28 January 2018

Rick and the Estate Agent


Ten years ago, when we sold our last house in the UK, internet marketing was still relatively new.  At that time the estate agent just sauntered round and took a few photos with his own camera and the details were listed very quickly.  How times have changed.  Nowadays it seems that in order to sell your house you need to have a professional photographer to do the job – for a small fee of course.  Then there is the energy certificate -  another small fee. Do potential buyers really care about the energy efficiency of a small flat? We also had to show that we are not money laundering mobsters by providing proof of identity.

We have instructed Helen, a petite but fearsome redhead (Paul says she’s blonde), to sell our coach house for us. She seemed to know more about selling this type of property than the Vic Reeves lookalike.  She came round yesterday with some paperwork for us to sign.  Rick tried to lick her to death.  She said she liked dogs but I was worried about her designer jacket so I sort of wrestled him to the floor and held him down, gritting my teeth against the pain from my hip. Paul was too busy drooling over Helen to notice.

The photographer is coming round on Tuesday.  I expect another week will have passed before this place actually goes on the market. I’m not going to clean the windows again, I’ll just drop the blinds instead.




22 comments:

  1. After the photos are taken they usually appear on Rightmove within a matter of hours if not minutes. No wonder Vic Reeves was confused, so am I. Are you selling a small flat or a coach house?

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    1. It's a modern coach house, which is a flat above four garages.

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    2. Is the name coach house you give it as something of a joke or is it estate agents parlance or is it really what they are called? I used to live in a modern flat over four garages and it was just that, a flat over a garage, one of which went with each flat.

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    3. It is a stand alone freehold property with garages underneath, introduced to modern estates over the last decade. They are officially called coach houses.

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  2. I can never resist other people's dogs, if they're friendly. I'd have been on the floor playing with Rick in a minute and forgotten all about doing my job. :)

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    1. He is just so cheeky, climbs onto people's laps, paws on their shoulders. No manners at all!

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    1. There won't be room to move on my floor in a minute, people everywhere!

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  4. Always trust your dog. I'd say Helen is your woman to get the job done. Best part of my work sometimes is the family pet! X

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  5. Does Paul always appear lecherous around estate agents? How is he around parking attendants?

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    Replies
    1. Only female ones. Haven't tried him out with parking attendants.

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  6. I dread to think what 'energy certificate' our house here would be given; one with a laughing policeman on it, I imagine.

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    1. I think ours would probably be unclassified!

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  7. The house's value drops here if the energy efficiency isn't good.
    Greetings Maria x

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    1. Don't think it affects values too much over here. I suspect our grading will be exactly the same as it was ten years ago when the house was built.

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  8. Agents here don't need to be licensed, so anyone can set up in business, and very few know what they are doing. It's hilarious to see the sort of photos used to sell a property ! Some of them are so diabolical that the property will never sell.
    I wonder if you'll get an offer for your home soon - and the buyers will insist you include Rick ! I would !

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    1. Perhaps we should include Rick in the photos...

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    2. You should Sue. it would mean that the house is dog friendly too. All adds up ;)
      x

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  9. I read in a comment that you have a sore hip. I am sorry. It could be that you're under a lot of stress and tension. I wish you to get well soon Sue. x
    Greetings Maria x

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    1. Thank you Maria. It feels slightly better today so hopefully I'm on the mend.

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