Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
'Calm down, Carolinus. You can call Patrick in the morning. It is Sunday, after all. Take
a deep breath. It's good news but nothing is sure until we have a signed agreement. Take
your sleeping pills and get some rest.'
Between getting up to feed Ellie and thinking about what Patrick's message meant for us,
I slept little in spite of the pills. In the morning our agent assured me we would have our
house sold in two weeks. I called Patrick, expecting it to be the final call in this long nego-
tiation process.
'Youwon'tbelievethis,'hesaid,'thesellerjustcalledandtheyhaveacceptedanotheroffer.
A third party offered three thousand more than you, they are taking the offer and they don't
want a counter offer from you. They don't want a price war.'
I felt like a jilted lover. After putting our hearts and souls into the business plan it was
even more personal. We had shared our dream with the decision makers. 'What can we do?'
I said eventually.
'Nothing right now. I told them you would match the offer but they were adamant they
didn't want to hear it. We're going to try to influence the decision through the mandatory
liquidator and SAFER. The other party is a retired couple who want it for a holiday house
and will sell off the vines.'
I didn't need any more information, I hated them already. They were stealing our dream to
turn it into a retirement house. I felt like vomiting.
'Patrick, we can't go much higher. The place needs a lot of work. You saw the architect's
estimate: €50,000 to make the house liveable. There's serious investment required in the
vineyard and winery. One minute we have the property, the next minute we don't. One day
it's the mandatory liquidator making the decision, the next it's the owners; one day they
can't take a gazumping offer, the next they can. The uncertainty is killing me. I am not sure
how much more of this I can take.'
'I know, Caro. This is a very difficult transaction but the property is a great buy. If this
doesn't work then I think it will be time to walk away.'
I hung up feeling nauseous and texted Sean. For the sellers to refuse more money when
they were in financial trouble didn't make sense. Ellie gave me a huge smile and latched
onto my breast, blissfully oblivious to the turmoil in our lives.
