The Contingency Plan

I think today has been one of the most confusing days of my life.

While putting Hugo to bed this afternoon, Luc took our old car Bertha out for a drive (to keep her battery alive and kicking) and when I went to look for him nearly two hours later, I found him at the front of the house chatting amicably with the builder/owner of this house.

The conversation looked happy and friendly. I could hear laughter. I was perplexed as this was the first time we'd seen one of the owners (they're a couple) since our termination notice, but went inside to continue tidying as our real estate agent was due to arrive shortly and the house needed some work.

Luc came home a few minutes later and we shared a brief conversation while wiping down counter tops, stashing clean laundry that hadn't been put away yet and filling the dishwasher.

I was shocked to hear what he was saying.

Luc saw the owner, Bob, when he came back from his drive and Bob took him aside to apologise and explain what had happened over the last two weeks. Bob explained that the real estate agents had basically fucked up and that it was a mistake for them to have sent us the termination notice.

(Note: The managing director of the estate agent is our main contact. He went on annual leave three weeks ago and he found out about the chain of events when he went back to the office and called me to confirm a meeting to discuss next steps for the sale of the house. I replied that the meeting was unnecessary due to the termination letter, much to his horror).

Bob and Luc were talking for about an hour outside and Bob ended the conversation by saying that despite the unnecessary stress that he's put us through, he was still interested to see if we wanted to buy the house and that we didn't need to rush our move as he's happy for us to stay for at least another few months if we don't want to buy. He felt horrible and wanted to explain that none of it was intentional or his wishes. Luc then said that he was still very interested to buy the property and upon telling me this, the doorbell rang and in walked our estate agent, Kerry.

Kerry confirmed what Luc had just said and explained that one of his staff members had misinterpreted his instructions and had drafted and sent us the termination letter when there was no reason for it. Kerry was going to confirm whether we interested in buying the property once he returned from his holiday. If we didn't want to buy, then they would draft a letter that would give us two months notice, not two weeks.

Regardless, Kerry knew that we were now moving out and wanted to meet with us to explain the situation in person and sincerely apologise.

Now, the REAL confusion set in when Luc and Kerry started discussing sale options. Even though Luc was initially opposed to the notion, I think our recent property search showed him how good this house really is. We love the layout and our main issues are only the lack of cooling and storage, which can be easily fixed.

Kerry said that Bob may be open to a delayed settlement of 6-12 months, which would give us sufficient time to save for a good deposit. We could negotiate a lower rent during this period and discuss things like ducted air (etc) in the meantime. This would really be an ideal situation.

Ten minutes after he had left, Luc and I were on the phone to a home finance specialist we'd previously been in touch with to discuss our options. He's coming over on Monday night. From that meeting Luc and I will make our offer (we can afford the asking price but want to negotiate one significantly less). Either way, we must make our decision by Thursday as this is the day we're set to sign a new rental lease (!!). The removalists are still booked in for Friday and our boxes arrive on Monday.

I would love to own this house and we could afford the mortgage and repayments but am feeling quite confused. I'm so desperate to get out of the renter's market. City rents are expected to rise another 5-10% in the next year. If we move to this new rental property we'll be paying $680/week in rent, which is average for the suburbs we like.

I know this is a significant decision and have avoided telling anyone as I know Luc and I have to make a choice that's right for us and our family.

I don't know whether we should start packing.

I don't trust this entire set up! Call me suspcious, but it sounds like the first plan fell though and they (both the owner and the realtor) came up with this wole story--don't buy the place unless you've wanted to all along.

And certainly don't feel as if they have done you any favors --I simply can't emphasize that enough. Be friendly, but certainly put your own interest first and do what's best for you and your family.

ehem. Sorry about the outburst, but I feel very strongly about this.

Squirrelymojo is right.

This post caused both the Citizen and I to say "Crikey!!" (as we're prone to do when talking about things Australian). If rent wasn't so steep there, and it was me, I would tell Kerry and Bob to take the whole house and stuff it. Nobody should make a careless error that affects someone's life like that.

Guess what, the Citizen's employer wanted him to go to Sydney next week. However, they couldn't promise he'd be back for Christmas and he would miss his kids' birthdays. He may go after the first of the year.

I have to agree with you both. I just don't trust these characters and question the 'mistake' they made.

We do love the house but I think we may be committing to too much too soon.

I had a long chat to Mum about it last night, who in turn spoke to her millionaire property developing partner and both advised against the purchase.

I feel much better about the decision and yes, we have the packing well underway!

Good going. Happy moving, and hope you're settled in time for Christmas.

Junebee: I meant to write this on the back of my last comment.... If the Citizen has to come to Sydney next year then we'll have to meet up with him for a meal. It would be quite trippy but a MUST!!!