Chapter 14

I was introduced to the spectacle of the drive-through breakfast at a place called Taco Bell on our way to pick up Brianna. It’s not something I would ever wish to repeat, the coffee tasted like dishwater, and pray God what the hell is a breakfast burrito? I’m sorry but even a British rail bacon sandwich is better and that’s pushing the bounds of credibility.

Bree was waiting for us when we pulled up. She was dressed in a light green sundress and a shawl. She gave us both a kiss and got herself comfortable in the narrow rear seats. Fortunately, it was a lovely sunny day, and we all enjoyed the breeze as we headed out of town. I followed the directions the lovely GPS lady gave me and about an hour later we were passing through the city of Evergreen and taking the road up to the surrounding hills. The letting agent’s directions were quite precise and we pulled up outside the house fifteen minutes later.

The realtor, a woman in her forties, was waiting by the side of her BMW. She introduced herself as Gloria and she let us into the property. She called it a cabin. I called it a mansion, a vast open plan ground floor dominated by full-height windows with a view over the lake. There was a master bedroom off to one side and a study on the other. Upstairs there were three more bedrooms each with their own en-suite. It seemed perfect and as soon as I walked out onto the deck, I knew Sally would be happy here.

Gloria pointed out a property on the far shore of the lake “That’s your closest neighbor; he’s British as well. He’s an author, and he lives there with his wife Mia and their two children.” She smiled, “My youngest goes to kindergarten with their daughter.”

The one downside was the furniture was all pretty old and battered, and two of the bedrooms upstairs were completely empty.

While Zoe and Bree walked around outside, I sat down with Gloria to work out a deal.

It turned out that this was a holiday home for the owners who were in the process of getting divorced. They couldn’t agree on a sale price, so they had decided to rent it out in the meanwhile. The wife just wanted to sell but the husband was insisting on a price that was 20% above the market price.

I excused myself and went outside and made a quick call to Sally, “Love it’s perfect, we can rent it, but I think we should put an offer in and try and buy it. Have you put an offer in on the house in Brill?”

“I spoke to the estate agent, and the owners are willing to accept our offer of £850,000 if it’s a quick sale.”

“Go for it, get the solicitors to close the deal as soon as possible. He’s got my power of attorney so he can draw from my account.”

I heard her squeal with joy, “It really is perfect for all of us, Mike.”

I said, “Sally, I love you, go and buy a home for us while I try and buy one for us here.”

We said our goodbyes and I returned to Gloria. “How much are they asking?” I asked her.

“It’s $3.500 a month plus utilities.”

“No, not to rent, to buy,” I said.

Gloria looked at me, “You know I said the husband is insisting more than the market price.” I nodded. She looked surprised and said, “He wants $1million.”

That was a lot less than a million pounds. “Do you think he’ll take 850 if it’s a quick cash deal?”

“He might; I’ll give him a call.” She pulled out her phone and walked to the other side of the room. She was back in a few minutes with a counter offer. “He would consider 950 and you would need to close in thirty days.”