Wednesday. I receive a call from the lady of a certain age. She has changed her mind on one of the properties I showed her, and would like to see it again in 1 hour. Luckily I have the keys and we meet at the property. She leads the charge, opens most of the drawers and cupboards throughout, smiles knowingly when we discover a stash of Vintage Champagne and makes positive noises. She informs me that she will ask her Lawyer to call me the following day. Yesterday’s young couple think they like a very modern, characterless, small home I showed them. They are viewing other properties and may be in touch.

Thursday. 2 of my clients want to put in an offer on the same property. The market is very much a buyers one, with prices being put on high with the knowledge that offers will come in anything between 5 and 15% below the asking price. I advise them both with the same information, and by the end of the conversations, I have 2 offers to put forward to the owners. There is a 3% difference in the offers, but I leave it to the owner to decide who she wishes to go with. 1 offer, the lower, is easy, as there is no chain or mortgage. The higher one is fraught with complications. She goes with the former, but mutters that the English are taking the Mickey on offering too little.

Friday. Our lady of a certain ages’ Lawyer calls me. She wishes to proceed with an offer, wishes to complete the sale within 6 weeks and would like the furniture to be included in the sale. The latter can be quite a common request in France. I spend many hours trying to track down the vendor, who I eventually find on a yatch in Greece. The furniture belongs to his family but he has never liked that heavy, classical style himself. He is more minimal in his tastes. My buyer is very welcome to the furniture, but he will need it to be valued, which takes time. This rings alarm bells in my head, because there now will be no way to complete in 6 weeks. I convey this via the lawyer to her ladyship. We now await the outcome of her reaction. The young couple have gone very quiet so I will nudge them back into life on Monday.

Another “fun” week has ended. I decide to put on my Beret and go into the bar for a Ricard before going home to my crudités and aioli and another fun weekend.

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