
Family Loses Bidding War for Garden Shed to Slightly Less Desperate Family Who Sold a Kidney
By Dusty Leasehold, Property Correspondent for The Daily Desperation
In a Kafkaesque twist of Britain’s housing crisis, the Boggis family have been outbid on yet another property - this time by a family whose only apparent advantage was not yet being at the “eating cold baked beans straight from the tin” stage of desperation.
The disputed dwelling was a 6x8ft garden shed in Croydon, optimistically listed as a 'bijou studio with rustic charm' by letting agent Roland Cheetham, who later admitted the photos were taken 'before the woodworm moved in.'
'We offered £200 over asking price, said Terry Boggis, gripping his printed-out Rightmove listing like a condemned man clutching his last cigarette. 'Then the agent mentioned the other family had offered to pay the entire year’s rent upfront. Turns out they’d sold a kidney. A f@cking kidney!”
The rivals, Daz and Stacey from Romford, turned out to be equally desperate - just marginally less broke. 'We sold the Xbox, cancelled Disney+, and moved in with Stacey’s nan for six months,' admitted Daz, bouncing a toddler on his hip in the shed’s 'open-plan living space' – a single room that smelled of damp and crushed dreams. 'Honestly? We’re one payslip away from bidding against you for a park bench.'
Cheetham, adjusting his Hermès tie, explained shiftily: 'The advertised price is just the starting bid in the auction of human misery. Next time, consider selling something vital – like your firstborn or that signed Robbie Williams vinyl.'
The Boggises have since viewed a converted public toilet in Zone 6 ('original Victorian features'), a parking space with 'potential for conversion' (a tent), and the attic above a kebab shop ('comes with free heating'). Their 28-year-old son Jayden has started referring to viewings as 'poverty tourism'. Meanwhile, Nan Beryl has taken to standing outside Foxtons muttering: 'I’ll curse the bollocks off whoever buys my council flat.'
At press time, the family were considering whether to finally accept that Hull exists, or hold out for a more prestigious cardboard box in Reading. As Terry observed, while being shown a 'unique fixer-upper' (a burnt-out caravan in Slough), 'At least the rats look happy.'
Mr Cheetham was last seen listing a bus shelter as 'a charming al fresco residence with excellent transport links.'
Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay