05/27/2024
It started with a call from my friend from the music business, Alex Pickles - one of the few people on PEI who I would trust to go the extra mile, study the setlist, and put together a truly thoughtful, detailed and artistically satisfying lighting experience for a Paper Lions Supershow.
We met around he and Emma-Lee Pickles Arsenault's (the newlyweds') dinner table at 395 Queen Street in Charlottetown with a simple idea: Sell this house and buy the one just up the street.
Well, it turns out we had a few more twists and turns on the way than any of us expected, but we ended up with something beyond any of our expectations.
After losing several houses due to conditions falling through on the sale of their Queen Street house—they were ever the optimists, and with such amazing attitudes from them and Alex's father Stephen, who joined us for many of the viewings—there must have been more than a bit of heartache.
After giving it some thought, the decision was made that it was about time to throw in the towel. Take the listing down and enjoy life for a while - maybe put it back up next year and give it a break.
Like preparing to blow out a candle, we all took a deep breath and allowed one final viewing at 395 Queen Street.
The buyer really liked it. After a negotiation, we ended up with another accepted conditional offer on the house.
As we worked through those conditions with the buyers, I heard from Alex. His energy was slightly different this time - he had never had this kind of energy for a property. He wanted to check out 313 Buell, a fixer-upper in Mermaid. I admit, I was a little skeptical at first; it needed some work, but it was priced well for what it was. Then we stepped out and saw the view, the awesome garages, and just so much space in the house to work with - and the bones seemed good.
We put in an offer conditional on the sale of their house, and after some negotiation - we had an accepted conditional offer on 313 Buell. But I wanted to manage expectations. We still hadn't secured the sale of Queen Street and still had an inspection to work through.
Disaster struck. The buyer needed more time to work through the conditions, and we have been through this before. This extension meant we had to extend our condition deadlines on Buell.
But this time was different. The buyers were coming through, and while the inspection of 313 Buell showed challenges—it was pretty much what was expected—it was all the sort of work that was well within their capacity to take on. There was one bigger surprise, though: the furnace wasn't working. But Alex and Emma-Lee thought the sellers were fair with them and didn't grind them down on price. They left the deal as it was.
Disaster struck again. Two days before closing, there was a delay with the closing of Buell. At this point, the contents of the house on Queen Street were packed into trucks, and the sale was closing the next day, so we needed to make this work.
With a hope and a leap of faith, the house on Queen Street closed without a hitch. The buyers were delighted with how Alex and Emma-Lee had left the place for them.
The morning of Buell's closing, I showed up for the pre-close walkthrough feeling hopeful but not certain that the sale would close that day or what challenges we might be facing. I didn't want to show it, but I was honestly feeling a little stressed—as I'm sure were Alex and Emma-Lee.
I was the first to arrive, except for an orange cat snuggled up to the front door as though he lived there. He started walking around my legs and purring. His paws were dirty, yet he was so good-natured. He rolled around on the ground by my feet, and my stress just fell away. Moments later, Alex Pickles showed up.
He told me about the cat. They had been coming around to look at the house and noticing it lingering outside. They spoke with the neighbours, and they found that it had been left there by the deceased former owner of the house. It was stranded outside, and the neighbours were worried about it. Alex and Emma-Lee had seen the cat's name written on the side of a crate—no word of lie—the cat's name was Pickles.
I'm not a superstitious person, but regardless of your belief system - it felt just so undeniable. This was meant to be.
It was at 4pm that we finally had word that the sale was closed.
Alex went down to the furnace room and turned it on. The furnace worked.
Now Alex and Emma-Lee have a magical home with a big beautiful lot on the water with a view of the Charlottetown skyline, a big beautiful house and... two new pet cats. Pickles and Mustard. The neighbours are so relieved that the cats have a home again. After all of that, it felt like the world had rewarded Alex and Emma-Lee for maintaining such great attitudes and good humour, showing solid character and grace with the furnace concerns, and being the sort of people who would be willing to adopt a stranded cat or two.
Alex and Emma-Lee, this journey was almost unbelievable - in the genuine sense. I can't thank you enough for hiring me to work for you through this process. Way to go. You deserve all of this and more.
Congratulations to Alex and Emma-Lee!!!
