No rear access - to bid or not to bid?

frebel

Hey all, Would not having any rear/side access to the back of a house be enough to put you off bidding for a house?

this might seem a simplistic question for someone on the verge of bidding for a house but have found a great house that ticks all the boxes but does not have access to the rear - meaning bikes,wheelie bins etc at the back would need to be hauled through the kitchen and living room (tiled and hard flooring) from/to the small paved yard at the back.

Also, anything coming into the house would need to be negotiated through the front door which has an immediate 'cosmetic' wall less than a metre in front of it (meaning it could be taken down but is there for privacy)

Has been a long search to get a house in turnkey condition with 3 bedrooms, decent kitchen, great location, and all the rest to think that something like wheelie bins would be a stumbling block but getting the holler to put out the bins some rainy november night does fill me with dread, even now. It's so easy to be blinded by the 'lights' and not think of the boring realities of everyday life

Solutions such as leaving them out the front/ with neighbours dont seem to be feasible

Any have any experience of this?
Thanks, Frebel

Scortho

I wouldn't but everyone is different.
If you can live with taking bins out through the house and likewise bikes etc then It should be fine.
If not then no I wouldn't buy.
This is somewhere that you'll most likely spend the rest of your life living there so it needs to be comfortable and something that you're happy with.

Froggy123

Could you build a small shed out the front to hide them? Or is there no front garden at all?

Kind of would put me off, had to drag a bin through the house I was renting once and it was a pain trying to lift it up the back step. It's quite heavy when it's full!!

Markcheese

I suppose it's a personal thing... I've no back access to my house, up two high steps to my front door, it's where I want to live so it's not a deal breaker... I'd love to be able to drive my van round the back of my house and store my work stuff there, but I can't and if I could the house would have been bought by someone else (who'd have outbid me) knocked and replaced with a two story box...

Idbatterim

can bins not be left out front and do you have bikes?

frebel

It's a terraced house with a front door that leads out onto a narrow public footpath, next to a busy road near a student area - the perfect storm for wheelie bins!

Right now, I don't think it would bother too much as it's the house I've been looking for a year and a half but in 3 years time will it really start to get to me?

Good point by Markcheese

Markcheese wrote: »

I'd love to be able to drive my van round the back of my house and store my work stuff there, but I can't and if I could the house would have been bought by someone else (who'd have outbid me)

I probably wouldn't have a hope of bidding if there was a nice handy path to the back. Bringing in bikes wouldn't bother me as they can be picked up and brought in whereas wheelie bins have to be rolled across clean floors.

I'm just trying to think laterally on what incoveniences this could have in years to come - like if I was install a bigger shed in the back (it would have to be flatpack! or brought in piece by piece or a new cooker etc)

One minute I'm thinking it would be too much hassle and the next, I'm thinking "you're letting bins decide whether to buy a house or not!"

Any other bin related anecdotes out there?!

Idbatterim

depends how often you would have to bring bins through, also you could just roll out plastic mat or just carry it with one other person when you do need to bring it out. It definitely wouldnt be a deal breaker for me if the rest of the house is right, as you say, if it had rear access it would be going for more...

D3PO

if having no side access was a stumbling block why the hell would you bother going to view a terranced house ?

I don't even understand why you viewed the place if this was an issue. Its not like you wouldn't have know it was terraced before viewing.

Personally I wouldn't buy a terraced house unless it was end of terrace, but that's me. You need to know whats important to you and make your own decision.

Idbatterim

Id compromise on this well before Id compromise on location or type of property if I were you op...

Scortho

Idbatterim wrote: »

Id compromise on this well before Id compromise on location or type of property if I were you op...

It depends. It would be something that would deter me.
Likewise not having a garage for the car.
At the end of the day, chances are that this house will be the OP's home for a significant proportion of his life, maybe the rest of his life.
Would it not make sense to buy one that ticked all the boxes?

Idbatterim

I probably wouldn't have a hope of bidding if there was a nice handy path to the back.[/QUOTE this is the issue! unless you do have a budget to buy a house that ticks all boxes, you are taking a hit somewhere, some are just far more palatable than others. To be honest, how often would you be taking out the bins? once every two to three weeks? Its simply impossible for us to know if its a good proposition without knowing the house the asking price and the alternatives... They do say though never buy a house if something bugs you that cant be changed, how much this would bug you is the question...

GT_TDI_150

Op, you keep mentioing bikes and how its ok as you can carry them, .... This is Ireland though, bikes will be wet and mucky when you are carrying them in more often than not ...



Dragging a bin through the house on a weekly/2 weekly basis would turn me off a house! But thats my opinion...

L1011

I've no rear access. I leave the bins out front like everyone else on the road does... If I was expected or even worse, management company required to bring them through I'd have bought elsewhere

Markcheese

What the hell do you plan on putting in the bin? I put rubbish(including nappies) in mine and once a fortnight I wheel it through the house (with the lid closed) and bring it out the front... I tend not to leave it hanging around the kitchen, I don't cover the wheels in ****e,just back yard to front path... But maybe that's just me...
If your worried now, then forget it, you'll be questioning your decision for ever more... Plenty more houses out there...

frebel

Thanks lads, good to hear different ideas.

Why did I view a terraced house in the first place?
A few reasons, some of them have access from the rear but its not immediately obvious from the front if they have or not. I spos when you look at a property ad you're looking for elements such as location, price, fittings etc. Thinking about bikes and bins is very much pre-offer jitters.

To be honest, having mulled it over and taking on board some of the points here - I will still make the offer as you have to take a hit somewhere. It's what I was thinking anyway but just to hear from a few different points of view confirms what I was thinking

I could have easily bought a long time ago if I had settled on a typical 3 bed semi in the middle of an estate a drive away from everything. I'm going to have to make some sort of sacrifice but twill be worth it in the end (I hope).
Thanks again
Frebel

Idbatterim

Thanks lads, good to hear different ideas.

Why did I view a terraced house in the first place?
A few reasons, some of them have access from the rear but its not immediately obvious from the front if they have or not. I spos when you look at a property ad you're looking for elements such as location, price, fittings etc. Thinking about bikes and bins is very much pre-offer jitters.

To be honest, having mulled it over and taking on board some of the points here - I will still make the offer as you have to take a hit somewhere. It's what I was thinking anyway but just to hear from a few different points of view confirms what I was thinking

I could have easily bought a long time ago if I had settled on a typical 3 bed semi in the middle of an estate a drive away from everything. I'm going to have to make some sort of sacrifice but twill be worth it in the end (I hope).
Thanks again
Frebel

Im renting and moving soon, but I am so miserable with where I am, I have learned my lesson DO NOT compromise on location lightly... Moving bins out once every two to three weeks wont make you miserable, buying the wrong type of property or buying in the wrong location, will do though!

frebel

Idbatterim wrote: »

Im renting and moving soon, but I am so miserable with where I am, I have learned my lesson DO NOT compromise on location lightly... Moving bins out once every two to three weeks wont make you miserable, buying the wrong type of property or buying in the wrong location, will do though!

Totally agree, location is obviously an ever present issue, that can't be changed. Good luck with the move

MouseTail

How is the house heated? I find getting an oil fill or dragging logs and coal through the house a bigger deal than the wheelie bins.

Mrs OBumble

Do any of the waste services in the area do a bag service? Several of the ones in Galway do, though they don't advertise it.

guttenberg

MouseTail wrote: »

How is the house heated? I find getting an oil fill or dragging logs and coal through the house a bigger deal than the wheelie bins.

This. OP if the house is oil filled would you really want an oil hose running through your house? it's not easy to clean oil from carpets!

L1011

guttenberg wrote: »

This. OP if the house is oil filled would you really want an oil hose running through your house? it's not easy to clean oil from carpets!

Carpeted hall and/or kitchen is just asking for filth anyway

Outsidethebox

As regards leaving the bins outside the front. A mate of mine used do it where he was renting (also in a student area) and they had a small bracket on the front wall of the house which the bins were chained to. On the morning of collection he'd open the lock so the binmen could empty them and that evening chain them up again.

paulie1234

go for it,its no big deal

Victor

D3PO wrote: »

if having no side access was a stumbling block why the hell would you bother going to view a terranced house ?

Just to let people know that some mid-terraced houses have side access. In fact, it is just about standard in traditional council houses in Cork.

Slutmonkey57b

frebel wrote: »

It's a terraced house with a front door that leads out onto a narrow public footpath, next to a busy road near a student area

And the Bins is the part that concerns you about this property??

I'd be more worried about:
Rat run/parking commuters.
Antisocial student behaviour.
Filthy streets.
Being kept awake at weekends.

So in answer to your question, it's clearly each to their own!

djimi

I think that the small paved back yard and no personal space out the front would put me off quicker to be honest.

Idbatterim

I'd be more worried about:
Rat run/parking commuters.
Antisocial student behaviour.
Filthy streets.
Being kept awake at weekends.

I thought of the same, but we simply dont know if its in a cul de sac etc. Also some people dont have or dont want to spend the kind of budget to get the "perfect" house...

jmayo

frebel wrote: »

Hey all, Would not having any rear/side access to the back of a house be enough to put you off bidding for a house?

this might seem a simplistic question for someone on the verge of bidding for a house but have found a great house that ticks all the boxes but does not have access to the rear - meaning bikes,wheelie bins etc at the back would need to be hauled through the kitchen and living room (tiled and hard flooring) from/to the small paved yard at the back.

Also, anything coming into the house would need to be negotiated through the front door which has an immediate 'cosmetic' wall less than a metre in front of it (meaning it could be taken down but is there for privacy)

Has been a long search to get a house in turnkey condition with 3 bedrooms, decent kitchen, great location, and all the rest to think that something like wheelie bins would be a stumbling block but getting the holler to put out the bins some rainy november night does fill me with dread, even now. It's so easy to be blinded by the 'lights' and not think of the boring realities of everyday life

Solutions such as leaving them out the front/ with neighbours dont seem to be feasible

Any have any experience of this?
Thanks, Frebel

It doesn't matter what anyone else wants, it just matters what YOU want.
You will have to live there and you are the one that will have to draw stuff through the house.
If you find yourself concerned now then why bother.
Will it become easier with age ?
Will it become easier when maybe you have kids and they all have bikes that have to be dragged in and out ?

BTW good luck getting anythign major into or out of the house with wall (cosmetic or not) a metre inside the door.

frebel

It's a student area but also a very traditional area generally does not have too much messing going...

Idbatterim wrote: »

I thought of the same, but we simply dont know if its in a cul de sac etc. Also some people dont have or dont want to spend the kind of budget to get the "perfect" house...

djimi wrote: »

I think that the small paved back yard and no personal space out the front would put me off quicker to be honest.

Fair point without seeing the place but there's a big park about 30metres from front door and a rooftop terrace with views of it so makes up for the hassles of terraced house living bring with it

jmayo wrote: »

It doesn't matter what anyone else wants, it just matters what YOU want.
You will have to live there and you are the one that will have to draw stuff through the house.
If you find yourself concerned now then why bother.
Will it become easier with age ?
Will it become easier when maybe you have kids and they all have bikes that have to be dragged in and out ?

BTW good luck getting anythign major into or out of the house with wall (cosmetic or not) a metre inside the door.

Totally agree - haven't compromised my main tenets of location and character of house and I know this house if for me despite the few hassles it will bring with it...

Getting big stuff in and out will provide headaches at some stage alright but at least it might be just 2 or 3 times a year max

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Do any of the waste services in the area do a bag service? Several of the ones in Galway do, though they don't advertise it.

Mrs. O Bumble you might have cracked the case of the wheelie bin conundrum...

Thanks for all the feedback everyone

Slutmonkey57b

Bags are great for small volumes all right. Once you go up to "traditional" levels of 3-4 person household rubbish they get a lot pricier than wheelie bins though.