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I had the opportunity to view some homes in Fort Mill, primarily in the Tega Cay area. The houses themselves were pretty nice but I found that small backyards with a sloped dropoff are fairly prevalent. That is to say, several of the houses I saw had about 15' of yard beyond the back of the house, after which there is a sloped hill area running down to a creek. The good news is that the houses were on top of the hill sloping down instead of the other way around, the bad news is that well, the backyards were pretty small. Some of the houses across the street seemed to have bigger yards but I saw that it was a bit of a toss up. What do people usually do with these?
* Install a retaining wall (if one isn't already present) and fill in some dirt to expand backyard space?
* Install fences (if one isn't already present) for safety?
Is there a big impact on resale for these houses with small backyards? How much would it cost to 'fill out' a backyard for extra space and is this a thing or do people not bother with it?
I have several friends that live in the exact type of situation that you are describing. One simply put in a retaining wall and then installed a pool with a huge pool deck complete with outdoor kitchen and fireplace. Basically other than a small grassy area for the dog, she has just a pool and pavers in the back. The other just installed a fence and lives with a very, very small yard. I guess you can go either way.
I, personally, don't think that resale values will be affected much since I don't think that most people move to Tega Cay for the yard space. Most people moving in know that while most of the houses are lovely, the yards are small and if they want a larger yard then Tega Cay probably isn't the place for them.
Good luck! Tega Cay isn't my cup of tea, but lots of people love it!
I'm the same way Zeta. When we looked at houses in the Tega Cay area, I was really turned off by these houses with 45 degree driveways and backyards that consist of a deck and a cliff. It's clear that area was probably never meant for houses. The combination of that and the fact that there's only 1 way into and out of Tega Cay really turned me off. The actions of their police force reaffirmed my decision. To each their own I suppose, since plenty of those houses had cars up those driveways.
Ha, that is correct - deck & cliff describes it fairly well. Looking into whether it's possible to convert some of the cliff to more deck, so to speak, have no real idea on what this entails - could be much more expensive than I think! What actions of the police force are you referring to? I've seen oblique mentions of ticket-happy traffic police in the area, is that what you mean?
Ha, that is correct - deck & cliff describes it fairly well. Looking into whether it's possible to convert some of the cliff to more deck, so to speak, have no real idea on what this entails - could be much more expensive than I think! What actions of the police force are you referring to? I've seen oblique mentions of ticket-happy traffic police in the area, is that what you mean?
Ticket happy, correct. The type of police force who needs to do something, so they entrap people who help the revenue collection for the town. There are complaints online. I got nailed for not coming to a complete stop when I was leaving the Walmart in Tega Cay on a Sunday night while buying diapers. This was not leaving and pulling onto 160, it was leaving the actual parking lot. I clearly was a danger to society.
You could always buy a house, and every day, shovel once scoopful of dirt into the canyon behind your house. In a couple of years, you could make some real progress!
Sloping terrains and small backyards haven't hurt the resale value of homes around Los Angeles. If you need more space there's a 2000 acre park (Anne Springs Close Greenway) a couple miles down the road or take your boat out on the lake that surrounds Tega Cay or play a round of golf on the 27 hole golf course the homes are built around.
Ha, that is correct - deck & cliff describes it fairly well. Looking into whether it's possible to convert some of the cliff to more deck, so to speak, have no real idea on what this entails - could be much more expensive than I think!
I think anything is possible. It just depends on how much money you are willing to devote to the project. Here in my neighborhood we have a couple of backyards that slope, although not even close to as steeply as in Tega Cay. A couple of them have chosen to use that slope to built a two-story deck. That would look lovely I'm sure.
Sloping terrains and small backyards haven't hurt the resale value of homes around Los Angeles. If you need more space there's a 2000 acre park (Anne Springs Close Greenway) a couple miles down the road or take your boat out on the lake that surrounds Tega Cay or play a round of golf on the 27 hole golf course the homes are built around.
Tega Cay and Los Angeles are apples and oranges. And, IMO, sloping backyards are the least of Los Angeles' worries.
Not everyone wants to get in the car and drive to the greenway when they need space. No one is knocking Tega Cay. Other than the ticket happy police officers, it certainly has its charms. if you choose to live there, one just needs to be sure that the charms outweigh the tiny, sloping yards.
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