We are too Picky

As I mentioned a few days ago, Cindy and I are trying to purchase a second home. We are negotiating with the sellers and have a serious disadvantage: we are picky. We are only interested in houses that meet many criteria.There are VERY few houses that meet all our criteria. When we find one, we are willing to pay a premium for it because it would take us a long time to find another one. The more special something is for you, the less negotiating leverage you have.

Contrast our situation with someone who would be glad with any of dozens of possible houses. This person could negotiate more aggressively and pass on many houses because he has many alternatives. But, can you "become" less picky? We've tried without success. We like what we like... Fortunately, we are not picky at everything, so we can "pick our battles". We optimize those things for which we are not picky and focus our resources on those things for which we are. And, needless to say, when we find that special something that meets our "pickiness", we go for it.