One of the questions that I sadly never get asked is “are
you available to photograph the women’s topless pogo championship?” The answer to which is an emphatic yes. It’s always yes. Another question which sadly fails to crop up in natural conversation
is “what advice do you have on finding the perfect property?” Well, I am a professional house hunter. I used to be a regular hunter, but had to give that up after a particularly nasty snail bite got infected. I have transitioned from hunting wolverines in the wild to the
white-collar world of real estate. That
may sound like an odd career change, but the worlds of real estate and
slaughtering defenseless animals aren’t as exclusive as they may first
appear. Here are my top tips for
securing your perfect home.
1) Preparation is
important. When you go house hunting,
always make sure that you are prepared for any eventuality. Always carry a hunting knife strapped to your
shin in case you need to cut through a piece of skirting board and inspect for
asbestos. They are also great for negotiating with. Make sure you have a torch
handy for exploring the dark crevasses of the property’s foundations, or to
inspect the attic for any tasty mice or bats.
A camping stove can help you in case you accidentally get locked inside
the property due to a faulty lock, and can also be used to test out smoke
alarms.
2) Make sure that
you understand the area. What are the
schools like nearby? Are there decent
links into the city centre? What kind of
game am I likely to spot over at the watering hole? When does mating season generally begin? All of these questions will help you get a
picture of your surroundings and what to expect when you move in. Your
estate agent should be happy to supply this information.
3) Always choose a
house with at least two storeys. Their
height can offer a significant vantage point from the roof.
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I'm hunting two bed semi detached properties with jack and jill bathrooms, be vewy vewy qwiet. |
4) When it comes
to putting an offer in on a property, you have to wait for the opportune moment
before you strike. Picture the
situation; you have a house in your sights.
The house is unaware of your presence and sips nonchalantly from a small
spring. You need to close in quietly to
get a better shot and take this sucker down, but if you move too quickly you
will startle it. So you creep closer,
keeping your feet close to the ground and trying to keep a low centre of
gravity. You tread too heavily and the dry
grass rustles underfoot. The house looks
up with alarm. Your heart is in your
mouth, pounding away, betraying your position with its rhythmic thrusting. You pause, hoping to God that it hasn’t
spotted you. The house glances around,
but cannot see any danger, so returns to the refreshing pond. Mopping a bead of sweat from your brow you
begin your approach once more, trying to stay out of sight. However, as you glance right, you notice some
other house hunters in the grass around, all approaching the same target. One of them fires too early, misses the
target completely, and sends it running for its life across the Serengeti. Another hunter takes a shot and strikes a hit,
but the shot wasn’t clean and the house is only wounded. Now the house is limping and starting to
bleed out. This is opportune moment for you to put in an offer of £525 PCM
with only one month’s rent deposit! Bargain!
5) If you want to
sell or rent your property to others, make sure you lay snares all over the
front lawn to snag those potential buyers.
Follow these tips and you’ll be crowned king of the real
estate market in no time. At that point,
you’ll have to fight me, the current real estate king, for mating rights and
territory. Good luck with that!