Dated and unloved

Once Iris knew that her offer was acceptable to the sellers, she and her husband, Micardo, could make an appointment to view the property. “Based on that, we could decide if we really wanted to go ahead with the deal,” says Iris. She was thrilled with the property, but Micardo wasn’t convinced – not by a long shot.

“He said in no uncertain terms that he would never agree to buy the place, let alone live there!” Iris recalls. “The house was dark with no personality or style; it was very dated and unloved. The rooms were poky and the kitchen had only a kitchen sink and a single cupboard.” But Iris had a vision and had fallen in love with the yard.

“It took lots of pleading with Micardo but eventually he agreed to sign. However, knowing that the previous offer was only R960 000, I dropped my offer to R1 million because of the condition of the house. They were happy with this and, thereafter, the process went ahead in the same way as a regular house purchase,” explains Iris. “A transferring attorney was assigned, we signed the documents, paid the deposit and the deal was concluded within six weeks.”