We’ve Only Gone and Done It...!!!

It’s just happened!

And what’s just happened is we are now (and finally) home-owners here in Modica!
The place I mentioned in my last blog update? Well, we picked up the keys to it from our notaio (notary) on Thursday the 29th of July.
Our youngest son’s birthday as it happens, so not a date we’ll be forgetting anytime soon.
As I said last post, its location couldn’t be more perfect: Being within a few minutes’ walk from about every retail establishment (including cafes and bars!) we’d ever require.

Thick walls onto one balcony

With its two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and good-sized terrace, it’s 87 square metres will be (and is) our ‘kiwi4everhome’.
Okay, work f’sure needs to be done on it, of course! But, except for double-glazing and window fittings (fairly expensive), and a new kitchen (cheap as here), most of the work actually required is pretty much ‘cosmetic’ only.
So, we’re not talking major and/or uber-expensive renovations here.
Now the external and internal walls are all in stone, except those for the downstairs toilet, and (at least) two foot thick in most places. And that includes the internal ones.
Because the house isn’t in direct sunlight (except for that terrace), and the airflow is great, it’s way cooler inside than out in Summer. The sun in Winter will strike the side windows, so providing warmth then.
All-in-all, a good, solid property that’ll certainly do for us.
One more than adequate for a couple of old(er) Kiwis, yeah?

However...

There's always at least one, isn’t there?
For us, it was paying for the property.
No, it wasn't raising the cash. We'd stuck rigidly to our budget, and had/have the house cost, all fees and taxes, and renovation costs covered.
However, getting our hands on those keys turned into this all-unnecessary trial. One that began after pressing 'confirm' on sending the money to the seller on Monday the 12th of July.
Afterwards, we'd chased our bank to ensure the money’d arrive, of course. But it came bouncing back into our account five days later.

Our online bank

They said they needed proof of where our money had come from. Under the EU's anti-money laundering legislation, you could argue fair enough?
But we'd transferred said funds one full month prior, and it was only now they'd decided to query it!
We hurriedly provided proof, and everything was now fine-and-dandy, so go ahead and send it again.
Then, the following Monday, they halted the transaction: Now they required proof we were actually buying a house. After much more sweating, swearing and cursing, we provided this.
But the following Friday, back it came! With no explanation this time!
By now two full weeks had passed, and the seller was getting impatient. We pressed ‘confirm’ a third time on Monday.
Then a friend asked: “She’s told her bank the money’s coming into her account, right?”
She got her money late Wednesday the 28th of July. We picked up our ‘kiwi4everhome’ keys the next day.
And: Sigh…!

But Then Again...

Despite over 30 years in IT, I remain an optimist.
Believing that things will always, maybe and perhaps, turn out for the best. And we had a classic example of both that, and how very helpful Sicilians can be.
Y’see, right after we’d picked up the keys, off we went to prepare for our shift by sweeping and mopping the floors. The cleaning took an hour or two, and I’d decided it’d be a great idea to pop out for the requisite breakfast of granita e brioche.

THAT door!

Then we discovered the door wouldn’t unlock from the inside! We’d been warned by the previous owner the lock was a bit dodgy, and to only turn it once, or else...
And I’d managed (my fault) to discover that that ‘or else…’ meant you couldn’t open the damn door!
Luckily, my wife’s hairdresser lives in the same street, so Alice phoned her to ask if she could help? Long story short, she and her husband turned up, we tossed them the keys, and they unlocked the door from the outside.
Her husband pointed out, helpfully, that we’d need a locksmith, of course.
Just then, another couple passed by: Friends of theirs. The man was carrying a cardboard box. Turned out he just happened to be a locksmith, and the box was full of locks!
He ensured we could continue to use the door, and will visit next week to change the lock. I mean: What were the chances?
Love it!

More Soon...