RANDOM REMINDER

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32561, 22 March 1971, Page 21

RANDOM REMINDER

THE SIMPLE LIFE

Land agents, like policemen and journalists and lawyers, meet unusual people and strange situations in the course of their working week. A Christchurch real estate man was startled the other day, and has not quite recovered yet from the visit paid to him by a very old lady who said she wanted to sell her house. She told him where it was and he asked her how much she thought she would like to fix on it as a sale price. She said : $2OOO. Surely, he said, it was worth more than that? She said she wanted $2OOO

for it, and they parted. Within minutes, the real estate agent had a caller —a friend of his—so he told him about the old lady’s visit. Within minutes, the friend was on his way to look at the house. It was in an industrial zone area. Very quickly indeed he was back, to put down a deposit on the house. The prospective purchaser then inquired into the Government valuation. He discovered it was $12,000. He did not simply rub his hands and jump up and down with delight. He went to see the elderly vendor, and he explained to her that although he

had paid a deposit, he could not possibly buy it for $2OOO when it was worth so much more. She heard him out, shook her head and smiled. “I've worked it all out,” she said. “I don’t think I will be needing a home for very long. I want to sell this one. And $2OOO is plenty for the time I have left. You can have it.” One hopes that her calculations will be inaccurate. And if she does exceed the time she expects to live, she will not be short of at least one helpful friend.