One of my best moments in estate agency by Oliver Rooney

A day in the life of being an estate agent can be filled with many ups and downs. More often than not they are ups sprinkled with a few downs. One of my best moments in this job happened this year. A wonderful couple named Mark and Julia had called me out a while go to sell their property in Ruislip Manor. They have a beautiful young son called William who is autistic and struggled to settle in the local school. They dreamed of moving out to the countryside of Norfolk where they could give him a bigger house and garden to play in while offering better schools to help with his autism. Like most parents Mark and Julia wished to give their child the best start up in life and after twenty minutes of meeting them I was determined to help that dream happen.

I stayed in contact with the couple over the next year or so, keeping them updated on the local selling prices and getting updates on how William was doing. In spring time this year the lovely couple called me out to see them only with more tough news. Marks elderly father had recently been diagnosed with dementia. They were going to take the leap and have his father come and live in the new dream home. They had travelled to Norfolk and found the “one”. As they showed me the details of the property I instantly could tell this house was perfect for them; a huge cottage with acres of garden and what looked like a small lake in the front garden with a little dock to fish off of. They didn’t have to say anything else. I knew this was everything they need to help William progress and a beautiful place for Mark’s father to see out his remaining years with his wonderful grandson.

Their only issue was that it was a very popular property, as you can imagine a home like that would be. To pay for it, not only would they need sell their home but Marks father’s house as well. They wanted me to sell both and as quickly as possible while achieving them as much as possible. Now while Mark and Julia’s house was a lovely modern terrace in Ruislip Manor, Mark’s father had a lovely semi detached house in South Ruislip that needed some TLC to say the least. I got both on the market as quickly as possible and after one weekend of viewings the terrace sold immediately. The semi however, stuck around for a little bit, and while a buyer was found for it they were very slow getting off the blocks. After three weeks, I had to speak to Mark and Julia and convince them that we should remarket the South Ruislip home. They didn’t like the sound of it as it sounded like a backward step and feared losing the dream home but after I spoke to the agent they were buying from and told them the brave thing Mark and Julia were doing for their son and father, they agent bought into them just like I had done and convinced their owner to extend them some time to get another buyer. We got them that buyer and after many stressful weeks we final exchanged. I had never been so happy for a couple because it wasn’t just a new house, it was the better life that came with it.

I have been doing this for eleven years and knowing I was a part of process to get William on that dock with his grandfather is one of the best moments I will ever have in this job.