The Lie of the Land
Last week I had a one hour property consultation with a young couple who were torn between two houses they had viewed.. They were finding it hard to figure out which house they preferred. During the call I googled both houses to get a better understanding of their situation.
Having had a look at both houses online ( one was right on the sea beside a railway track, with double yellow lines in front of it and one was on a nicely elevated site with sea views), it was crystal clear to me which one the couple should go for and which one they should walk away from.
It struck me that the physical site a property is built on is something that many buyers don't pay strict attention to and this is why I recorded a podcast on the subject.
Listen here.
If you don't have time to listen to the episode, here is a brief summary of the 8 suggestions I make about how to look at the physical land a house sits on:
1. Houses with steeply sloping gardens
- Can be hard to drive in or out of in icy weather.....slippy.
- Need to be sure your hand brake works brilliantly
- Often need serious ground work to allow you to use the garden eg. creation of stepped levels....expensive work
- Stepped levels often involve decking, this can be slippy and dangerous and expensive to maintain
- Can be dangerous for children
- Water drains down the hill into the house causing damp
2. Is it at sea level or close to a river and so at risk of flooding
- From sea or river
- Rivers are sometimes underground
- Hint in the road name eg. watercourse rd. Mill st. etc.
- Check the height of the property above sea level by finding it on Google earth and looking at height above sea level in bottom right hand corner.
- www.floodmaps.ie
3. Under extreme pressure from traffic front and back
- Ideally you don't want a busy road immediately at the front and at the back of the property.
4. Not enough transition space between house and traffic
- no layers of buffering between you and traffic eg. no front garden, no parking space, no porch just big traffic within one or two steps of your front door.
- often occurs when a small road has become widened and is now a major traffic artery.
5. Site exposed on two fronts
- road to the front and public park or trainline or similar public space to the rear.
- house won't feel settled or relaxed inside.
6. Burdened by Infrastructure
- bus stop / bin / bench outside the front of the house
- lamppost which could make driving in and out of driveway awkward
- double yellow lines all around making visitor parking difficult
- one way system on the road that will always necessitate an extra loop when leaving or arriving home.
7. Occasional intense crowds close to your house due to nearby
- Sports grounds
- Conference and concert venues
- Schools
8. Overdeveloped site
- 4 bed house built in a terrace rather than a semi d
- no off street parking
- no front gardens
- house narrow and on several levels ( not family friendly)
That's all for this week. Thank you for reading or listening. Listen here. Let me know if there's anything you'd like me to cover in your next property update.
