When do you stop looking and settle for something?

[HangerLaneGyratorySystem]

Been looking since August seen about 20 flats. Keep lowering my standards and compromising but where does that end? I'm now seeing anything and everything in my price range which is very depressing. Some things I can't compromise on e.g. 2 bedrooms, must be ground floor and I can't really afford much extra work. But I am looking in a very wide area. So far I've turned down flats for reasons such as:

Communal bins were directly under my windows (few times that's happened)
Busy main road with planning permission for extra 500 houses directly opposite
Broken furniture and rubbish piled up in the street and outside the block

Those aren't the only reasons but they stand out to me and the estate agents all said I was being unreasonable. Do you think I'm being too fussy? I'm thinking it's a psychological thing once you've seen a dozen+ flats you start seeing problems everywhere?

What's your budget and what kind of area are you looking in? I think you need to be clear what your non-negotiables are, but depending on your budget, you obviously can't have too many of them!

They are all things which would put me off too, but if that is all you can afford there’s not much you can do.

In the end it's always 'buy the worst house/flat in the best area'. Just because theoretically 'good areas' always hold their property values best. In the end you might find that what you think you want isn't actually so. If you watch enough of the 'property programmes' it's quite common to see people view and buy things they wouldn't have gone to look at if it wasn't for the TV company taking them to see them! So for me I'd choose by area and make the best of the place you can afford. :)

Since August isn’t all that long and it’s a funny market. See what comes up in Spring. The reasons you gave above sound reasonable to me.

The flat with all the broken furniture and rubbish piled up in the street was in a beautiful area but you walked onto this small estate and it was like a 1970s documentary set - every corner had a smashed TV or a pile of bin bags, broken toys in the foyer etc - it was surreal. I asked the agent about it he said "weelllll you get that EVERYWHERE" - um. no, you dont! Another one today, amazing area, 1920s block v. art deco on the outside but sadly in keeping with its time the kitchen was basically an 8 foot square scullery and the second bedroom was like a cell, just room for a single bed and a small high window, was only missing some bars ...!

I've tried to make my non-negotiables only ground floor and decent sized second bedroom. I can't afford a new kitchen and bathroom so there's no point if those rooms aren't reasonably clean and tidy. Other than that, I've given up everything else that was on my wish list . Its sort of reassuring to hear that those replying so far don't think I'm being hugely unreasonable, but yeah, there are a lot of flats on the market.

One tip I use when I view a house is I look ok up at the ceiling to get better idea of space without furniture. Then I visualise if my furniture would fit or not. You need 2 bedrooms of reasonable size so that is non negotiable, you say it must be ground floor, is there a reason why? I would accept reasonable kitchen and bathroom that I could live with for 5 years then be saving to change one of them. You might find a few touches like new handles on cupboard doors or new worktops would make kitchen livable. Jobs like regrouting bathroom are annoying and take a bit of time but not hard or expensive and make a hug difference to the look of a bathroom. You could do something like that yourself in a weekend. I'd focus on location and space above all else.

I don’t think you’re being too fussy. I wouldn’t buy on a busy road either. There are always a lot of bad properties on the market that EAs are desperate to shift hence they start trying to pressurise buyers. It’s not a bad thing though to be fussy when you’re spending that much money on a home.

I might compromise on not being ground floor unless you have a pet that needs easy access to a garden. I also don’t think looking since August is that long.

You're not being fussy. Bins outside the window would be a turnoff for me too and for future buyers if you tried to sell. A rubbish strewn area is symptomatic of the kind of neighbours you could have.
The estate agent is trying to push hard-to-sell properties on you and make his commission.
Go with your gut. You are compromising not just for the time of the purchase but for as long as you might live there. Will you be miserable for having compromised if you had to smell stinky bins every day for the next 10 years?

I don’t think you are being too fussy. You need to feel safe and confident in the area. The only thing I would look at is the ground floor bit, as you are more likely to be by bins etc if you are on ground floor. I suspect there is more demand for ground floor as well. Would you consider 1st floor if there is a lift?

I don’t think,you are being too fussy. Rubbish around is very off putting and something you have no control off. Unless you need to buy very soon take your time and wait for a better property to come. It can be difficult to sell a flat if it is just a bog standard flat. You want to buy one that has some good feature(s).

if you've got no rush then you can wait. nothing much will come on now anyway, so you can wait for the new year and start the search again. there is likely always a compromise somewhere you just need to figure out the one you are most happy about (and ultimately won't feel like a compromise once you're setlled).

You are not fussy. Theseare reasonable needs and wants and reasonable reasons to dismiss.
I may be that in that budget you really can't find what suits. Plus as pps said, funny market.
When were were ftbs on low budget we realised quite quickly that we needed extra few k to get what and where we needed sadly. So we pushed on savings to move to higher bracket. Whole 5k up bracket... made massive difference.

Its a slow market at present..no need to rush...prices falling so wait.

You can be as fussy as you like, it's your money! I don't think you are being fussy. No one wants to live anywhere were there is rubbish piled up! Imagine how bad the neighbours are that they can't pay the council or go to the tip?

I think you are being reasonable and once you find somewhere you'll know!