Friday, January 2, 2015

New Year and heading into the unknown...



Thursday 1 January 2015

-4 crispy and crunchy and sparkly

Quick breakfast and take dog around the lake.  The water has a egg shell sheen that is only seen in Winter when the water crystals are semi frozen.  Not a breath of wind.  Small coots jerk across the silken surface.  A dozen or so joggers pass us by.  The dog has recovered from the overdose of worming tablets given to him by OH yesterday and seems to have stopped eating grass and vomiting.

When we were first married, and in possession of our first dog, the dog medicine lived in the same box as ours.  Stumbling downstairs with many a Saturday morning crushing hangover, I am convinced that OH has had many more worming tablets than any of our dogs.  He has a nice, shiny coat too.

I get a message from owners of the house I will be revisiting later on today saying that AA OH rang them last night and they confirmed that they would sell the house for 165000 euros.  My OH humour went downhill at this point 'people are a fxxxxing nightmare'.  I quickly ring AA and ascertain that the visit is still on.  Try and calm OH who thinks they are trying to pull a fast one and avoid paying agency fees.  Yes, this does happen from time to time.  That is why everyone signs a Bon de Visite. The possibility of getting the owners a better deal has now gone out of the window.

Back home and make a fire to try and make the interior temperature at least as high as the exterior.  I do love a real fire - especially wood ones where I can actually manage to get them lit in under an hour.  Coal was and ever will be beyond my meagre capabilities.  The rest of the family are arsonists manqués and, with just a small portion of egg box and a couple of matches, can create a roaring inferno.

A quick lunch and I head down town to do revisit on a town house with AA and AA OH.  When a Brit goes to revisit a house, it is to measure up and decide where the furniture will go.  When an American revisits, it is with a selection of builders who can tell them exactly how much the work will cost, when an Australian revisits, it is with mates.  However, when a French person revisits, the sole purpose is to find reasons why they shouldn't purchase.  They tested all the windows and radiators, they harried the doors and cupboards, they poked at small undulations in the plaster, they peered in the loft and jiggled the insulation.  AA brought a metal articulated measuring stick out of her handbag and proceeded to measure every room and then write nothing down.  After an hour and a half, they had found nothing and were looking very concerned.

I suggested we went for a coffee and the only place that was open was the cavernous early 20th century main hotel.  We sat in the foyer with a large number of other semi frozen people who hadn't found hot beverages or entertainment anywhere else in town.  A coach load of well wrapped up out of towners disgorged themselves onto the terrace and I elbowed my way to the front of the bar and ordered some hot chocolate.

It was time to see if they were real.  AA OH told me he was not someone who would make a decision rapidly.  I point out that there is another agent coming on Saturday to do a revisit and I also have people coming over on 20th (don't know what the xxxx I am going to show them if this one goes) expressly to see this property.  We discuss purchase process and power of attorney.  An hour goes by. AA says they couldn't pay more than 170000.  I say that this wouldn't do.  The house is easily worth 200000.  Finally, I fill in the offer document and leave the actual offer amount blank and say they have 24 hours to decide what to do.

AA says she is feeling ill with a cold and her OH says they will both have a sleepless night though whether it is sleepless thinking that they might buy it or sleepless thinking that they miss out on it; it is too early to tell.

The sun is sinking behind the chateau as we head back into the car park and they drive off.  Back home to oven baked sliced potatoes with onions and mushrooms and hake.   OH insists that we need to get holiday booked for Easter and spends most of night looking for hotel in Granada that isn't the price of the Alhambra.  I look for jumpers that combine smartness with warmth and am about to go completely mad with boredom when I come across House of Fraser website and find four that are lovely.  Am amazed to find that people actually leave reviews for clothing.  Whilst this is enormously useful (bobbled immediately or shrunk to size unfit to clothe a pygmy), who on earth has the time?


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