Well, it's never easy to enter the property market. You are immediately at unease. It starts with the house viewing: an uneasy walk through someone else's house, immaculately prepared. Its polite conversation with the agent, that everyone has in seemingly the exact same way. All we want to do is beg for a lower price, all the agent does is put us at ease that it is a great place.. and no.. it won't be cheap. We sigh, go home, meditate, procrastinate, and finally bid. It took 36 hours of a bidding war for us to get to know Maria. There were moments of anxiety, of sadness, of humour and finally.. a strange victory. That yes, I had committed a lot of my future to repaying the debt, but that I had a wonderful family home. Maria walked with us throughout this stressful process. She was honest, she was helpful, she smiled (over the phone, its not easy), and came across and honest and thoughtful. We felt like she was helping us (despite that she was paid to get the best price) we felt she empathised with us also. She was charming and funny. She called us at the end, with the sellers, and we popped a bottle of bubblies to much jubilation. She made us feel human during this stressful, and often inhuman process of property purchase. And we are thankful to her.
Maria Cassarino
