Superdad and I have been dabbling with the thought of leaving our island and moving our littles to suburbia for about a year now. It all began one day when L Boogie had her toys all over the living room and Superdad was watching TV in our room, and I had no sanctuary. Not a single quiet spot to take my pregnant fattie self to follow up on the latest Kardashian update.
So, we did the expected and contacted a few real estate agents. We contacted the “bawabs” that run Zamalek, a few freelance agents, and a few of the big names like CB. And… nothing.
We waited for almost a year, and all we got were a few strangers walking through our home once a month. And if you think that’s a violation of privacy, listen to this. One of the smaller real estate agency’s we contacted took pictures of our home and lined the streets of Zamalek with them. All it took was about three polite phone calls, name-dropping, and three threatening phone calls to finally get them to take the pictures down.
So, we gave up on Suburbia. I came to the conclusion that no one would love my home as much as I did and that was that. That was until about two months ago when I heard about estabena.com . At first I thought it was a Spanish site, until my friends schooled me on the lingo. It’s a derivative from Latin that the Spanish term esta bien and the Italian term sta bene (its all good) come from. The term estabena evolved once it reach the Egyptian marketplace and basically means we have a deal.
I contacted estabena.com and they explained the process to me. They’d send a photographer to take pictures of my home, post it on their site, and that’s it. No commission. No crazy expensive fees… just an awesome service that’s worth every penny. Oh and they throw in a floor plan as well.
So two days later, the photographer shows up, tripod and gadgets in hand and takes care of everything. It couldn’t have been more convenient for me. He did his job quietly, neatly and diligently. I was very impressed by him. Plus the gizmo he used to measure the walls was really cool. Hats off to Ehab!
And exactly two days later, I saw the pictures and I couldn’t believe my home looked that good. That was when the phone calls began. estabena.com isn’t a real estate agent, but a market place for all the hidden gems in Cairo that we could only find by asking Tante Samia’s bawab. It only took two weeks to find someone interested in renting our home that didn’t seem like a serial killer or porcelain doll hoarder.
If you’re looking to rent out your home or rent a new place, estabena.com is definitely the way to go.
Off to the burbs we go…
