Ground floor flat next to bin and cycle storage

I would walk away personally.
The fact that other people don't like the noise/mess/smell means you're going to find it harder to sell even if it's not an issue for you.


If they have nothing else in that block I'd look elsewhere.

In my flat the wall where the lift is isn't anywhere near the bedroom, but you can still hear it whenever someone goes past our floor (which isn't often due to being on the 15th floor). It's not enough to keep us awake at night but if our bedroom was right next to the lifts I think it'd be a different story. The bin room (with pincode entry) isn't really an issue for us due to our apartment being so high, but even when you go into the bin room it doesn't really smell THAT bad.

black_wings wrote: »

OP - we live in a new build flat also with bin store and key fob similar to the situation you are describing. I wouldn't like to live on the ground floor - in the summer the bin store and all surrounding areas including the communal ground floor corridors STINK of bins and are swarming with massive flies.

Same here. We live high up so have no problems, but the bin stores (brick built, part of building) and their vicinity smell absolutely terrible in warm weather. The bins are collected every week, they have lids, and the room is also washed out every week, but I wouldn't want to be living to the side or top of them. They have ventilated doors which let the smell out, and are also full of flies and I would imagine attract rats. There's no way I would be able to live near them, having windows open in summer would be more intolerable than the heat from keeping them closed.

OP, the issues that are being red flagged here will be the same ones going through a prospective purchasers mind when it is time for you to sell it - how easy do you think that will be?

I think it depends a bit what your other options are.

For the bin/bike store, think about where the windows are - if it is on the other side of a wall and you have no windows there, then smell probably won't be major issue, but do look at what the ventilation arrangements are and whether smell, flies or rats might be issues.

Noise may be an issue. Bins being collected / emptied, and people using the store. Think about where the bedrooms are, and also how sensitive each of you is to noise.What's the route from the bin store to where ever they need to be to be collected? Are you going to have a lot of noise with bins being brought in and out, are they likely t be left outside your windows when waiting to be emptied, etc.

For me, the lift would be a similar concern - noise (I always ask for rooms away from the lifts when I stay in hotels, as lifts do make a noise, people tend to talk while waiting for them etc)

Also - consider the service charges. On the ground floor you won't be making use of the lift, but I doubt you get a reduction in the service charge as a result.

I think if it were me, I would be looking very closely at those issues, and at what other properties might be available as alternatives, and decide whether this flat has advantages which outweigh these disadvantages. You may decide that location / price / other amenities make it worth being by the bin store.