posted on Friday, September 15, 2006 4:51 AM
by
Endie
Property and Holidays: Spin The Wheel Again
As my lawyer knows very well, whenever I go on holiday I first make an offer on a property. For three years, every single foreign trip has begun a day after taking a punt on one or another house or piece of land.
Since I go to Boston and New England on Sunday for a few days, it was inevitable that I should, today, first phone Alan (a superb lawyer, but incredibly accident-prone rugby player).from Lindsay, Duncan and Black and give him his instructions. Traditionally, the only trouble is making Alan accept payment for his services. Last month, all I could persuade him to accept was lunch.
The only other problem is that I never get what I bid for. On one occasion, I even bid for a property, offered 30% more than anyone else (70% over the asking price), and still didn't get it when the vendors decided not to sell!
Anyway, Alan put in an offer for me today, on a plot of land at a fixed price. I am suitably upon tenterhooks. It is very pretty, in an award-winning conservation village in Fife, with a burn at the bottom of the garden. It already has outline planning permission, and is probably under-priced, especially at a fixed price.
Regarding the holidays, I'm looking forward to New England. First, there will be a dutiful glance at the standard sites, then I plan a book-geekish expedition through the burying grounds and rural backwaters of H.P.Lovecraft country for a few days. I first read those books twenty years ago and I still love them. I'll be glad to get back and get my dog, though.
Oh, and the dog's revised name is Seleighe, pronounced "Sheelie" (arguably this should be the modern pronunciation, "seelie", but I prefer the "sh" sound). This is the Scottish term for the better known Irish Sidhe, the Guid Folk or the Wild Hunt: the rather more dangerous and ancient version of fey. Her full kennel name in the registration documents will be Seleighe Huntress. Obviously, I had difficulty cutting it down to the twenty-four word limit there...