Well, it arrived. The email I’ve been dreading.
Back when I was moving here, I was warned over and over again by locals on social media that finding a home to rent on Orkney was as ‘rare as hens’ teeth’. I was turned down twice for places I applied for (I’m assuming it was that the owners were anti-pet – it couldn’t have been me they took against). In fact, the day I flew out of Toronto I still didn’t have a place. I arrived in Scotland on Oct 5th, and it wasn’t until the 13th that I was approved for this house (I was already halfway up the highlands when that notice arrived – there was dancing in Inverness that day). In the approval letter the management company mentioned that the owners might be selling the property in one year’s time – was I still interested in renting in spite of that? Well, I was so desperate to get into a place that I said, not only was I willing to rent, I might even be in the market to buy it from them (not a likely option; by then I had decided the plan was to stay no more than 24 months). I only said that in order to cement the offer – I would have said anything to get the house. I took it sight unseen, didn’t care, just wanted a place to live. And, as it happens, it has all worked out very nicely, thank you very much.
And then it happened. Last week I opened my inbox to find an email from the owners. They are considering selling. Oh dear. I knew it could happen – I was really really just hoping it would happen later rather than sooner.
Did I want to chat with them about buying? I said yes, not because I intend to buy a property here, but because I wanted to find out how committed they were to selling. I even considered offering them a financial incentive to postpone the sale (not sure how ethical that is, or even legal in Scotland).
But, by the end of the conversation it seemed inevitable that at some point in the future, this house will be up for sale. Landlords in Scotland must give 12 weeks’ notice which means mid-October at the very earliest.
God – this is a lot to take in. A lot to think about. And I cope with change so well.
More to come, stay tuned to this channel . . .