Dear EF-ers, I am just looking at possibly moving into an apartment with a garden. What are your pros and cons against a regular apartment with a balcony?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

I love to garden, so an apartment with a garden would be lovely to me!

That said, you do have to tend a garden. Balconies don't have the same care requirements...

We've had two.

However, if the flat is rented, you may find there is nothing that you are actually allowed to do with the garden and a gardener is included in the rent.

Our first place was like this and it was quite frustrating not being able to do anything apart from put a few pots on your patio.

In others, you can do what you want (subject to the rules) which is great.

If you have a lawn, it's great for kids.

The downside is that some garden apartments are very dark as they are at the bottom of a building and can have their light blocked from all angles.

If the garden is North facing then that's not much fun either.

I can't really see why you wouldn't want a garden! :-O

Depends if it is a communal garden for the building or a private garden for only your use.

Communal - someone cuts your grass, kids play football against your walls etc...

Private - might need to buy a lawn mower and tell the children to get out of your private garden

Generally a big positive I think - makes you feel like you live in a house not a flat. We also get quite excited when we see foxes, badgers, random dogs and cats ..... that could be seen as a negative however especially when the fox rips your black bag of rubbish and spreads it around the garden.

Great for cleaning bikes, having a bbq, growing tomatoes, putting washing out on the lawn etc...

A lot of good points have been raised so far.

I have had clients who would love a garden apartment. Many lived in homes before moving here and they say it feels more like living in a house. Garden apartments are not easy to find and then the second choice was a roof apartment with a large terrace.

But I have had many clients tell me that they don't want a garden apartment because of the perceived risk of break ins. I think this really depends on how open the garden is, and just how accessible it is.

Other disadvantages to being on the ground floor: you may be able to hear all the comings and goings of everyone in the building, the communal laundry may be below you, as well as the heating room.

Before renting a garden apartment you should ask if you can fence the garden. Often this is an issue if you have young children and/or a dog.

Some of the advantages of a garden apartment (subject to the building's rules) are that you have more space to hang laundry outside, and using a BBQ should not be a problem. On the downside you may feel you have no privacy, as tenants on the above floors look down. Then again, you may have no privacy sitting on the balcony either. It really depends on the layout of the building.

Many garden apartments were intended for families, particularly in buildings built without a lift. It was considered logical to be on the ground floor and not have to navigate stairs with young children.

The trouble with looking at a garden apartment this time of year is that if there are many trees and the leaves have fallen, or the trees have been cut back, the garden may look very open and bear little likeness to how it will look in the summer.

I think it really depends on your needs, but if you decide to apply, I hope your application will be accepted.

It's great to have a garden apartment, but just make sure that you're prepared for the maintenance required to keep it looking good. Especially during spring and summer, I spend most of the weekends weeding, planting, watering etc in my 100sqm patch. At this time of year there's bulb planting (& it's usually colder than it is this year, so cold hands in muddy soil) You need to enjoy it

Hi,

well it depends how big garden is. If bigger than more work, if smaller than really nice to sit and it feels like having your own house, though you have to take your neighbours living above in consideration.

Our former appartment was with garden with awning and some small lawn where the kids could play with ball and be outside. It was really great. Then we moved to the appartment with balcony and they went more seldom outside and really missed it. We didn´t thought it will be such a problem but we all really miss it. So, to conclude: if you have kids choose with garden.

Hope, I could help.

I know people whose apartment included a small, shrub filled garden. One shrub died and when the tenants left , the landlord billed them for the replacement cost of the whole garden of shrubs ie: to keep all the shrubs looking the same. A court case took place.... :-O

Just depends on so many things - you mainly, and of course size, whether it is lawned, or has borders, shrubs, pond. Your question is far too vague to give a proper answer. I could never imagine living without a garden- but if you don't like gardening, it may not be a good idea. What is sure is that in Switzerland you will be expected to keep it tidy and well kept, and to water valuable plants and keep weeds down and lawn cut + hedge if there is one.

Personally, I would love to have a garden, even with the risk of not being able to leave it exaclty as I found it. I really miss being able to potter around in the soil and the smell of fresh mown grass. The geraniums on my balcony are still in flower, but it's just not as satisfying as a real garden.

I have a small garden front and back but have only been here since late summer.

Negatives:

- you don't get the light if you have high buildings around.
- we get mosquitoes, though reasonably close to the lake
- people can look in, though I discovered curtains

Positives:

- the garden is much bigger than a patio, space is increased outside tenfold
- light issue is compensated if you have a large window/patio door to the garden as it increases the amount of light you get
- our apartment feels a lot, lot larger with large patio windows at either end and then the garden bits
- our kid loves it and play with the neighbours' kids which is great for him
- we put one of those little plastic houses up for the boy, blimmin great fun. As was the paddling pool and a swing. Guess I would be less likely to do that in an apartment.
- we can run all the way round the apartment on the outside. Woohoo! Woot woot!
- Having lunch outside in the garden with plenty of space is great
- Never had to worry if my kids can climb over the balcony, just need to worry about them making a dash for it (though we are well off the road, also not in a very busy pass)

All in all, i'm in favour of our garden apartment. We also have good neighbours so that helps.

I should add that I looked at 11 garden apartments before settling on this. I don't know if you have animals or children. We ruled some out because:

- location was busy. Too many people to look through your window, concern for children
- garden was not secure enough e.g. had a steep drop or was too near a road (saw some with fantastic views over lake Zurich, but price reflected it and really it was a roof garden)
- one garden apartment at a great place had a pool in the garden. Might have been worried about the pool with small children, but expect we would have gotten over that... it was just not the right location / price etc

On a general note, prices tend to be a bit higher for garden apartments and of course by nature there are fewer of them. You have to check if you are going to share the garden or if it is all yours. Anyway hope that helps