Monday 19 October 2015
Cloudy but warm 18 degrees
Woke at nearly ten and felt half dead. Back ached and had had cramp in the night with the result that my feet were buzzing. Made tea and took to OH who was still completely comatose and said he had been in Japan and in a garden with some ladies with very well developed chests... Suggested he got down to the small rental unit which, by a photo I found on my phone the other day, he has been 'renovating' for coming up two years now.
Downstairs and did 'quick' update which took an hour or two and then had lunch and watched Bargain Hunt. Do love Tim Wonnacott. It was such a shame he could not bring his personality through when he did Strictly Come Dancing last year and resembled a pole. I would have thought he would have been good at dancing. He certainly has lots of style and panache.
Was astonished at a phone call I received later on in the evening. Remember the llama farm and the disappearing Russians from earlier on this year? Well, after the Ruskies vanished into the ether, with their non existent millions, an English couple offered on the llama farm and the owners at first said yes and then, when they couldn't find an alternative llama farm, having lost the one they wanted and the 3k deposit, said no and took the house off the market.
The phone call was from a French lawyer who is based in the UK. He was ringing on behalf of the 'disappointed' UK buyers who had said the sale wasn't going ahead because they felt that the owners didn't want to sell whilst I was involved. He suggested that the agency would like to 'revise' the conditions of the mandat ie chop our fees considerably and then maybe things would work. I told him the background and also that I had spoken to the owners recently and they had said that they would not market the property again for a couple of years and, when they did, it would be at a substantially higher price. I also told him that if his clients hadn't been so mean with their offer, I would have been able to make it work. I then said I would refer it to our business manager. I wouldn't have his job for all the tea in China. Essentially, what has happened is that the Brits have waited a full year after visiting on the Bon de Visite and now think they can approach the vendors directly. They have taken the UK lawyer to make sure they are on correct legal ground. The agency however had the property under a properly written and agreed sales contract (that is what the mandat) is and I have written evidence of them discussing the visit with me and subsequent negotiations. They are trying to cut us out. Good luck to them however what they do not realise is that, from the vendors side of things, they cannot enter into any private transaction with any persons presented by the agency until a year after the expiration of the mandat. It was formally withdrawn in June of this year. A suivre, as they say over here.
A further development on the people who backed out on the contemporary property after the fiasco with the anglo french law company. The sellers have now taken on a French juriste to advise them and will be trying to sue the buyers for the fact that their property was immobilised for a period of three months over the Summer, when they may reasonably have expected to sell to another purchaser.
Thank heavens, and I am relieved to say, the two Chinese sales are now exchanged and on track. Or should I not tempt fate by writing that.....
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