"The Downswings of Property and Poker"

[celtic]

[Eso Kral]

Estate agent sacked for 'stealing chocolate bar' during viewing

The camera which captured the apparent theft is activated by movement
An estate agent was sacked after being caught on camera apparently stealing a bar of chocolate while showing a client around a flat.

The outgoing tenant of the flat in Walthamstow, east London, was testing the motion-activated camera, which he intended to use in his new home.

Jon Charter said it felt like "a complete betrayal".

Your Move Sterling & Co said the employee in question no longer worked for them.

The footage, recorded on Friday, shows a viewer walking ahead of the agent, who is at the door of the room where the camera is placed.

The agent is then seen coming back into the room, taking the bar of chocolate and putting it in his coat pocket.

Mr Charter said: "I set up the camera so that they would all be working when we moved to our new house.


The agent was seen taking the chocolate bar and pocketing it before heading out
"I got alerted by email that there was movement and sound in my flat and it starts recording remotely straight away.

"I then started to watch this and saw the theft. I felt it was a complete betrayal and wondered what else could have happened to others and myself previously."

He said the agent later apologised via text message, claiming that he had been suffering from dizziness and needed the sugar in the chocolate bar.

Manish Somani, director of Your Move Sterling & Co said: "We are very serious about the protection of our reputation and brand.

"Therefore as soon as we were made aware of this incident action was taken and the employee is no longer working for us.

"We have also apologised to both the tenant and landlord for this unfortunate incident. The landlord has fully accepted this apology and the tenant has accepted a payment as a goodwill gesture for both the chocolate bar and any inconvenience caused."

I will come back to this soon as have a similar story but not me involved obv.

Recently I had something similar to deal with as having taken over responsibility for running 3 offices I was in the one that needed most help as 2 key people had left although it has enabled us to really make some changes that we couldnt until they had left the firm.

A transaction was going through for a house we had sold at £800k and that vendor was buying through us at £500k so it was a £15k transaction in fees and close to exchange one of the girls in the office let slip to myself and my new number 2 in th eoffice we were lucky to have kept it together and proceeded to tell us that the bigger property had 2 offers on it the weekend it tied up but the vendor wanted to sell it to x party but client b was prepared to offer more if he could second view the property.

The vendor refused the viewing and said he didnt want client b to view again, the manager of the office decided as he liked client B he would take him in anyway and showed him around again and 24 hours later the office had received a phone call from the vendor to say that he was disappointed as he had reviewed his homes CCTV ( the office was not aware he had this) and seen that the staff member had been in but not only this he had watched as the manager got there early and opened up one of the kitchen cupboards and helped himself to some chocolate biscuits before client B got there.

The complaint was handled without the knowledge of either myself or the MD but came out after they left, and as it happened client A pulled out and B got the home so as I had not been made aware of the complaint and as I thought it would be great from a "Does he know point of view" as both the members of staff left to join a new company in the same town that when the property completed just before I went away I took down 2 packets of Chocolate Hob Nobs to their new office and said the vendor of the property had bought them in as a thank you.

As it turns out they were both wrong uns in this dept as they used to openly discuss which vendors had x buscuit so was a standard thng for them which is pretty sad being as theywre on 30k and 50k respectively...

[arbboy]

I find that incredible that people would risk their jobs for a few biscuits in client's houses.

[Eso Kral]

MALTA

Had an amazing time in Malta and for those that dont know I am half Maltese which probs makes sense now with the big nose, olive skin etc etc and really love the place, infact whenever I go there it really feels like home from the point the plane starts to land.  If you have not been before then it is as they say the kind of place that you will either love or hate and for those lovers you will probably keep going back time and time again.

I can definitely see myself living there at some point in the future and will buy for investment over the next few years as we move forward....

The Maltese are great people and I have four Aunts and two Uncles plus my cousins, nephews and neices out there so when we go it is not just about a holiday as they all want to see you and make time to spend time with you during your stay.
As it was my 40th this year we stayed here at the Hotel Corinthia in St.Georges Bay which is just around from St.Julians and overlooks the Dragonara Casino and is one of the top 10 hotels in Malta albeit getting a bit tired in the rooms now.






In Std Eso rungood when we checked in at reception we were told that we would need to go to the 4th floor check in and having gone through the glass sliding doors were told that we had been given a complimentary upgrade to an Executive Suite which gave extra room for the kids and also the use of the executive lounge (below) that was a room open from 7am - 7pm and gave you the chance to eat in private from the selection of foods there as well as helping yourself to free drinks provided in the fridges.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

When I am in Malta we still love to be a tourist and visit some of the sites despite the fact we have been many times before and combine these with family visits so upon going to see the "Mosta Dome" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotunda_of_Mosta we went to see my cousin Michelle's recent purchase that is having work done to it.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

All the old houses have names and this one is called " The Nanna's" and is a stone built house as many are except the new builds which has been split into two houses both 2 beds with this one having lots of traditional features and fittings and a roof terrace that needs some work but has views over the dome itself.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

This town is fairly expensive as an inland town and with the work to be done this will set you back about £190-£200k with about £30-£40k required to be spent on it.
This is the dome itself and is defo worth a visit to anyone going.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[Eso Kral]

When you see the real Malta and experience the people it is a marvelous place and my Mum used to tell me how Nana used to wash the marble doorstep everyday as even though the rest of the house may have looked dusty due to the heat and the stone buildings etc they are very proud people and most mornings you will see women "of an age" with a bucket of water washing doorsteps and mopping hallways like this one that had just been done as we walked down a street.

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Whilst there we also went to see their new "National Aquarium" which hs opened since my last visit and knocked spots off any Aquarium I have been to in this country and for those that dont know Malta has very good diving with over 30 dive sites on Malta plus more on Gozo and Comino (the adjoining Islands) and they have used various bits of boats/submarines from around the coast to create the walk through bits of the Aquarium.

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Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Even Rexas made an appearance

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A big FISH for those that dont know him...


If you go during May - September then you should definitely go to a Festa (Feast) with the exert below explaining the feast itself


"The Maltese village festa is the distilled essence of all that is Mediterranean in one event. These feasts combine colourful lights, band music, noisy and bright fireworks displays, and a crowd of hundreds spilling out of bars onto the noisy streets into one orgy of celebration. It’s an unforgettable experience of food, drink, music and fanfare.
Festas are held mainly between the months of May and September, although there are a few exceptions.  Every village has at least one patron saint, and this serves as the basis for the village feast. On the appointed time of the year, that village will festoon the streets with statues and banners dedicated to the saint, and throughout the entire week, locals and tourists turn up in droves to enjoy the festivities."



There is so much to do over there for an Island that only measures approx 27miles x 9miles and if nayone is ever going please feel free to message or post if you want any info.

Whilst there I always go to visit the resting place of my Grandma and Grandad and many other family members and the main cemetary is in Valetta and is a cast place as the following clips show and there can be as many as 15-20 people resting in the same plot as they were purchsed by the families over time and if you were wealthy you bought one of the "mini churches" that remain your families until the last living member of your family is alive but then after it gets to a state of ruin they have the right to resell or renew the area.

One of our families plots


The other

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Two plots away this family have photo's of the resting members

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Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[celtic]

Making me want to go back 😪

[celtic]

I'm fairly sure that tomb thing is v close to my granny and grandad's grave.

[Eso Kral]

Malta is renowned for its cat's, I think mainly due to the fact there are so many stray cats that people feed and they just keep multiplying and this little clip was taken from my Aunt's appt balcony in the village of Zejtun where they are responsible and have all paid for the older ones to be neutered or spayed although the odd new one does appear when new strays join the merry band but all the kittens are looked after but this is normal for village life.



Here are my two doing a bit of night time sun bathing.

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and Ivy carrying the empty water bottles on the way to the grave's.

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Max was pretty disappointed to leave as he gets 2 weeks with his dad not having to worry about work etc and here he is saying goodbye for now to Malta although I am sure we will be back soon....

[Eso Kral]

We arrived back on the Tuesday night and I had a day at home before using a pass out to go to DTD for the GPS so Thursday morning consisted of leaving home and checking in to the hotel before starting my Day 1 which having sold 40% of action in this thread http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=64188.0 for four future events meant we would fire 2 bullets if required here.

Having chipped down solidly early whilst trying to flop some hands after the first break it was funny as everytime I texted the team my chip counts it seemed our stack was just increasing and I managed to finish on 183k at the end of the day and also lost the theoretical Nando's flip vs Tomsom (new bessie) which meant that I was now in Nottingham with a free day but unlike "the old Eso" I was no longer in psition to go punting for the day so I went to visit my brothers house that I have not seen yet just down the road in Borrowash and spent an hour at my Dad's resting place at Bretby Crematorium.

We had most of Dad's ashes scattered here but my brother and myself agreed a few should be scattered down south as I am not always up this way  (in before) and Bretby Crem is such a peacefull place with Dad being in the same spot as his mum so I always love spending some time when I can.


Having a few hours to kill I just ended up watching a couple of films before an early night and then had breakfast with Mark Mccluskey where he told me an interesting story of how Ellie Biessek had been monaing to him for months about how bad she was running live (dont you just love bad beat stories) and after he had told her it would turn around he bumped into her a few weeks ago and it had "got worse" so he told her that a colleague of Mark's had recently given him a "Lucky piece of Jade stone" that you had to sleep with the first night  (std tap in) and that meant the energies within the stone transferred to you and everytime you needed a little pick me up you toched the stone.

Mark had left the stone at home obv but on day 1 first break gave Ellie a little rub and also at the start of day 2 after she had told him the person who had given him the stonehad blanked her facebook request and could he please put her in direct contact with this lady needless to say I would love to be a buyer of Jade stone in the futures marekts today!!!

Anyway we digress as I  headed back to DTD for day 2 which started really well when I drew a table with no one over 120k and I hit some cards to chip up to 280k with the average at 120k and thought I was on for another deep run until I lost 90k opening the c/o with KJcc and got flatted behind and by the BB and we saw the flop of KKArb which I bet 1/2 pot and again 1/2 pot on the Q turn and set the villain in on the J river but he had KQ and we moved back towards the pack.

I then got moved to the feature table again and lost a pot that I felt I should have folded the river but one of the team said I should call as he either has what he had or nothing and it was a relitively small bet but that then left us faily short from 100 down and when we got down to 80 with 71 paid I had to grind between 5-10 bb's max for over 3 hours and on the direct bubble which lasted well over an hour it was a war of attrition with me determined to get into the money for the team as it would be pretty bad to just dust it off having grinded so long but also means unless you have an epic spin your tournament is crucified.

At the dinner break I was due to be in the SB at 3/6/1000 and had 27k and had to wait an hour but it gave me chance to see that one other player had 20k and was on the button and someone else had 40k with the blinds due to go through them so I really hoped for a swift bust out for someone.

Mark had also told me he played with a chap called Alex Gabriel on his day 1 who he felt played really well and he also happened to be on the feature table so we got chatting and he was in conversation with  Sulphur Man who told him he posted on Blonde to which he replied so do I and gave his name as Papahat or Papahet who has racked up an impressive 13 posts in 10 years so in the reverse Wazz approach he will be able to start getting staked or staking in the year 2244!!

Incredibly both people Mark spoke to me about over breakfast had differing ends to their tournaments as in what I would imagine is pretty bad ICM wise the very first hand after the break, Michael Howard who had abused the bubble relentlessly like he should with 3 x avg opened utg to 12k and when it folded to Alex in the BB I was pretty shocked to she him ship AI so expected to see QQ+ and even QQ is probs questionable as there were 3 4 bb stacks (IDK?)  anyway back on Michae he declare he should now look at this cards and managed to open AQo and obv made the call for a vvv small % of his stack and after all the other hands played out to see if there were any more all in's and calls the bloggers made there way to our table and Alex flipped 1010 with the runout below ( not amazingly vissible)


But it meant a few hands later when folded to me I got in my K2cc for 19k and the BB called off 68o and rivered an 8 which meant no epic spinup this time around but a winning start to the package (well for backers anyways!!) but also good for morale as although I dont really worry too much about it I now have 7 cashes on the herbert this year from 17 events which is also the highest number of cashes in 1 year since I started posting here in a year where I have played fewer events.

Hopefully I can put myself n another position to knock on the door at UKIPT London in 2 weeks time...

[Eso Kral]

I find that incredible that people would risk their jobs for a few biscuits in client's houses.

When working in Chadwell Heath I had a negotiator called Bilal who was asian and came from a fairly strict family but his girlfriend was of a different caste so they were not allowed to date.  I was marketing a property that was empty which was just a small modern 2 bed home and was SSTC and going through but the next door neighbour held a key and kept an eye on it for the owner.

One day (Bilal's day off) I got a phone call from the neighbour to ask if the deal had gone through yet which I told her no but it was close and she said well it seems there is someone living there as she had heard movement in the property and seen someone smoking outside the window upstairs.  I said I would whizz up as to my knowledge no one should live there so when I went to the key cupboard I was disappointed to find no keys there but also not shocked as in our game keys go missing all the time (although it's bad form) with negs forgetting them in their pockets or cars and it is the bane of your life so I checked the records and assumed the surveyor had them who had been in one week ago. Nope!

I rang Bilal to see if they were in his car and he didnt answer so rang the neighbour to say could I borrow her set and I would go in and drove up to see her.  As I went to the door I found the chain on the latch and shouted upstairs that unless they came down straight away I would be calling the police and at this point a bare chested, red faced Bilal came down the stairs apologising and I walked off explaining to the neighbour I knew who was in the property and would deal with them and the vendor directly tomorrow but she didnt need to worry.

Fronting Bilal the next day he said he was sorry and offered me his resignation but said his family had barred him from seeing the girl but he was in love (they got married in the end) and he wasnt a bad lad so I put him on a final written warning and made him agree that if the vendor who was the next phone call I was makiing wanted a reduction that he was to pay the shortfall to the company which he agreed to and whilst the vendor took it in good spirits as I was honest with him he didnt want to take the reduction but I gave him £500 off his bill as a gesture and to penalise Bilal a little bit.

[craigbetts]

Hey Kral, nice write up on Malta. A few years ago I went and played a few matches of cricket over in Malta. At the time they only had a few teams and as such if you played you were almost in the national team. There was an 80 year on the field who had played for the Maltese cricket team not long before we played his local team. That's not the reason for the post, I blooming loved the draganorra (sp), did you venture in? If so do they still have a horse racing machine directly outside the poker room where you can perm tricasts for fun, it is like an upgrade donkey derby but amazing fun and quite addictive (not for reformed degens  ). We also did a days clean up at the Pietra Military Cemetery and giving up just a few hours in respect for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice is a humbling experience. Peace Bettsy.

[Eso Kral]

Hey Kral, nice write up on Malta. A few years ago I went and played a few matches of cricket over in Malta. At the time they only had a few teams and as such if you played you were almost in the national team. There was an 80 year on the field who had played for the Maltese cricket team not long before we played his local team. That's not the reason for the post, I blooming loved the draganorra (sp), did you venture in? If so do they still have a horse racing machine directly outside the poker room where you can perm tricasts for fun, it is like an upgrade donkey derby but amazing fun and quite addictive (not for reformed degens  ). We also did a days clean up at the Pietra Military Cemetery and giving up just a few hours in respect for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice is a humbling experience. Peace Bettsy.

Hi Bettsy

There was no Dragonarra visit this time around as it would be pretty pointless as I am not punting but I do remember the game in question and wasted a few maltese lira (before they joined the euro) over the visits there. 

I drove past the military cemetary whilst there and can imagine it was pretty humbling being there and many people you speak to know/knew people who were stationed in Malta over the years and now the barracks seem to be derelict or waiting conversion into apartments which is probably a good thing.

Nice to hear from you, are you still training the future of the forces?

[Eso Kral]

Went to value an interesting property today with a story...
This is the bungalow

Click to see full-size image.

It's 3 bedrooms and set in 5.5 acres of land with some stabling to the left hand side and an overgrown orchard which is set on an unmade road that must not do your car any good going down there every day whilst being located at the back of an industrial estate but with access to the A127 linking you to Southend or the A12/M25/London routes.

The owner is a woman in her 40's who was a carer for an elderley lady who never gave of the impression as having a few quid but upon passing away left everything she had to my client and nedless to say the client was most suprised that she had been left a property portfolio which is worth 6.5million pounds and whilst that sounds great, as there was no exit stategy from the old lady my client was hit with a £2million inheritance tax bill so they have had to set about working out which bits of the portfolio to sell.

This bungalow is in good condition and there are rumours that in the future the council may give permission to build on the land of this and the adjoining properties/land and therefore just the bungalow itself and 2 acres of the 5.5 with the other 3 being seperated off in the title is likely to set back some person £650-£700k plus there will be an "overidge provision" set against the property which will give the seller a % of any uplift in price or a set pounds and pence figure which any buyer will be aware of from the outset.

[vegaslover]

Made any progress with the house with the tenant that needs moving?
I exchanged on my next property today

[Eso Kral]

Made any progress with the house with the tenant that needs moving?
I exchanged on my next property today

Grats on the next one in the portfolio!

No unfortunately the tenant is still there but is paying the rent and the solicitors are underway so we are now waiting a court date with the tenant having been served papers so now has the right to defend (unlikely) and if she does not contest then we should gain possession in 5-6 weeks.

The sad thing is her property she wishes to move into is in exactly the same position and if that comes free she will most likely go before the court date but everyone is waiting for each other.

It does put the mockers on the timing as we would then be putting the property to market at a quieter time of year so we may have to swallow 2months of lost rent etc and launch to the market in the new year which means we cannot start our next project until March time.

Thanks for enquiring though.