Interior Life of an Estate Agent. Part 13

I meet young first time buyers at a tiny nutshell of a cottage, new on the market at 120K. The sitting room appears too small for a sofa – a deal table and a couple of chairs would have been a luxury when the old place was built. Upstairs there is just one room, not even a landing and, as we discuss the best way round to put the bed, I am quite wistful. What a precious and unforgettable time this is; buying a first home together, and I’m very anxious that they only go ahead with it if they’re sure; I want to minimize life’s pitfalls for them, or to delay them awhile. I emphasize the need for a full survey, point out the woodworm, and suggest they go away and talk it over for the weekend. It’s a dear little love nest but the price still has to be right, and unforeseen problems revealed – so love doesn’t get too battered too early.

There’s an offer of 385K in for a huge but shoddily built place out in the country. Over six months on the market, frequent viewers all thinking it’s overpriced because of all the work that needs doing, yet what is the owner’s response? Is it whoopee, yes, I’ll take it, because this offer is firm, the people have nothing to sell and can go ahead quickly, and break open the champagne? No. The owners don’t accept the offer. It occurs to them that, now that there’s some interest, the price needs to go up to reflect the length of time it has been waiting to sell, and want another 10K.

The prospective purchasers are fairly game, considering, raise their offer another 5K, and sensibly say that’s their limit. I hope they don’t budge. Gift Horse. Mouth. They've got high standards; they’ll do the work properly, rip out all the tat and bodged jobs, and make something of the place, if they don’t get messed about by a greedy seller. Or it’ll stay on the market another six months. People are jolly interesting. I had fifteen minutes for lunch today. Fab. And it was sunny.

Comments

GLORIOUS 39. Dir Stephen Poliakoff. 2009

Glorious 39 strips away illusions. Poliakoff presents the apparent idyll of an English aristocratic family headed by genteel patriarch Lord Keyes (Bill Nighy). He presides over a country estate in Norfolk and his elegant townhouse in London – a world of golden light, romantic ruins, servants, house parties and happy children. But this is 1939, a mere 21 years since the Great War, the war to end all wars, in which millions died, Britain was crippled with war debt, and the English country house system which he so values was almost annihilated. There are many references to the ancientness of his family and tradition, but now, few male servants remained alive or unmaimed to work the English landscape or to be in service to the old families. Fearing domestic and political upheaval, appeasers such as Keyes sought to prevent Churchill leading the country and taking Britan to war, and to buy off Hitler to preserve British cultural and national identity. Nighty is excellent, contro...

Running ‘till your nipples bleed

An email from a friend of mine arrives; she complains that, at work, she is routinely subjected to gruesome accounts of female colleagues’ intimate medical procedures and gynaecological problems. I am all commiseration because I, too, have had years of listening to workplace chats about periods, childbirth and sex lives. Oh please. Later, I wander off for a walk in the early evening sunshine and it is so silent and so beautiful that I flop down on the grass and lay awhile gazing out over the rolling fields, and the mouth of the river, and fall into a reverie. Two men pass by. A few minutes later sounds of women’s talk float nearer and, by the time the two females of the species draw level with me, I have risen up from my deliciously recumbent position in the meadow, alert and tense, something like a meerkat. “I do feel for her. Going down that IVF route is such an emotional roller coaster. I was never prepared for how terrible it was going to be.” I remain frozen in my meerkat position...

MAN ON WIRE. Dir James Marsh. 2008

Enthralling documentary about young Frenchman Philippe Petit, whose breathtaking audacity gets Enthralling documentary about young Frenchman Philippe Petit, whose breathtaking audacity gets him arrested for the ‘artistic crime of the century.’ Man on Wire has a strong theme of destiny throughout. Magician and unicyclist, the teenage Philippe sees a magazine article about the building of the twin towers of the World Trace Center in New York. At that moment his life’s purpose is clear. Everything he does is focused upon this one aim: to wire walk between the two buildings, half a mile above ground level. As bold and daring as a bank raid, the team manages to get onto the top floor of the Twin Towers, ready for the attempt. Film maker James Marsh uses archive footage, photographs, interviews, recreations and graphics to conjure up a dizzying, exhilarating film. Refreshingly dismissive of rules, Philippe has no time or patience for limits and restrictions. Driven by his pa...

Just For Lookin' Thru

Search This Blog