A Break with Tradition?
This week’s blog is provided by one of the many Scotwork Alumni, Noel Penrose. If you would like to submit a blog for consideration please send it to info@scotwork.com.
Thanks Noel.
I bought a house a while ago. It involved the usual mix of practical and emotional decision-making, hand-wringing, uncertainty and hope that major purchases like this bring on. It took three months from start to finish, which seems like a reasonable time frame. What made it a very interesting experience was the way the negotiation was conducted.
We had decided on area and registered with several agents, received lots of potential property details, fixed a date to go see selected houses hoping to find our new home. The terms used here are relevant. We began looking at properties, refined to houses we liked and settled on a home.
On the appointed day, we had filled the diary with six viewings, but we arrived into the area early and so we strolled in the town, looking into estate agents windows as we had time to spare. We were surprised to see a property in the window of an agent we had registered with that was not on our list, but seemed to fit our criteria exactly, so we walked in and asked about it.
“This cottage only came onto the market yesterday, so details will be in the post to you” said the agent. “Can we see it today?” I asked. “It’s been very popular already”, was the response, “but there is a slot at 4pm. The owners aren’t at home for viewings, so Charles, our main agent, will be conducting all visits today.”
So we booked the 4pm slot, juggled our other viewings around to fit it in, and so began our day looking at stranger’s houses.
We arrived at the cottage just before 4pm and witnessed the man we would be introduced to as Charles saying goodbye to another interested couple as