great for her but foolish of the other chaps, we thought.

AliOxon Would this be an opportunity for you to move into the proposed bungalow? Would the builder build it to your specifictions etc.?

And the view has disappeared too...

A neighbour of ours has sold a large piece of ground and the rest of us are very unhappy about it! He's then moving too - all profit for him. We are left with the building mess etc. It was a beautiful field.

5 years ago out neighbour bought the endss of two other gardens and built a house at the end of his They got £30,000 each .They aren't overly overlooked and it a big three storey 5 bed so unlikely to get bigger .His garden is v small in proportion to the house and we think he has an inflated view of its value .....

My house is very small so sheds are for stuff I can't fit indoors
(bit of a hoarder)

My garden is too much for me to keep properly but I do love the privacy it offers and as it was my dad's garden, I wouldn't want to have any more of it chopped off. I know I've said I don't like living in the countryside but the garden is the plus point. (Space enough for four sheds and one greenhouse?)

Yes, as soon as they get planning permission the value doubles.
However they are offering considerably more than that, and I have discovered that there is very little land available here (via google) so I may be in a good position.

To be honest this garden is getting a bit too much for me lately - and I could definitely use some extra cash!

Yes, it's one thing wanting a bit more land to make your own garden bigger, but entirely different if the object is to make a huge profit by building on it.

A part of our present garden was sold by the former owner of this house, to a house next door who wanted more land ( this was about 18 years ago) and the price was £2,500( it's in our deeds.) So Alie make sure you get a good price!

I agree that £2,000 was a very low price, but that was wot.

We don't know what Alie's being offered but I agree that an independent value of the land should be sought.

It depends on how far the dwelling will be from your house, whether there is the possibility of double storey, how large the garden will be, the access and whether it will impinge on your privacy and whether or not they could plant trees on the border restricting your access to light - and the price!
Also whether you would be glad to be rid of part of the garden if it becomes too much to cope with in the future.

It would have to be a great deal more than £2,000 for us to sell. Why is the offer low? Stand firm on price if you decide you want to go ahead. (As DS says - always get three valuations.)

All our neighbours sold- we were the only ones to refuse- glad we did. House is now a Childrens' nursery and the garden is well used and loved.

yes, that's all true. First of all, he offered 3 thousand so I said yes but when I was all keen, he dropped the price! This could be why he's a millionaire!

Full of promises, were they?
Yes, I got a lot today. I will have to be cynical, but I have owned houses since I was 21 and enjoy bargaining!
....and I would have to make sure somehow that I wasn't overlooked, ie that this bungalow doesn't grow another story........

Also, any buyers would prefer not to be overlooked by anyone.

Because it was a piece of garden which ran in front of the middle cottage and the end cottage which a property developer had restored. He led me to believe that he might buy my cottage and or provide vehicular acess for us. In the end, the cottage has been left empty for nearly two years while he waits for prices to go up! I only got 2 thousand pound for it. My middle neighbour refused to sell him the front garden as he feels it gives him bargaining power. I've still got a good sized garden left though. If it was the end of a garden I probably would sell but mine is farm fields at the end! I would make sure it was a good offer though.

Could you say why?

Yes, I sold a piece of garden. I wish I hadn't now.