Today Michelle had arranged to go and view another selection of properties on her fact finding mission. We hoped that today would be more close up and personal than previously. People planning to live abroad are encouraged to do as much homework as possible and hats off to Michelle this is exactly what she is doing but bugger me the bloody estate agents really don't make that very easy. If, as a business, you deem investigative visits as time wasting then don't agree to take people around it's as simple as that.
Michelle had met a representative from the Estate Agents at a 'Place in the Sun' exhibition in the UK and so she knew that the trip over was for information purposes at this stage and not for a purchase. Michelle had arranged to view several properties today and we were to meet said Estate Agent at 10.00am (her request not ours) so you would have expected that arrangements would have been made to see the four properties which Michelle had expressed seeing some time ago so with plenty of time to make those arrangements. To say that there was a lack of preparation was an understatement. Estate Agent couldn't find the first property in the overly optimistically named Peyia Cottages development. Presumably they had bulldozed the cottages to put up blocks of featureless apartments. When we did find the flat the key wouldn't work so it was some time before we gained entry to a dark and overlooked apartment. Estate Agent declared that she had not been to any of the properties for some time which meant that they had been on the market for some time and clearly no-one goes and takes a look before a viewing as witnessed by the large birds nest we had to circumnavigate at the front door of one, the dead cockroach in the kitchen and the overwhelming smell of something decomposing.
Oblivious Estate Agent declared that every property we saw would make someone a 'nice home' although Michelle and I failed to see how. At the second viewing the current tenant had gone to work locking both bedrooms which got me wondering what she might have been hiding. The third apartment had such build issues that I warned Michelle not to stand underneath a balcony for fear she would end up in A&E with concussion. The fabulous vista we had been promised reminded me of that sketch from Fawlty Towers where Joan Sanderson questioned the whereabouts of her sea view. Yes you could see the sea but only if you could ignore the railings and the water tanks which were in our direct line of view. The final property is the one with the dead wildlife - it was awful and by this time I was getting somewhat irritated by the Estate Agent so that when she declared that this could be a 'nice home' I muttered 'only if you threw a shed load of money at it' and she took umbrage at my comment. What we gleaned from our morning was the Estate Agent had a number of illnesses, lived in a big old house (we know because we had to do a detour there for her to pay a workman) and that we were not worthy of treating to a coffee which was mooted but never materialised. The final property through a different Estate Agent got cancelled all together. What we learned, if nothing else, was that if Michelle were to come again she would (a) use different Estate Agents and (b) not be honest enough to say she was not currently in a position to buy as we suspect her treatment had she been a potential purchased might have been a little/lot different. We cut our losses and returned home via a drink and a consolation piece of cake at Alpha Mega.
This evening, being Michelle's last evening, we had planned a big night out in Droushia which started with drinkies under the vines at O Stathmos. It was lovely save for the fact that Bambos failed to leave any room for my tonic so I had to take a fair few sips before I could dilute the alcohol!!! There was a lovely little cat and what we think was its kitten there - Bambos explained that Jan normally fed them but she was away although her husband was here so presumably he would be down to give them their supper.
Our meze was outstanding - Marina and Philippos pulled out all the stops because they included octopus and salmon along with the fish (minus head and tail) that I had originally ordered. Michelle even surprised herself by trying the octopus and actually liking it!!! There were several other diners which was good to see and Philippos's diet seems to be working as he is looking trim and healthy. It was a really lovely evening - balmy and no condensation which is a bonus. It really capped off Michelle's stay very nicely. Tomorrow will be a quiet day around the house until we have to leave for the airport.
My other cousin (on Mum's side) arrived today and is staying in Argaka - we are taking her with us on Saturday when we meet up with Mum. Mum doesn't know she is here so that will be a nice surprise.
Michelle had met a representative from the Estate Agents at a 'Place in the Sun' exhibition in the UK and so she knew that the trip over was for information purposes at this stage and not for a purchase. Michelle had arranged to view several properties today and we were to meet said Estate Agent at 10.00am (her request not ours) so you would have expected that arrangements would have been made to see the four properties which Michelle had expressed seeing some time ago so with plenty of time to make those arrangements. To say that there was a lack of preparation was an understatement. Estate Agent couldn't find the first property in the overly optimistically named Peyia Cottages development. Presumably they had bulldozed the cottages to put up blocks of featureless apartments. When we did find the flat the key wouldn't work so it was some time before we gained entry to a dark and overlooked apartment. Estate Agent declared that she had not been to any of the properties for some time which meant that they had been on the market for some time and clearly no-one goes and takes a look before a viewing as witnessed by the large birds nest we had to circumnavigate at the front door of one, the dead cockroach in the kitchen and the overwhelming smell of something decomposing.
Oblivious Estate Agent declared that every property we saw would make someone a 'nice home' although Michelle and I failed to see how. At the second viewing the current tenant had gone to work locking both bedrooms which got me wondering what she might have been hiding. The third apartment had such build issues that I warned Michelle not to stand underneath a balcony for fear she would end up in A&E with concussion. The fabulous vista we had been promised reminded me of that sketch from Fawlty Towers where Joan Sanderson questioned the whereabouts of her sea view. Yes you could see the sea but only if you could ignore the railings and the water tanks which were in our direct line of view. The final property is the one with the dead wildlife - it was awful and by this time I was getting somewhat irritated by the Estate Agent so that when she declared that this could be a 'nice home' I muttered 'only if you threw a shed load of money at it' and she took umbrage at my comment. What we gleaned from our morning was the Estate Agent had a number of illnesses, lived in a big old house (we know because we had to do a detour there for her to pay a workman) and that we were not worthy of treating to a coffee which was mooted but never materialised. The final property through a different Estate Agent got cancelled all together. What we learned, if nothing else, was that if Michelle were to come again she would (a) use different Estate Agents and (b) not be honest enough to say she was not currently in a position to buy as we suspect her treatment had she been a potential purchased might have been a little/lot different. We cut our losses and returned home via a drink and a consolation piece of cake at Alpha Mega.
This evening, being Michelle's last evening, we had planned a big night out in Droushia which started with drinkies under the vines at O Stathmos. It was lovely save for the fact that Bambos failed to leave any room for my tonic so I had to take a fair few sips before I could dilute the alcohol!!! There was a lovely little cat and what we think was its kitten there - Bambos explained that Jan normally fed them but she was away although her husband was here so presumably he would be down to give them their supper.
Our meze was outstanding - Marina and Philippos pulled out all the stops because they included octopus and salmon along with the fish (minus head and tail) that I had originally ordered. Michelle even surprised herself by trying the octopus and actually liking it!!! There were several other diners which was good to see and Philippos's diet seems to be working as he is looking trim and healthy. It was a really lovely evening - balmy and no condensation which is a bonus. It really capped off Michelle's stay very nicely. Tomorrow will be a quiet day around the house until we have to leave for the airport.
My other cousin (on Mum's side) arrived today and is staying in Argaka - we are taking her with us on Saturday when we meet up with Mum. Mum doesn't know she is here so that will be a nice surprise.
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