Well fuck me senseless! What a fucking week and I will not apologise for my French there either!
I telephone shithead estate agents whose name I will not deign to mention - CUMBRIAN PROPERTIES - on the Thurs to say that we will have the house at £375pcm with leccy storage heaters installed upstairs. I said we'd call in on the Friday with deposit, papers, etc. Fri morning we make the 2 hour drive to Carlisle, we have a look round the town of Brampton, we call in at the school and book dd a place (lovely lovely school, gave us loads of books to help dd catch up), called in at the nursery about ds (fab nursery but fecking expensive!) then we try to find the estate agents whose name I shall still not mention - CUMBRIAN PROPERTIES - we get stupidly lost as Carlisle has the most well hidden bus station I have ever known and we were told to make for the sodding bus station. We arrive half an hour after we should have done. I introduce myself and say we've come to finalise the deal on the house. Here is the conversation with Mr Arsehole and me;
MrA "Craiglyn? Sorry I've just let it!"
R "Very funny."
Mr A "No, I have just let it, a guy came in 20 mins ago and paid 6 months up front, full rent, here is his bankers draft"
R "No fucking way mate, I telephoned you yesterday, I said we wanted the house, you knew we were coming today"
Mr A "But it wasn't final, this guy gave a better offer, sorry but that's business"
R "But I've just got my daughter into the school! We have all our papers here for you and the deposit! You knew we were coming!"
Mr A "Look I'm sorry but first come first served and this guy had a better offer, the landlady has been informed, the deal is done."
I then have a rant about morality, about business being fucking personal when you are dealing with human beings, lives, children, etc. I said he could have phoned to tell us this guy had come in, given us the chance to respond, but he didn't. He said nothing to this, only that he hadn't had his dinner and was off to get it. I refused to leave the office, I made a scene, people were looking. This other guy came up and said he would do his best to find another property for us in the same area, he told dh to take me for a stiff drink and come back in half an hour. I made another scene outside the offices and then left quietly.
Just as we were leaving this old lady passed, now I didn't really see her, all I remember is dd pulling onto my arm and then going apeshit hysterical, screaming, REALLY screaming and trying to climb up me in pure fear. I turned to see the back of this old woman passing, dh explained that she looked hideous, yellow and deformed and she had pulled her tongue out at dd which was very very long apparently. Well dd was so fucking shaken up, really really shaken up! I thought we had walked into a nightmare and I seriously wondered if we were still asleep!
We went back, this other guy sat us down, gave the kids an ice cream and explained that he had spoken to this guy who had put in the offer and persuaded him to back down, he told him that a young family were devastated and the guy reluctantly backed off. But the landlady thought she was getting the full rent, house as it was (no heaters) and 6 months rent in advance, so we had to match the offer. Dh was livid but what could we do? So that is what we have done, laid down 6 months rent at £400pcm, we have no heaters upstairs now, we have to provide these ourselves.
So the good news is that we did get the house and we move in next weekend and dd is in the school and everybody seems really nice and friendly, but the bad news is that we didn't get our original deal and we have to provide our own heating. So we are seriously out of pocket atm, but we'll survive. At least we have a house!
If anyone knows of any furniture going btw, we need a freezer, washing machine, child's bed and some heaters etc!
The moral of this tale is; don't assume you have a telephone arrangement, nothing is concrete without a deposit and estate agents particularly CUMBRIAN PROPERTIES the one I shall not name, are all heartless bastards and it's worth making a fucking scene!