Reborn as a landlord in Shanghai

Chapter 40: The Second House is Acquired

Having bought a house before, Mao Xiaoyu was much calmer when she came to buy a house for the second time than the first time.

Moreover, Guo Xiaoyan brought Liu Mingbo along to help this time, which saved Mao Xiaoyu a lot of trouble.

After all, Guo Xiaoyan and Liu Mingbo were busy throughout the entire transaction process so that Liu Mingbo would know what the intermediary company needed to do.

As for Mao Xiaoyu and the seller, all they need to do is sit there and sign a document.

Mao Xiaoyu was happy to do this without having to do anything, as long as she signed the contract. However, as a shareholder of the intermediary company, she couldn't neglect the seller, so Mao Xiaoyu consciously chatted and boasted with the seller.

The sellers were the elderly couple that Mao Xiaoyu had seen in the shop last time. The woman's surname was Ge and the man's surname was Lu. This time, from the snippets of conversation, she learned that the sellers' son had graduated from university and was now working in Pudong. Even his daughter-in-law was someone he found there.

Moreover, the two had been dating for two or three years and had reached the point of discussing marriage. Therefore, their first step was to buy a house. After discussion, the couple's son and daughter-in-law unanimously decided to buy a house in Pudong so that it would be more convenient for them to go to work in the future.

This decision disrupted the elderly couple's plans. After all, their original plan was for their son to live by their side so that they could take care of his children after he got married.

Therefore, as early as seven or eight years ago, the elderly couple bought a 56-square-meter two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment next to their son, specifically to serve as his wedding home.

Although this two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment was a second-hand property when it was purchased, the seller hadn't lived there for very long. The elderly couple were thinking that when their son got married, they would spend some money to renovate it for him. Otherwise, their son could stay there while he was still married.

The idea was good, but the son and daughter-in-law refused to accept it. They complained that the house was too small, the location was too remote, and the commute to work was too far. The young couple insisted on buying a house in Pudong, and they wanted to buy a big house. But where would they get the money to buy a big house?

It's a bit difficult for the young couple to come up with the money to buy a house.

In the end, the elderly couple had no choice but to sell the house to raise money for their son to buy a house in Pudong.

The reason we're selling this house in such a hurry is that there's a great new development near my son's workplace. It's excellent in terms of location and proximity to his company. More importantly, the price isn't too high right now, but it's going to go up in the next few days. So my son wants to get that house as soon as possible, which is why we're selling this old house in a bit of a rush.

…………

Honestly, hearing the elderly couple's complaints, Mao Xiaoyu really didn't know what to say about this kind of inheritance in China. She could only say that everything was for the children.

When we were young, the best food and things were always given to us. When we grew up, we bought houses and cars for our children, and it was still the same. When our children had their own children, we had to take care of their grandchildren. When our grandchildren grew up, we were too old to move around. In the end, we were still saving money for our children, giving them our retirement savings, afraid that they wouldn't have enough money.

Anyway, once Chinese people have children, all their thoughts and focus are on the children. Very few people are self-centered. Of course, this is not absolute, but it can be said to be 95%.

Seeing the elderly couple's distress over their son, Mao Xiaoyu's eyes darted around, and she asked, "Since you two bought a house here for your son, it seems your own house shouldn't be far away either. Is your current house in the same neighborhood as your son's?"

"No, we live in the community at the intersection of Qingyang Road and Qingfeng Road, not too far from the apartment we just sold."

Perhaps sensing that Mao Xiaoyu hadn't shown any impatience after listening to their complaints, the elderly couple had a rather favorable impression of her. Now, upon hearing Mao Xiaoyu's question, the man surnamed Lu from the couple revealed where he currently lived.

Qingyang Road and Qingfeng Road?

After a quick mental calculation, Mao Xiaoyu immediately knew exactly where the house was.

Isn't this the place that's supposed to be demolished in two months?

Unexpectedly, this elderly couple will become relocated residents in just two months!

But Peng Fei didn't see these two old people in his previous life!

Did the elderly couple die before they received their new house in the demolition compensation?

That's impossible!

The elderly couple seems to be in good health; they probably won't die in two or three years. If they don't, they'll likely use the compensation money to buy a house and live with their son.

Otherwise, I would have already seen them here, otherwise why wouldn't I recognize the two of them at all?

Logically speaking, since they took the cash and left when the demolition was completed and went to live with their son, it means that the elderly couple didn't really miss this place.

Since that's the case, there are still more than two months left. Could I ask the old couple to sell the house to me during this period? That way, I would have another house to receive as compensation for the demolition.

Thinking of this, Mao Xiaoyu felt a surge of excitement, but on the surface she remained calm and said, "So that's the neighborhood you're talking about. I've heard about it too. But the neighborhoods over there have been around for a long time, and they're much worse than the ones you're selling now. I heard that every household doesn't have a toilet; the toilets are all shared. If you want to use the toilet at home, you have to use a spittoon. Also, the houses over there are generally too small. Many are just one bedroom, one living room, and one kitchen, so the kids have to sleep in the living room. The living environment isn't good."

If you ask me, now that your son has settled down in Pudong, you two will definitely have to go there to help take care of his child. Otherwise, one of you will have to quit your job to stay home and take care of the child, which would be a huge loss for both of you. But if you go there to help take care of the child, you will definitely have to live with them. And young people don't like living with the elderly, so if you go there to help take care of the child, there will inevitably be some friction over time.

In my opinion, since you two are both retired now, why don't you sell this house you live in here and use the money to buy a smaller two-bedroom apartment near your son and daughter-in-law? After all, houses in Pudong are much cheaper than here in Puxi. Selling this small house here and buying a larger one there would be much better.

Moreover, with a two-bedroom, one-living-room house, you two won't need to stay in your son and daughter-in-law's house to take care of the child. You can bring the child to your place and let the child sleep in the small room. This won't affect the young couple's life and will allow them to have some romance. Your son will be very grateful to you. More importantly, it won't affect the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

If you insist on staying here and refuse to come over, I feel it might be difficult. After all, once your son and daughter-in-law have their baby, they might want to come back to live here, but the house is only so big that there's no room for them to live there, let alone let their grandson live here. In the future, their grandson will have to go to the public toilet to use the toilet, which will be very inconvenient!

Therefore, in my opinion, it would be better to sell this house as soon as possible, take advantage of the cheaper prices over there, and buy a bigger house there. More importantly, you two will live closer to your son, so if you have any problems, it will be easier for him to check on you.

Hearing Mao Xiaoyu's words, the elderly couple were a little stunned. They never expected to hear such things when they came to sell a house.

But thinking about it again, what Mao Xiaoyu said seemed to make a lot of sense.

Honestly, the environment we live in isn't great, so even though my son has somewhere else to stay after he started working, he rarely comes back. We usually only talk on the phone, and sometimes we don't see each other for months at a time. And we're living in the same city!

The elderly couple are now thinking that if they wait until their son gets married in Pudong and then want to live their own lives, their son will come back even less often. Will they only be able to see their son once every six months or a year from now on?

Thinking of this, the elderly couple couldn't help but look at each other, and they both saw the attraction in each other's eyes.

If the couple sells their house here and uses the money to buy a 50-square-meter, two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment in Pudong, it should be enough.

Moreover, the elderly couple has their own retirement pensions and doesn't need their son to support them. In a year or two, the elderly couple can help the young couple take care of their child nearby. More importantly, this way, they can see their son more often, which is much better than seeing him only once every few months now.

However, the elderly couple also knew that this was not something that could be decided on a whim. If they really wanted to move to the same place as their son, they would at least need to discuss it with their son and daughter-in-law first. Only after their son and daughter-in-law agreed could they, with their son and daughter-in-law's help, buy a house not far from them and live there.

"Young man, your reminder is quite good. However, my wife and I will go back and think about it. We will also need to discuss it with our son and daughter-in-law. After all, buying and selling a house is a big deal, and we need our son's consent. If we make the decision on our own, it could cause unnecessary trouble if our son disagrees," the man surnamed Lu said gratefully.

"I'm just mentioning it, after all, it's for your own good to make plans early, so that you won't be in trouble when the baby is born and you don't know how to take care of it," Mao Xiaoyu said, looking like she was thinking of your best interests.

"Yes, we also need to plan for the future, so this is something we need to discuss properly when we get back," the man surnamed Lu nodded in agreement.

"Also, the property certificate for this house has been changed. Are there any of your things left in the house? If not, could you please hand over the keys so I can move in?" Mao Xiaoyu asked.

"Since we started preparing to sell that house, we've been gradually taking things out of it. The things in the house now are things we don't want anymore, so once we sign the contract today, we can give you the keys. If you want to move in, we won't object," the man surnamed Lu said.

"Thank you then," Mao Xiaoyu said gratefully.

"There's nothing to write here. Once this contract is signed, the house is already yours. This is just giving it to you in advance," the man surnamed Lu said, waving his hand.

"...."

"...."

Now that the key issue was settled, Mao Xiaoyu chatted with the elderly couple. Of course, sometimes the conversation drifted to the house, and she acted as if she was thinking of the elderly couple's best interests, praising how wonderful it was for parents to take care of their grandchildren.

Meanwhile, Guo Xiaoyan and Liu Mingbo had already finished all the procedures and contracts for the transfer of the property today, and even the transfer of the property certificate was completed. They would receive the property certificate in 10 days.

After finishing their work, the group left the housing management bureau and went to the bank. Mao Xiaoyu then transferred more than 6 yuan to the bank card of the man surnamed Lu, which was equivalent to paying 30% of the house price upfront.

Ten days later, the property certificate will be issued. Within three days of receiving the certificate, Mao Xiaoyu will pay the second 70% of the property price. All of this has been written into the contract and approved by the real estate bureau's notary office.

Because Mao Xiaoyu now has more money and doesn't need to be as stingy as before, and because her schedule is quite tight, she withdrew 5000 yuan from the bank and gave it to Guo Xiaoyan to avoid trouble. She asked Guo Xiaoyan to use the money for the real estate agency's working capital and the agency's signboard. She also asked Guo Xiaoyan to arrange for Liu Mingbo to buy some new locks in the afternoon to replace the locks on this apartment, and to buy mosquito nets and mats so she could stay there that night.

Of course, all of the things mentioned above, and the things that Guo Xiaoyan was asked to do, were said secretly behind the old couple's back.

After everything was explained and the money was transferred, everyone parted ways at the bank entrance. Mao Xiaoyu, carrying the documents for purchasing the house that day, hurriedly ran to Li Mingyue's company in Lujiazui, handed the documents to Li Mingyue, and took the mortgage documents with her.

By the time Mao Xiaoyu returned to the hospital apartment from Lujiazui, it was already past 1 p.m. Mao Xiaoyu didn't have time for lunch. She first registered the people who rented the apartment, and then went out to eat. After finishing her meal, she started searching for people again.

While trying to get the person out of the hospital, Mao Xiaoyu was already thinking about whether she should hire someone at the hospital specifically to do so. Otherwise, she didn't seem to have enough time. After all, she was going to buy a lot of houses soon, and she would spend even more time at the housing management bureau. If she didn't have time to get the person out of the hospital because of buying houses, she would lose a lot of money!