Life continues to be strange. We went to see the larger house for the second time today, and liked it more than we did yesterday. It has 11 rooms, really. It's huge. The only problem is that there is no piovate outdoor space. We're used to having our very private garden in Esperaza and are perhaps spoiled. But we were still quite interested in this house, with the idea foating around in my head of planting about 300 feet of fast growing hedges to block the view of the neighboring house. So, there we were in the same town where we would be seeing the last in our slate of houses this afternoon. We drove to the neighborhood, saw it was completely inappropriate and cancelled the appointment. And then John's cell phone rang for about the umteenth time with what he thought was a junk message. But he decided to answer it and it was the fellow from the agency through which we almost bought the house we really loved in Nojals et Clottes a month ago, only to be blindsided by other buyers who appeared out ot he blue and outbid us. But the news was that the other buyers had disappeared! Were we still interested???!!! Well, a distinct possibility! So, jump in the car, drive to the agent's office in Villereal, tell him Yes we are still interested but that after seeing these other houses we neededto have another look at this house. ( I really just wanted to wander through it again) Not surprisingly, we still liked it. It has everything we want - it's pretty, it's in a super location, there are no neighbors close by, it has lots of space, and besides all this it has a lovely pigionnier I'd use as a summer studio, as well as a greenhouse, another wood workshop building, and a garage. So we made the offer, Micheal ( the agent) will relay it to the owner, who is currently teaching in Africa, and we will be coming back to the area at the end of next week to sign the Compromis de Vente. Here's a photo of the house, taken from the agency website. (I have about a million of my own photos but they are on my other computer) The photo at the top of this blog is the view looking out the front windows of the house. I'm thrilled. Of course it means we have totally wasted this week, since if we had not come here Micheal would have just called us in Esperaza anyway. C' est la vie, as they say here.
House in Nojals et Clottes
Congrats! I love the look of your new house, and hope all goes through smoothly in the buying process. I don't consider your week a waste, it probably was good to explore and see all these other houses, now you know the area better too! Can't wait to see more pictures.
ReplyDeleteJulie, you are so right. All during the house hunting and viewing we became more and more aware of what a great deal this first house was. It's price is much lower than comparable places we've seen. I think it's a prime example of how not to show a house. Walking into the house was like walking into the set for a strange horror movie - aging examples of the art of taxidermy, not well done, with fur falling off, staring at you with unfocused eyes; and the whole house looked like someone had just left and disappeared into the ether. The bathrobe of the old man who had been the owner is still hanging on the hook on the bathroom door. Spooky. It's a house you have to have a good imagination to appreciate, which is why, I think, it was on the market for so long. It had originally been listed at 160,000 euros about a year ago. We bid 110,000. Gee - I could be ahead of myself. I hope the offer has been accepted. But I suppose it has since I haven't heard from the agent and he was going to talk to the owner today. Fingers crossedd. But we celebrated anyway. ;-)
ReplyDeleteEllie, fantastic. The place seems absolutely perfect for you. This is so like what happened when we bought our place. There was already a contract on it but that buyer couldn't get the financing in place and so we got the house we wanted and have loved. Can't wait to come visit. Keep us up to date on how the process goes. Fingers crossed!
ReplyDeleteThis is lovely! So glad it seems to be working out for you! I just told Cheryl to be saving her pennies for yet another trip! What town is it near? I may have missed it, but I'd love to 'place' you on a map. How is it really inside...other than the robe and hunting 'treasures'? How much will you have to do to it to make it yours?
ReplyDeleteThis is so exciting!
Now I see it! DUH! Still what is it near?
ReplyDeleteEllie, what great news! That house really did sound perfect, and really, getting a chance to see the other houses was a good exercise, reassuring you that by buying the Nojales et Clottes house you weren't missing out on any even more perfect places out there. That was always what nagged at me when we were housing-hunting for our home many years ago.
ReplyDeleteAnd there will be room for Summertime, I take it?