Home Truths

An agent skilfully talked me in to moving house - but my husband may be an immoveable object on the subject, says Edel Morgan

I've commented before about how the estate agent that stays in business is the one that never lets a slow market get in the way of a sale. Once they spot a potential buyer, through a combination of charm and stealth, they refuse to let them go and won't rest until they find them a property.

It's one thing talking about these agents in theory but it was only when I phoned a north Co Dublin estate agents office on Monday that I came across a real live one.

I rang to enquire about a four-bedroom house near Malahide that I saw on a website for €670,000. It had a large back and side garden with potential to extend, a utility room, large enough kitchen, two reception rooms, a sunroom and three bathrooms, was in walk-in condition and wasn't too far from the village.

I've been hearing that now is a good time to pounce because you might get a bargain if a weary vendor is looking for a quick sale but, as our house isn't even on the market, the reality would be less pounce. And, as I'm not sure how much we would actually get for our house in the current market, it's debatable that we could actually afford it but I felt it wouldn't do any harm to view it.

My resolve to make the most of the limited space in our three-bedroom home has been weakening.

I've written about how I'm going to look into clever space saving solutions and keep clutter to a minimum but every so often I spot a bigger house and can't help enquiring about it or trying to set up a viewing - much to my husband's dismay.

He loves the area we're in, the fact that he can walk to Croke Park and be in town in less than 20 minutes and, while he thinks it might be nice to have more space, he's not sure he wants to move further out of town to get it.

The house in Malahide turned out to be sale agreed - for a little under the asking price - but the agent offered to take my details in case the sale fell through.

A friendly chap, straight away he took on the role of helpful confidante and, although I know it's usually best to play your cards close to your chest in the property game, by the end of the phone conversation I had blabbed most of my details, including how my house is starting to feel very small with two young children and that extending it would eat up the garden.

I'm sure he immediately spotted that I'd be more a long term project that he would have to nurture to fruition than an immediate buyer.

Although the house I was interested in was no longer on the market, he skilfully suggested that I should broaden my horizons.

Before I knew it, he was telling me what a nice spot Portmarnock is and how we could get a comparable house there for €100,000 less than Malahide.

When I told him I'd prefer to be near the buzz of Malahide village, he said we'd be as close to Malahide village in Portmarnock as in the house I called up about. He volunteered to keep me updated and send me emails with suitable properties if anything comes up and I have no doubt he will.

He was so adept at his job that when I got home that evening I asked my husband - who hasn't even come around to the idea of moving as far out as Malahide - what he thought of us moving to Portmarnock. "But it's as close to Malahide village as the house we were looking at," I informed him, as he spluttered his tea in shock.