Trading up

So, this week was a bit mental. We accepted an offer on our property, so things are moving forward as we planned. Things hasn't worked out well in the past couple of weeks so it is nice to when good news arrive. It also capped an extraordinary week as I also I finally got my application of Indefinite Leave to Remain granted by the Home Office. So yay!

The story isn't without trials and tribulation. A couple of weeks ago we accepted an offer on our flat from a private buyer - that is, we did not go through an estate agent. Instead we inquired from friends if they knew anyone who would be interested in purchasing a flat here. It was an eye opening experience, and one we genuinely believed we were better off. After all the chance to ignore using an estate agent and paying them commission was too much a lure.

This person (who had a good job at a major car manufacturer) was interested and after a short negotiation, we accepted her offer. Her offer was below our asking price, but we also had no estate agent commission to pay. It was a win-win for both parties.

Then came the hard part. It took us a week of communications to get the buyer to exchange her solicitor details with us so we can get the ball rolling. We appointed a conveyancing solicitor weeks ago already so we were dead set on moving forward, but our buyer was dragging her heals. Excuses were given. Emails, text messages and phone calls were completely ignored.

When we attempted to get her friend to get hold of her, well she did, but the buyer still ignored us. The news that she has been replying to text messages but was completely ignoring us proved just too much so we withdraw on the same day. How rude.

Now I dislike estate agents and many of them still rile me up, but we had no choice. Three weeks behind thanks to the time waster, we decided we were no longer going to trust any private buyers. We finally listed our property with a local agent a week later, with instruction to screen their financials first. The name of the time waster buyer was given to the agent and blacklisted from making another offer on our property.

But an end is not quite there yet, and we are aware that things can still go sour, but we are getting there, and I can't wait to moving back to London officially. It's been too long.

On a final note, Gemalto has published their latest Netsize guide, an e-book detailing M-commerce and mobile payments such as NFC. If you are a merchant or consumer interested in the new era of mobile payments, do check it out. You will also find yours truly in the guide, which automatically makes this book a must read.