I totally get that it can be an
emotional rollercoaster for anybody buying a property, especially when you
intend to raise a family and grow old in it. It’s a life changing decision that
requires a lot of thought, planning and commitment. Lots of things to
negotiate, formalities to go through, a lifetime of debt. One would expect
however, that after many ups and downs, there would be a light at the end of the
tunnel. The actual keys, perhaps?
July’s excitement faded away almost
as quickly as it arrived, and chinks started to appear in The Developer’s
salesman persona. With the bare plot remaining untouched for another couple of
months, the victim game began. He’s chasing them constantly, he’s being
promised they’ll continue soon, the usual.
Wait, am I supposed to feel bad
here? Let’s put things into perspective. One party is a businessman trying to
close a transaction, fair enough. But the other is a family whose lives are in
this weird purgatory state with too many unknowns for comfort precluding them
from taking any proper decisions to progress to their next big chapter. Yeah, I
don’t care about what the contractors are telling you. That’s your problem,
sort it out. My business is with you, not with them. You made a promise to me.
A good chunk of the summer had
rolled by, and we were settling into our new life. I had already made more
acquaintances in a few weeks in Għajnsielem than I had ever made in Żabbar.
The local council was hosting events every weekend in the main square, keeping it
car-free. Ramla Bay, where I had spent most of my summers as a pre/early teen,
was also a popular destination for us. I was settling into a new job in Gozo
which came unto me by chance. At least I didn’t have to check emails on my
phone anymore. Even Connie found something new that was fully remote. The ties
to the mainland were almost completely severed.
Excavation works started in the
first week of September. A sigh of relief, for I was still hanging on to that “once
they start it’ll be up in a matter of weeks” nonsense. The underground garage level
turned to rubble, and by the middle of the month it was all cleared up. The
extension was up to the 30th of September, though, and no house was going
to be built in two weeks.
Raising the topic of signing a
new one felt scarier than it should have been. We were well within our rights
to ask for one, but I started comparing myself to Oliver Twist pleading “Please,
sir, I want some more.” How dare I, a commoner, a nobody, ask a mighty
developer for a “favour”?!
Well, time was ticking, so it had
to happen. There was no objection from his end, but this is when he took the
opportunity to ask for another payment. And this is where I really had to test
my use of diplomatic wording. It was a good thing the discussion was being done
via text as I could never pull off that type of thing in person.
It was a small victory for us. An
extension of another six months to March 2023, and no further payment until we
saw some real progress. “Fine, I
understand”, he said, “but know that I’m losing money from this too.”
Then don’t make promises you can’t
keep, because you sure as hell aren’t a martyr.
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