0706291200 Not Negotiable.

Our house sale has “fallen through” again. This is not altogether a bad thing. The buyers were plain silly. The contract was worthless – it depended on the buyer selling their home within 21 days and settlement within 45 days. There was no commitment by the buyers. They had a clause where they would not have to pay for the building inspection if I cancelled the contract. It turns out that their house has an illegal veranda built over an easement.


These people inspected the house as if I had just finished building a spec home for them personally. Then they made a list of what was missing from their imagined “dream home” and then tried to charge me $11,000 for the perceived shortcomings. They included $2,000 for a pool cover – I had never mentioned a pool cover in any advertising, conversations or promises. They seemed to think that I had to indulge their every whim and desire – including selling them a piano.

They replied, through the solicitor, that their proposal to change the contract was “not negotiable”. Did they think that I was going to take the contract to a bank and cash it as a cheque? The term “not negotiable” ended the contract. All I had to do to get out of their crazy terms and demands was to say “no”. They refused to allow any middle ground and as a result they have wasted money on a building and pest report for a house they will never own.

Expectations are a kind of prediction – some people can have wrong expectations and then be disappointed. I have heard that the happiest people are those that expect nothing. This sort of person is constantly pleasantly surprised by the smallest things.