My backyard is very similar and I hate it.. I need to spend the time and $$ to put in some retaining walls
80sHeel
My buddy’s yard was like this. He dumped a ton of money into it and it turned out amazing.
DadOfRuby
How much do you love the house? Personally, I wouldn’t buy it because of potential water infiltration issues.
Successful-Truth-489
I think that would look AMAZING with a few rows of retaining walls. Imagine looking out your window to a full display of flowers and shrubs! God this backyard is exactly what I dream of having
offconstantly247
Dude, Flock of Seagulls…
myeleventhreddit
That’s the best setup I’ve ever seen for a terraced or stepped garden. You could also do a rain garden to help with runoff.
PublicWolf7234
Retaining blocks to level with stairs and drainage. Turn sod over fill with dirt and layer of topsoil. Whole new yard.
You could either cut into slope and use soil for levelling behind retain wall. Or start just before it starts to rise and add more soil.
Unlucky_Situation
If you dont care about backyard space then its fine.
If you want a usable backyard, just move on to the next.
This would be a deal breaker for me. The slope, limiting the available space for kids, activities, etc. and then the potential water issues. It all runs downhill, right to the house.
Muted_Hour_957
Salvageable is in the eye of the beholder.
As a landscaper and landscape designer I could turn that hill into the most relaxing beautiful place you’ve seen, or the ugliest most useless thing you could possibly imagine, it’s all up to personal opinion.
However can you do something with it? Yes. To what extent is up to you and your budget.
shopewf
If you can find a similar house that doesn’t have this setup, I would. Water sloping toward your house is just annoying
Snoo_94896
What happens when it rains? What happens to the rain water from the neighbors behind and up the hill? Your ideas of retention walls and french drains are good. Using walls to make level areas would also make the yard more usable. What does the land do on the front yard side of the fence? Is there flow down the the street? That would be a possitive. You could use dry creeks to move rain water to either side of the house and to the street where drains would gather the water. Also, you could consider adding a water garden to capture most of the rain from the dry creek. On heavy rains, the overflow from the water garden could go into an exiting dry creek to the road. As a general rule, I like to keep water above ground(dry creeks/rain garden) as opposed to pipes underground. Those always seem to clog. Dry creeks and water garden are also very scenic and add value. The water garden looks great with small boulders and water loving plants.
The backyard has possibilties to be nice. Adding a covered pergola over that patio would also be nice.
Leather-Resolve9751
The slope going towards the house would have me looking for a better option
hotChihuahua69
If you have the residual $$ to dump into it, go for it…
If not, go elsewhere
Nikopoleous
Maybe also consider some native plants that will retain moisture and some swales to help absorb water rather than letting it all run off your property.
Worth_Courage_3880
is the cost of bringing this up to your expectations considered in the offer?
I would not buy something that needs this much work, and has this as a previously neglected issue if something else on the market is in better shape
the neighbor in the photo is so close that putting in a usable tiered background space would bring it up into that neighbors sight line a little too much for my comfort
BlackSquirrel05
Even a smaller wall => 3ft would probably be fine.
In which case you don’t really need to worry that much about the damn hill falling down. Plant 2 smaller trees and the right vegetation for the area and you’d be fine.
Now the question is… Do you want more of a patio or some other type of space? Then things might need to change a bit. But so long as that slope leads out just enough around your home. You’ll be fine.
Tiger8r
I’ve seen this before at houses I looked at buying. I would define and flatten the area near and behind the house. I would install a short retaining wall 3′-4′ across the width of the yard beyond the flat area directly behind the house. Then create a second level toward the rear of the yard and level off. Install a patio deck on the second level and maybe a Pergola and or a fire pit. This will add dimension to the yard and give new views from all directions…..
debomama
I sometimes can’t believe what they allow in Texas. This would never be allowed where I live.
NeverWasNorWillBe
I had a yard like this. Sold the house and never looked back. It was annoying for more reasons than you could initially think of.
milliepilly
I wouldn’t even consider it.
NeemOilFilter
Knowing the intense short burst rains we get here I would stay away from this. Sure you could make some really pretty terraces here and spend thousands of dollars but this looks like one flash flood away from disaster.
Civil_Exchange1271
buy a house you don’t need to fix.
twomayaderens
You can see the flood lines on the back of the house. Red flag 🚩
Free-Place-3930
Keep looking
Beer_WWer
I do home repairs. It’s easier to fix a house that’s been sited a foot too high than fix a house that’s been sited an inch too low.
Find another.
Fyeeeeeah
It’s better to spend $50k more on something with a properly sloped yard. You could probably do a cool project with a year total time and 50-60k. Renovation like that requires engineers, permits, design, install, etc so it’s extremely pricey to get pros. you could live with it but then that means likely flooding and unusable space.
LonesomeBulldog
With the amount of water draining towards your house, you’ll get to invest in some expensive foundation repairs.
dubbs911
It’s always a deal breaker for me but that’s just my opinion.
28 Comments
My backyard is very similar and I hate it.. I need to spend the time and $$ to put in some retaining walls
My buddy’s yard was like this. He dumped a ton of money into it and it turned out amazing.
How much do you love the house? Personally, I wouldn’t buy it because of potential water infiltration issues.
I think that would look AMAZING with a few rows of retaining walls. Imagine looking out your window to a full display of flowers and shrubs! God this backyard is exactly what I dream of having
Dude, Flock of Seagulls…
That’s the best setup I’ve ever seen for a terraced or stepped garden. You could also do a rain garden to help with runoff.
Retaining blocks to level with stairs and drainage. Turn sod over fill with dirt and layer of topsoil. Whole new yard.
You could either cut into slope and use soil for levelling behind retain wall. Or start just before it starts to rise and add more soil.
If you dont care about backyard space then its fine.
If you want a usable backyard, just move on to the next.
This would be a deal breaker for me. The slope, limiting the available space for kids, activities, etc. and then the potential water issues. It all runs downhill, right to the house.
Salvageable is in the eye of the beholder.
As a landscaper and landscape designer I could turn that hill into the most relaxing beautiful place you’ve seen, or the ugliest most useless thing you could possibly imagine, it’s all up to personal opinion.
However can you do something with it? Yes. To what extent is up to you and your budget.
If you can find a similar house that doesn’t have this setup, I would. Water sloping toward your house is just annoying
What happens when it rains? What happens to the rain water from the neighbors behind and up the hill? Your ideas of retention walls and french drains are good. Using walls to make level areas would also make the yard more usable. What does the land do on the front yard side of the fence? Is there flow down the the street? That would be a possitive. You could use dry creeks to move rain water to either side of the house and to the street where drains would gather the water. Also, you could consider adding a water garden to capture most of the rain from the dry creek. On heavy rains, the overflow from the water garden could go into an exiting dry creek to the road. As a general rule, I like to keep water above ground(dry creeks/rain garden) as opposed to pipes underground. Those always seem to clog. Dry creeks and water garden are also very scenic and add value. The water garden looks great with small boulders and water loving plants.
The backyard has possibilties to be nice. Adding a covered pergola over that patio would also be nice.
The slope going towards the house would have me looking for a better option
If you have the residual $$ to dump into it, go for it…
If not, go elsewhere
Maybe also consider some native plants that will retain moisture and some swales to help absorb water rather than letting it all run off your property.
is the cost of bringing this up to your expectations considered in the offer?
I would not buy something that needs this much work, and has this as a previously neglected issue if something else on the market is in better shape
the neighbor in the photo is so close that putting in a usable tiered background space would bring it up into that neighbors sight line a little too much for my comfort
Even a smaller wall => 3ft would probably be fine.
In which case you don’t really need to worry that much about the damn hill falling down. Plant 2 smaller trees and the right vegetation for the area and you’d be fine.
Now the question is… Do you want more of a patio or some other type of space? Then things might need to change a bit. But so long as that slope leads out just enough around your home. You’ll be fine.
I’ve seen this before at houses I looked at buying. I would define and flatten the area near and behind the house. I would install a short retaining wall 3′-4′ across the width of the yard beyond the flat area directly behind the house. Then create a second level toward the rear of the yard and level off. Install a patio deck on the second level and maybe a Pergola and or a fire pit. This will add dimension to the yard and give new views from all directions…..
I sometimes can’t believe what they allow in Texas. This would never be allowed where I live.
I had a yard like this. Sold the house and never looked back. It was annoying for more reasons than you could initially think of.
I wouldn’t even consider it.
Knowing the intense short burst rains we get here I would stay away from this. Sure you could make some really pretty terraces here and spend thousands of dollars but this looks like one flash flood away from disaster.
buy a house you don’t need to fix.
You can see the flood lines on the back of the house. Red flag 🚩
Keep looking
I do home repairs. It’s easier to fix a house that’s been sited a foot too high than fix a house that’s been sited an inch too low.
Find another.
It’s better to spend $50k more on something with a properly sloped yard. You could probably do a cool project with a year total time and 50-60k. Renovation like that requires engineers, permits, design, install, etc so it’s extremely pricey to get pros. you could live with it but then that means likely flooding and unusable space.
With the amount of water draining towards your house, you’ll get to invest in some expensive foundation repairs.
It’s always a deal breaker for me but that’s just my opinion.