COULD IT BE TRUE???

IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE! WE GOT THE OFFER TODAY! Just as I was sitting here at my computer, figuring out how to finagle an IRA withdrawal, and would we get the loan within the 60-day reinvestment period, thus not incurring taxes? And I heard the mail delivery lady at the door, and Le voila! What she was stuffing into the post box was a huge envelope. Not all that exciting at first, since most of our forwarded mail has been ganged into large envelopes. But I opened it and saw the magic name Caisse d'Epargne de Languedoc Roussillon. I immediately called the bank and made an appointment for 3 this afternoon. HOORRAYY!!!!

And here's what's strange - of course there had to be something strange. Remember how yesterday I was informed that these offers are always sent by registered mail? Indeed an online website I saw this morning says that by law these have to be sent by registered mail. This was not. And this bit of strangeness is a sort of companion piece to the piece of incorrect information I got from the woman in Paris yesterday, who said that registered mail is never forwarded. It is, at least according to the La Poste website and according to all the various people in the two post offices we went to this morning. So, people in Paris don't know everything.

Now we just have to find out what date we can sign the offer, because it's not at all clear to me which date on the various papers and envelopes will mark the start of the 10-day 'cooling off' period. And then we'll also want to know exactly when the money will be transferred to the notaire, since that will mark when we actually come to own the house.

I then called our estate agent, the ever patient Mikaël, who himself was getting a bit rattled after he spoke to the banker earlier this morning. He was thrilled! He said I should have told him to sit down first, because he nearly fell over.