English to French Art/Literary Poetry & Literature

"The real estate agent was almost apologetic about the house. I’d always thought brokers were supposed to exude enthusiasm, but either mine had never taken that course or else she really wanted to sell me something else, something more expensive. But this was the year One A.L., and I couldn’t afford anything more expensive. The lawyers had seen to that.
I’d tried living in an apartment for a while, but between bratty kids and noisy stereos I found I couldn’t concentrate. I needed a place to myself, where I could write in peace without distractions. And I wanted to own it; I wanted something that was mine, not some landlord’s. I desperately needed to know that something in the world belonged to me.
When most brokers heard what I could offer as a down payment, they gave me the polite treatment that meant they were really laughing at me. Gloria, at least, took it as a challenge. And she found this house."

This is the beginning of a new chapter, the narrator is recently graduated from university, and newly wedded.