Buying a House in Turkey Part 8

Tuesday is Fabric Market day in Bodrum. We had an amble around there -- it was inside, and pretty hot. And got hassled to buy. But they weren't too pushy, and I don't think we ended up buying much.

In the afternoon we went to Gundogan to look at another house. Was meant to see more - but to be honest - we'd made our mind up on one of the house from the first day - with the marble floors. So we went back there one more time, just to make sure.

We met the neighbours on either side. One was an older Turkish guy, who was plastering a wall, and offered to plaster our walls if we bought it. And the other was a retired couple - I think they were lecturers, and their son, who spoke good English. They invited us to tour their house. They's spent a lot of money renovating it. The landscaping looked great, and they'd converted one of the kitchens into another bedroom. The house still looked large, even with furniture. We had Turkish coffee - and I practiced my Turkish for the first time in a non-restaurant environment.... I noticed a cat, and said Kedi. Felt like a 4 year old, just learning to talk, but the house owners thought I was funny. Could imagine living next to these folks. And being able to see the potential of the house, solidified our decision.

Back in Bodrum, we had coffee in a new cafe, and then wandered along the beach to kill some time, waiting for the US to open, so I could arrange the transfer of some dollars to Turkey - to use as the deposit. My bank was great, and I had no problem transferring the money.

We went back to the hotel for a nap -- getting used to Siesta time! Then out at night to a Tapas place called Lapasion - it was down a side street, through a door into a central courtyard. Such a nice place - but we were the only customers... so the service was great! The food was great - but really expensive.

Have really started to notice the drop in tourists. When we first arrived, Bodrum was mobbed - it must have been the last week for school holiday, and all of the restaurants and streets were really busy - but this week, the place looked like Pied Piper had been into town, and taken all the tourists with him. I really like this new Bodrum.

Tomorrow we're putting in a call to the seller to buy the house. We had lots on our mind, and Red is a little anxious. We both really want this house. Can't believe we've been in Turkey less than a week, and we've got a property lined up. Both really excited - and I'm just running the numbers in my head, hoping the mortgage application gets approved.