Removing "Nasruddin's Nail"

     House-hunting in Morocco is not fun. - Just click that link if you want a refresher of how frustrating our last experience of house-hunting in Morocco was, three years ago. Thankfully, we have more connections to this community than we did three years ago. In fact, we were actually told that we should go look at this one particular house, and arrangements were made on our behalf to go see it. It was the first of only two houses that we looked at in our search; and it was perfect: Four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, a huge balcony, rooftop terrace, and yards with grass! Also, the layout of the house is very American, and every room is beautifully and newly painted white as opposed to being plastered from floor to ceiling with hideous Moroccan tile.
     You're probably laughing at our obvious excitement about grass and white walls...but you don't understand how rare it is to find such luxuries in a house here. This house really was something else... and it was also way above our price range. It was rumored that several Belgian families looked at the house after us and immediately offered the asking price. We knew we could not compete with them financially, so we resolved to walk away from the perfect house in search of second best.

& then something unexpected happened...
   
     The landlord of this house apparently snooped around our neighborhood in an attempt to inquire more about us. We are held in such high regard by our landlord and his family that our entire neighborhood was able to communicate our reputation. With this information, she decided to turn down the Belgian offers on the house because she wanted US! She even took the initiative of dropping the rent, significantly, in order to make the house work for our budget. She insisted that good renters was better than more money. We were fairly quick to agree on the new price and were ready to sign a contract.

& then we experienced "Nasruddin's Nail"...

     We were thrilled when we went to the house a few days later, "knowing" that it was ours. When we entered the house; however, the landlord immediately started to explain a "stipulation" in renting the house. She would need to built a wall in order to enclose the downstairs bedroom and bathroom so that she could come in and out as she pleased. She explained that it was essential for her to maintain residency at the house, and that this was the only way. We objected.... but she said that it was impossible for her to rent the house without maintaining a physical presence for her own legal residency paperwork.
     The idea of "lying" in the contract by simply stating that she was a resident there (even though she wouldn't be) was passed around... but she insisted that if the wall was not built, it would mean that we would need to invite her into the house for tea every now and then so that the neighbors would not be suspicious and report her residency change to the commune. We left the house disappointed, and told her that we would need to think on it. We were concerned that the frequency of her visits to the house would be both problematic and invasive of our privacy.

     The next day, the landlord called us again to explain that she had a change of heart. She could tell that we were disappointed by her stipulation and, after talking to her family, explained that she would figure something out that would eliminate the need for the wall. We breathed a sigh of relief and arranged several more meetings at the house in order to discuss the contract and exchange paperwork. We were set to receive the contract within a few weeks.

     The day that we were supposed to receive the contract, we received yet another phone call from the landlord. She had changed her mind again. The wall was said to be an essential stipulation in the contract...
     At this point, we had met with her a dozen times and talked to her on the phone even more. Her inability to stick to her word left us uneasy, and we were suddenly at peace about walking away from this "perfect" house. We called her back in order to inform her that we would no longer be moving in. As long as her name was attached to the residency in any way, it was not the house for us. We refused to experience "Nasruddin's Nail".

& then something un-Moroccan happened...

     We received another phone call. The purpose of the call was to apologize. If you know anything about Moroccan culture, then you would know that this is bizarre. Moroccans do not apologize. The landlord said that it was wrong of her to agree on a price, take our paperwork, start contract negotiations, and then change her mind. She wanted to make things right. She asked if we would reconsider the house if she could ensure that her own name and residency was not attached to it. She really believed that we were good people and wanted to repair our relationship with her.
     We said yes. The contract was presented to us a few days later. We insisted on a few minor changes in order to clear up some problems with the contract wording. She had no problem with the changes, but had already paid to have it typed by the notary and could not get it re-typed without paying again. No problem: Nicole sat down and typed up the entire 4-page contract (in French). It was signed and the keys were handed off to us on Aliyah's birthday!


     Our current apartment has been such a blessing (the best landlord in the country, fantastic location, great interior, etc.); however, the recent growth in our family has put a strain on general "space". The apartment is tiny. While Said and his family are disappointed since they love us so much, they understand that this move is a necessity for our family. We explained that moving to a bigger house does not mean that we are saying "goodbye" to the friendship we have with them. We are only moving 2 blocks away, and we intend to remain close with this incredible family.

& so this is our house:

[we'll share more pictures once we're moved in]

-David, Nicole, & Aliyah