My mum had just died, and my husband and I made the snap decision to sell our flat and relocate back to my old family home.
We were worried that the flat may not sell, it was a lovely little home, but the building wasn't very desirable. The two flats on the bottom were a sight and the front gardens were overgrown and off-putting. I was especially stressed and wanted to be in my mum's house sooner rather than later so I could find some peace and begin to sort her things. I felt raw, and in limbo and worried that we'd be stuck trying to sell for months.
The flat went up for sale, and that evening a man came to our door. Something about him was just lovely. I have never in my life felt this way about a person. My husband felt the same. The man said he'd been passing and saw the sign in the window. As the estate agent was closed for the night he hoped he wasn't being cheeky by showing his interest.
Absolutely not, we invited him in. There was just something about his presence that made us take to him immediately. I'm reserved, socially awkward and can be pretty hostile towards strangers coming to my door, but I fell over myself to offer him a coffee and an impromptu viewing. I wish I could explain it better, we felt at ease and 'light' around him.
He came into the living room and we invited him to take a seat. I made him a coffee while he chatted to DH. He didn't want to look around. He explained that his Gran used to live in the flat and he had pleasant memories of spending time there. My 18 month old daughter, who we'd been getting ready for bed climbed up beside him and sat leaning against him in silence.
To paint a picture, he was tall, aged between 50-60, had shaggy, longish blond hair with a fringe and was wearing a tan leather jacket and drainpipe jeans. He had a piercing direct gaze and a very lined, weathered face.
He explained he had no family, but had lived his whole life in the town. He said he 'didn't work,' and never alluded to a past job or career.
We chatted for a while, then he thanked us for the visit and said he'd put an offer in for the flat the next day.
When he left we were both weirded out at how strange we'd behaved, inviting an oddly dressed stranger into our home, and how odd that he'd just been passing and happened to look up to see the For Sale sign. We knew he wasn't going to buy the place, but still spent the rest of the night saying "He was really nice, wasn't he?" "What a really nice guy!" We assumed that he'd just wanted a quick nosy because he had a family connection and didn't grudge him that at all.
The next morning the estate agent called to say an offer for the full asking price had been made by the gentleman who had visited. We were totally shocked - he wouldn't even have known how much it was when he saw us. We asked them to check if he wanted to view the rest of the flat but he didn't.
We were slightly sceptical right up until the money was in our bank. The sale was completed in a whirlwind - he had no chain and we were leaving most of the furniture. Once we had his name we made a few enquiries but nobody had ever heard of him, which was strange in a town where everybody knew each other's business.
We did most of the move in two cars. We left a crib with a neighbour to pick up the day after we moved. When my husband arrived to get it, the neighbour told him that the man who'd bought the house had been found dead the night before.
He hadn't even spent one night there.
The flat wasn't listed for sale for over a year, then took another 3 years to sell. It was strange seeing the exact same Rightmove listing up for so long.
When it sold, it was for £20,000 less than we sold it for.
Husband maintains the guy was an angel, says my Mum sent him to allow us to move quickly back to my family home. I wonder if he maybe just knew he was going to die and wanted to do so somewhere he felt happy. We'll never know.