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“No, sir. I’m not.”
He stared at me momentarily, then invited me inside.
“Crystal, come down here,” he shouted up the stairs.
“What are you screaming about, old man.” An older woman slowly walked down the stairs.
“This young lady wants to know if we want to sell the house. She said she fell in love with the outside.”
“Do you need glasses, honey?” she asked.
“No.” I laughed. “I think it has charm.”
As I stood in the foyer, I scanned the place, and fuck, did it need work.
“Everything has a price, right?” I smiled.
“Come in and take a look around. You might change your mind. By the way, I’m Raphael Aubert, and this is my wife, Crystal.”
“You’re French?” I smiled as I shook their hand.
“Yes. I was born in France, but my parents moved us to the United States when I was ten years old.”
“Claire Monet. My parents moved to the U.S. when I was two. My mother’s name was Genevieve.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Claire. Hell, maybe we’re related somehow.” Raphael chuckled.
“You never know.” I grinned.
They took me on a tour of the house, and I was unimpressed. It was way too small, outdated, and just nasty.
“That piece of property next to you. Is it yours?”
“It is,” Raphael said. “It belonged to my father. Actually, this house was his. We moved in after he passed away.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thanks, honey, but that was so long ago,” Raphael spoke. “So, now that you’ve seen our home, are you still interested in buying it?”
“I am.”
“I’ll make us some tea, and we can sit and talk.” Crystal smiled as Raphael and I sat down at the table.
“I don’t understand why you would want this place,” Raphael said.
“There’s a certain charm about it. I grew up in a house like this in Connecticut,” I lied. “My mother recently passed away, and I had to sell it.”
“Oh, dear. I’m so sorry,” Crystal said as she set the teacup in front of me.
“Thank you. You’re too sweet.” I softly smiled. “I had to move to Los Angeles for my job, and I’ve been looking for a home like the one I grew up in. When I was driving by yours, I immediately stopped. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it.”
“Truth be told, Claire. We’ve been wanting to move for a long time.” Raphael sighed.
“We’re finding it difficult to do the stairs anymore,” Crystal said. “With Raphael’s bad hips and the arthritis in my legs, it’s hard. We’ve been wanting a ranch-style home, but we can't afford it with the market the way it is right now and our fixed income.”
“Well, we could, but we’d have to tap into our savings, and we don’t want to do that,” Raphael said. “The price we’d get for this house wouldn’t cover a new home for us in today’s market, and the last thing we want is a mortgage. This house has been paid off for years.
I pulled a piece of paper from my purse and slid it across the table. “These are the comps for this area. If you were to hire a realtor, you’d have realtor fees and such. I would hire an appraiser to come and appraise the house. Whatever he appraises it for is what I will pay, plus double. We’d do a private sale so you wouldn’t have to pay any fees. I’ll pay you for the appraised price of the home, and after we close, I will pay you the remaining money.”
