Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 42: Picking up a bargain?

The next morning, Ethan walked into a real estate agency in San Francisco and asked them to help him find a house.

His demands were very simple. He did not have any particular requirements regarding the area, as long as it did not violate normal people's living habits. As for the location, it had to be centered in Palo Alto, where Stanford was located, and radiate outward.

To the north, it's bounded by Redwood City, to the south, it's as far as Cupertino, to the east, it's as far as Sunnyvale, and as for the west? Although the west of Palo Alto is surrounded by mountains and rivers and has beautiful scenery, that's all thanks to the historical landmarks and nature reserves.

In fact, Ethan had already had an idea about moving.

Although he always felt comfortable living with Thomas and Linda.

But at the same time, he had to admit that there were indeed many inconveniences for several people to live under the same roof.

Take the last time he stayed up late to make the main board of "Snake" for example. As a young man, he sometimes had conflicts with Thomas and the others in terms of work and rest. And this time, Thomas's continued making friends also clashed with their life philosophy, so moving out and living alone was actually just a matter of time.

As for buying or renting, he actually prefers the former because the place he has chosen is Silicon Valley.

In a few years, the housing prices here will skyrocket by one price per year. Buying a house in advance would be like picking up a bargain.

Although this appreciation will definitely not yield as high an investment return, and it may even be the least cost-effective deal for time travelers, there is a sense of accomplishment in picking up a bargain. Spending hundreds of millions to buy a villa is common practice, but if you spend tens or hundreds of thousands to pick up a villa, you will be overjoyed.

Of course, although they said they moved away, the geographical distance was not that big. Los Gatos, where Linda and Thomas lived, was only twelve miles away from the places Ethan chose. It only took half an hour to drive there, so it was very convenient for them to get together. If there was an emergency, they could get there quickly by just stepping on the accelerator.

Perhaps it was because the economy was not very good these days, but it might also be because money could get things done quickly. Ethan had only placed the order on the 21st, but on the morning of the 23rd, the real estate agent in a suit and tie had already appeared in front of him.

"Mr. Jones, based on your needs, we have found three houses for sale for you."

The young agent took out the information and pushed it in front of Ethan, while introducing it with a smile:

“The three homes for sale are located in Palo Alto, Los Altos and Cupertino.”

"Among them, the house in Los Altos has the largest area. It is a lakeside villa with three floors and a living area of ​​5,400 square feet. In addition, there is a basement of about 400 square feet and a garden parking lot of nearly 800 square feet. The owner listed the house for sale at $120,000."

"The second largest house is located in Palo Alto. It is a two-story building with no basement or garden, but it has a 620-foot garage. The living area on the first floor is 200 square feet larger than the garage. The area of ​​the second floor is the sum of the first-floor garage and the ground floor. The price is $100,000."

"The smallest house among the three is in Cupertino. It is a single-family home on the street. The usable area is 1,700 square feet. In addition, he has a 440 square foot garage and an underground storage room of less than 200 square feet. Since this house is the smallest, it is also the cheapest, priced at only $70,000."

Following the careful introduction of the white agent, Ethan also learned about the conditions of each house.

While he was flipping through the documents, Mr. Foberle, who came over to watch the fun, was also in high spirits.

With his hands in his pockets, he skipped through the documents and asked curiously, "That's not right, brother. The house in Palo Alto you just introduced should only have a usable area of ​​2,260 square feet, right? Compared with the house in Los Altos, it's only half the area, but why is the price not half off, but only $20,000 different?"

In response to this question, the agent smiled and replied: "Sir, this question is actually very simple, because the villa in Palo Alto is right next to Stanford and very close to HP."

At the same time, he also explained: "The houses there are hot-selling products. Every time a house is vacant, it will soon be absorbed by HP engineers or Stanford teachers. Therefore, it is normal for the house owner to list it at a higher price."

"Oh~" Frank understood, "This is just killing people~"

'...'

The agent's face froze and he smiled without answering.

But Ethan didn't think there was any problem. After all, when it comes to a house, what you buy is not just the house itself, but also the location.

So he smiled and said, "Frank, which of these three houses do you think is better?"

“Of course I like the Los Altos one!”

Mr. Foberle answered quickly, "That's a villa by the lake! Just imagine, on a summer night, you can invite a bunch of friends to have a bonfire party by the lake, play guitar and sing songs, enjoy the moonlight and fish. That would be such a great feeling!"

“It would be even better if we could invite some bikini girls!”

Before Ethan could speak, the agent's mouth twitched.

"Sir, the freshwater lake next to the villa in Los Altos is a no-fishing zone."

"Oh, never mind. It's no fun living by the lake and not being able to fish."

Mr. Foberer's expression changed instantly.

"Ethan, I strongly suggest that you don't choose this house. The property tax in California is $1.25. A house worth $ will cost you $ in taxes alone. And the interest rates on bank deposits are rising every year. Soon, you can get $ for a $ deposit in a year! And houses in these places can appreciate by % in a year? I don't believe it."

"Besides, why didn't you tell us in advance about the no-fishing zone?"

"You want to hide the flaws, right?"

The agent pursed his lips at the sharp words.

At this moment, he even suspected that Frank, the man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, was a spy sent by the enemy.

Ethan closed the document with a smile. Although Mr. Foberle had irritated him several times before, he had to admit that what he said was quite right this time. When buying a house, the agent as the seller would definitely want to show perfection and cover up the flaws. At this time, if the buyer cannot open his eyes, he will most likely fall into the trap designed by the other party.

"Oh Frank, thanks for your advice, but I still think I need to go and see it in person," Ethan said with a smile.

"Whatever you want." Frank shrugged and asked, "Do you want me to go with you?"

"Sure." Ethan said with a smile, "If you have time."

For Ethan, taking a jerk like Frank to look at houses was the best thing that could happen.

As for the white agent who introduced the house to him, he felt a little uncomfortable.

Because he always felt that the house viewing process might not be that simple.

As expected, when he brought Ethan and Frank to Palo Alto, Ethan, who was dissatisfied with the school villa, winked at Frank. Although Frank was a little unreliable on weekdays, now he understood what he meant and started to criticize him, "The owner of this place dares to list it for $100,000? Wow! Why doesn't he just rob it?"

“Although this place is very close to Stanford University, what’s the situation with that car rental company over there?”

"Don't you real estate agents know that car rental companies are one of the companies most likely to cause noise pollution? You need to inspect the car when you rent it, and you need to inspect it when you return it. During the working day, it will definitely be as noisy as flies!"

'...'

In a matter of seconds, Frank had left the white intermediary speechless.

After passing this place, the second place Ethan and his friends went to was the lakeside villa in Los Altos.

This house is indeed beautiful. Standing on the third-floor balcony, you can see the sparkling lake in front of you.

As the breeze blows, the fragrance of flowers in the air makes people feel relaxed.

But at the same time, because it is built by the lake, the environment here is relatively humid.

So, after seeing Ethan shaking his head, Frank asked again, "Will you really not get sick if you live in this house for a long time?"

"Look at this wall! Some parts are deep while others are shallow!" "Those who know will know that it is leaking, while those who don't will think that an abstract artist is painting here!"

"Do you dare to live in a place like this? Aren't you worried that someone will steal this wall one day in the future?"

"I've already thought of a name for the exhibition. It's called 'Colorful White'~"

'? '

The agent was a little pissed off by the troll-like behavior.

After some careful selection, Ethan and his team went to Cupertino with the agent.

Compared with the previous two villas, the layout of this villa, no, this townhouse is indeed a bit compact.

The design of the garage is also very American.

Standing at the door of the house, you can see a rectangular opening from the left side of the house.

The open design leaves Mr. Wang next door nowhere to hide, but at the same time, you have to admit that this design makes the door next to the garage an exclusive passage for visiting relatives and friends, because normal people will enter the house from the inner door of the garage after getting off the car, and no one would be bored enough to go around to the front and enter the house through the door.

Not only that, the decoration of this house is also very old-fashioned. The originally snow-white walls have now turned yellow, and all kinds of appliances are made of wood. Perhaps because of years of use, many of the kitchen closets have lost their handles, and the door of the wardrobe in the bedroom even has cracks.

This situation also made Frank whisper: "Brother, spray?"

‘! ’

This fact made the white agent look nervous.

Without waiting for Ethan to say anything, he nervously tried to sell it.

"Mr. Jones, although this house was built in 1920 and has a history of years, the overall structure of the house is still good and can be moved in after some renovation. Moreover, the city of Cupertino was officially established only more than ten years ago. Since it is a new city, everything here is developing rapidly. In the past ten years, brand new roads have been paved and a brand new living environment has been constructed. If nothing unexpected happens, the houses here will appreciate rapidly in the next few years. More importantly, this is a white settlement, and most members of the community have legitimate jobs, and the crime rate is very low..."

Ethan nodded slightly after hearing the endless introduction.

To be honest, safety is his main consideration when buying a house.

After a quick look, Ethan thought this place might be quite good.

Although it looks a bit shabby, it can still be renovated.

But, 70,000...

Close the door and let Frank go!

Ethan winked at Frank.

Frank got what he meant and asked quickly, "Brother, are you sure this is worth 70,000?"

"A lot of the furniture and interior decoration here is no longer usable! After buying it, you have to redecorate it, which will cost thousands of dollars anyway! If there is a problem with the main structure of the house, it may cost tens of thousands of dollars to repair it!"

As soon as Frank opened his mouth, Bai Jiejie felt a headache.

"Oh, sir," he said, "the selling point of this house is Cupertino!"

"We all come from San Francisco. We should know that the land we are standing on right now, this land full of life, may be one of the safest places in California, because it is far away from Oakland..."

However, before Bai Jiejie could finish his words, a muffled "bang" sound suddenly occurred.

Then, a roar came out——

"Oh! Sxxt! Roger! What do you mean!"

The sudden noise was like a pair of invisible hands, strangling Bai Jiejie's neck.

Listening to the sound rising into the sky, Bai Jiejie felt as if there was phlegm in his throat that he could neither cough out nor swallow.

His Adam's apple moved, and he said with embarrassment: "Gentlemen, this is just an accident."

"Really?" Frank took the opportunity. "Is this an accident? Oh! Brother! Don't fool yourself!"

“I guess this is why the owners here want to sell their houses?”

“Because it’s too noisy!”

Before he finished speaking, another roar came over -

"MFxxk--Harry! Do you want to fight?"

After hearing these words, the white agent's eyes went dark, his body swayed, and he almost fainted.

And Ethan, with his arms folded, really wanted to laugh.

Although he had always felt that Mr. Foberle was somewhat vulgar, but now that he saw him...

This guy is quite useful!
At least there is something in terms of luck.

Just as Ethan pursed his lips, wanting to see if the white agent would lower the price after hearing what Mr. Foberle said.

A series of "click" sounds came into their ears again.

Then, there was another angry roar -

"Li! Are you crazy? Do you want to stand with them too?"

"Dxxn! John! Don't you believe us either?"

"We didn't break your stuff and we can't break your stuff!"

"You watched us dismantle the machine that day! After we dismantled it, we reassembled it and ran it again. No problem!"

"This is a fact that everyone has seen with their own eyes!"

'? ? ? '

Although Ethan felt that this sudden quarrel had some divine help, he felt something was wrong as he listened. Why did this roaring voice sound so familiar?
Feeling strange, he frowned and walked to the window, then looked out, and then...

It was his turn to feel dark.

Because the roaring figure downstairs was really abstract.

Note: ① I couldn’t find the housing price data for the Bay Area in 1975, so the data was calculated based on the housing price data for the United States in 1975, so the housing data in the book cannot be true. I also want to mention that the housing price calculation method in the United States is different from ours. They refer to the living area. For example, an unfinished basement is not counted as the living area, and the garage and balcony are not counted as the total area of ​​the house, but these will affect the housing price.

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(End of this chapter)