For Sale

I made a (rash) decision in the weekend, but one that I don’t think that I will regret. I say ‘rash’ because it was made in an instant (justlikethat) as I was cutting the hedge at the front of the property. I resented cutting the hedge – partly because I had no more room in my ‘green waste bin’ to put the rubbish, and partly because it is hard, dusty work which invariably makes me sneeze. The hedge is above my head height and I have to stand on a chair or a ladder (which is easier, except I can’t find my ladder since I have been back in my house). I decided that hedge cutting was my least favourite thing, and why didn’t I find a house with no hedge.

Which lead me to the Property Press which is a newspaper supplement which comes out every weekend with all of the houses which are for sale. Houses here are sold by agencies generally (although of course you can sell a house privately) and these days they are mostly sold by auction. The theory is that this generates some excitement and competition between different parties who want to purchase the same house, and so a larger price is achieved – the old ‘supply and demand theory’. Good for sellers.

I chose a few houses in my area and went to the Open Homes – forgive me if I am being too simplistic in my explanations, but I didn’t spot any ‘Open Home’ signs in Makarska, so will explain the concept. The advertisement in the paper will state that there is an Open Home for the house that you fancy, say, between 12 and 12.30. So, anyone can rock up to the house and wander through – you leave your shoes at the front door, sign a register and give phone details, and in you go .You wander around and poke your nose into the rooms, ask the agent any questions that want to, and then leave. Cheap entertainment – some people spend every weekend going to Open Homes!

So, I found a house that I liked. If you want to look at it, here is the link – http://www.harcourts.co.nz/Property/Residential?pageid=-1&search=52+Marlborough+St&formsearch=true&OriginalTermText=ES2969&OriginalLocation=&location=22002&proptype=&min=&max=&minbed=&maxbed=

I like it. It is just like my house (white walls, big hall, wooden floors). My house has a large yard where the grass keeps growing (they can put a man on the moon, why can’t they invent grass that doesn’t grow..). This house has a small backyard and no hedge – yus!!!

Now this buying and selling business may just be bringing Croatian readers out in a hot flush – because you just don’t sell your house ‘willie nillie’ (that means in kiwi speak – ‘just for no reason’).

Here, the average time for house ownership is 7 years. Imagine packing up your house every seven years! I have been in this house for 30 years, and if you are any good at maths, if I have been here for 30 years, then with the law of averages, others have shifted even less than 7 years – maybe every two years! Who could be bothered! But that’s what we do. So on that same law of averages, it seems to be my time.

My friend is a real estate agent and I trust her implicitly. She is going to sell my house for me. On the weekend I had the outside of the house washed, cleaned all of the windows, weeded the garden within an inch of its life…. And real estate agents came through to check it out yesterday. Today I have a sign hanging on my front gate. I felt pretty emotional when I came down the road and saw it today.

You see, we don’t have the family thing with our houses (you know, parents and kids all in the same block) but we do have neighbours. I know most of the people in my street. I am now the person in the street who has lived here the longest – I have been through most of my neighbours’ houses (a cup of tea or coffee and a chat over the fence) and seen young couples buy places, renovate them and move on. This is my family – the kids next door call me ‘nona’ and they all congregate kod kuce when my granddaughter is visiting. I have a school on the other side of my back wall and the kids sneak into my yard because they call it the ‘secret garden’. I know about the local priest who had the affair with the woman who lived here before us (she left her children, ran away with the priest and they are still together!)

So, I am closing the door on a bit of history. I know every sound and creak in the house, have painted every room two or three times over. I love this house….. but the hedge and the lawns are not getting smaller and I have mountains to climb and rivers to cross…. And if others can walk away from their houses, so can I.

Goodness, feeling a bit emotional about it though! There are still things to do – I need to be the successful bidder at the auction for the new house (23 November) and I have to sell my house (auction on the 30th of November). In the meantime, there will be open homes every day from now until the auction – and my challenge is to keep the place looking perfect until then!