Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
This wasn't just a purchase for us; it was a massive life decision. To buy the property we
had to sell our house. There was no halfway.
'What are we going to do, SF?' I asked as we debated the purchase that evening.
Sean had been playing it cool. He didn't want me to feel influenced but I knew what he
wanted. For me, the quality of the wine had sealed it. Now that we knew the liquidation
was not a problem it was obvious we should make an offer.
Patrick, the agent, called the next day before I had a chance to call him. Although I had
only spoken to him a few times he felt like a confidante; he knew more about our dream
than our closest family and friends.
'A person who viewed the place after Sean has offered the full price,' he said. 'What do
you want to do?'
This put a new aspect of risk on the purchase. It was not as simple as our decision to go
ahead or not. There was no certainty that it would be ours. Over the previous few days I
had slowly been making this vineyard my new home.
Patrick was convinced a slightly higher price would clinch the deal so we agreed. Minutes
later he confirmed the seller had accepted our bid. I flew up onto cloud nine, revelling in
my sun-drenched vineyard image. Sophia, rolling around on her Winnie the Pooh car, and
Ellie, lying in the bouncy chair, both looked up at my yell of triumph. When Sean got home
we toasted ournew venture with butterflies ofexcitement and fear intertwined with the fine
bubbles of the champagne. It seemed like it was really happening… I had already forgotten
that the
notaire
had said it was not only the seller's decision.
The following evening Patrick shattered our dream.
'Caro, youwon'tbelieve this, buteverything's off.InFrench law,once the asking price has
been accepted on a place it's closed to other bids so they can't take your offer even though
they want to. Gazumping isn't allowed.'
I had spent a week setting my sights on this property as our new home, the place to settle
for good, and now we couldn't even bid. My vineyard vision fizzled away like a sparkler
doused in water. I felt aggressive.
'The
notaire
said the liquidator would consider multiple offers,' I snapped.
'Sorry, Caro, this is what the agent in France told me. This is a bit different to a standard
sale. I'll query it and get back to you as soon as I can. In the meantime, consider everything
on stop.'
Sometimes Patrick's French came through in the English he used, like saying everything
is on 'stop'. If he didn't know what was going on, what hope was there for us?
'Don't worry, Carolinus,' soothed Sean in his frustratingly calm manner when I called him
with the latest twist. 'There will be other places.'
'Butwilltheybeasperfect?Walkingdistancetoaschool,views,therightgrapevarieties?'
I could see our dream slipping away.
