Posted on Monday, October 23, 2017
MANY, MANY MONTHS ago at a home in deepest darkest Poynton, I was invited along to provide a valuation on one particular house. That’s not unusual in itself but even as the appointment was made, I knew it was going to be a good property. Prior to the appointment, I had already had a sneaky look the day before in preparation. It’s always worth doing a bit a groundwork in relation to recent comparable sales as it helps provide a proper view on the market.
The presentation seemed to go well and the owners seemed to appreciate the sales evidence that I was able to present, and the best sign was that they even laughed at my very best jokes, so I was sure, ultimately it would be an instruction that was coming to us ….. or so I thought! The days passed by, the weekend came and went, I didn’t want to phone as it perhaps looked too pushy or perhaps I should phone as they would see that as keen! Who knows? And then it came …. THE CALL …. yes, THE CALL …. And not the one I wanted to hear. They’d gone with somebody else! It was brutal and I found it really hard to take. Who wouldn’t take it personally as I thought I was the ideal agent for that property and now it was going elsewhere!
After a period of sulking, I decided that from a distance I’d keep an eye on the progress. That’s the internet for you, fully expecting that it would appear as ‘Sold’ after a short period. I was slightly surprised that this doesn’t happen and as the weeks and months pass by, it just then seems to be sitting there with nothing much happening and then it’s disappeared altogether! It’s not on any of the portals and it’s not on the agent’s website so presumably they’ve decided to stay put. Actually, that’s not the case, they really still want to move and although the viewings were reasonable, there were no offers and really, it sounded like they just wanted a period to dust themselves down which sounded fair enough, so there it was, potentially back on the radar and filed away back in the front of my mind. Just think, if we could come with a hand-picked buyer, ready to move and able to create a hassle-free sale, oh what a perfect world it would be!
You can possibly guess what happened, mind you it wasn’t immediately! ….
A few weeks later I was carrying out a viewing on another property which seemed to go well, although certain aspects of the property weren’t quite right. The viewers had though given enough clues to suggest that the property in my head might be the one! After suggesting that I may know of a property and them seeming interest, I explained everything to the owner who immediately said it was worth a shot. What a fluke, they viewed, seemed to like it, but would want to re-visit. That’s the crucial viewing appointment! Thankfully it passed off without incident.
In fairness, the ultimate negotiation was a doddle as they liked the house, thought the price was reasonable and the owner was now keen to move as by chance, a friend of a friend has seemly mentioned a property that was soon to go on the market for them to buy. It’s the fate thing playing it’s hand!
Last week we exchanged contracts and what a nice experience the whole process has been. There’s actually no motto with this experience apart from never give up on a lost cause – sometimes the long shots work out and it might be worth, if you’re considering a move just having a chat with your local agent!
