Reborn as a landlord in Shanghai

"But as you know, my son and I came here today to look at houses. Although we're interested in buying a house, I can't possibly carry hundreds of thousands of yuan with me. So, how about this: I'll pay 5000 yuan as a deposit today to secure the house. Then, we can go to the housing authority to complete the transaction whenever you're free. I'll pay 300,000 yuan upfront when we complete the transaction at the housing authority. Once the property certificate is issued in a week or two, we'll pay the remaining 145,000 yuan. What do you think of this deal?" Mao Jun stated his requirements.

This was actually something Mao Jun and his wife had discussed that morning. In their opinion, if the house was satisfactory and really suitable for their son's landlord business, they would buy it. However, they didn't have that much money, but they were afraid of missing out on a good house, so they brought 5000 yuan with them today to pay a deposit first.

As for the next payment, since he still needs to take out a mortgage on his own house, which may take some time, Mao Jun decided to delay paying the final 145,000 yuan, so that he could make time for the mortgage.

Therefore, Mao Jun came over early in the morning and inspected the house's surroundings. Whether it was transportation, shopping, or proximity to the hospital, the house was excellent. It was quite rare to find a house like this, not to mention that the price was tens of thousands of yuan cheaper than the market price. Since that was the case, there was nothing more to say, and he could just buy it directly.

"May I ask where you are from?" Upon hearing Mao Jun's suggestion, Dr. Tao frowned and remained silent for a minute or two, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, but instead directly inquired about the two men's identities.

"We are from Shanghai. We own a house, a car, and a shop in Shanghai, so don't worry about us cheating you. But as you know, it's not easy for an ordinary person to come up with 45 yuan all at once. So we need to borrow some money in the next couple of days to pay you the full 45 yuan."

Although Mao Xiaoyu's hometown is Yangshi, and her family's household registration was initially in Yangshi, when they bought the barber shop from the street government, the street government had already transferred their household registration from Yangshi to Shanghai. However, because they were heavily in debt at the time, Mao Xiaoyu's family was focused on earning money to pay off their debts, so they sent Mao Xiaoyu back to her hometown to go to school.

So even though Mao Xiaoyu doesn't speak Shanghainese very well (her parents don't know that Mao Xiaoyu has been reborn; according to her previous life, she has only been in Shanghai for half a year, so her Shanghainese isn't very standard), it cannot be denied that Mao Xiaoyu is now a Shanghainese. So when Dr. Tao asks Mao Jun where he is from, Mao Jun will naturally say that his family is from Shanghai.

"Since you're a local, that makes things easier. Here are two options for you: First, pay a deposit of 5000 yuan, which is a must. Then you can raise the rest of the money. I'll give you a week or ten days to do so. Once you've raised the remaining amount, we can schedule a time to go directly to the housing management office to complete the transaction."

Another option is that since you need to raise the money, I'll give you time to do so. However, we'll go find a lawyer and sign a contract later. So, today you'll pay a 5000 yuan deposit, and tomorrow when we go to the housing authority to apply for the property transfer, we'll pay another 30 yuan. In a week or two, once you get the property certificate, you can pay the remaining amount.

However, we need to clarify this: you will pay for the lawyer's services today, as this was your request. Otherwise, I should have received the money upon handover of the property. Since you delayed, you should cover the lawyer's fees. Also, after the contract is signed, if anyone breaches the contract, compensation will be paid according to the contract, with a base amount of 10 yuan. Whoever breaches the contract will pay 10 yuan.

After thinking for a moment, Dr. Tao nodded in agreement and generously gave Mao Jun two options. The reason why Dr. Tao was so lenient was mainly because Mao Jun was very sincere, and there was an even more important reason: Dr. Tao was really short of money!

As for Dr. Tao saying he wasn't short of money, that was actually a lie to Mao Jun. After all, if he really wasn't short of money, why would he sell his house at a lower price? It's precisely because he's so desperately short of money that he can't sell it at market price in a short time. In order to get the money as soon as possible, he lowered the price.

Moreover, on the surface, it seems that Dr. Tao gave Mao Jun two options to choose from, but upon closer inspection, both conditions are very advantageous to him. After all, no matter which option he chooses, it will be very beneficial to him. For example, with the first option, as long as the other party pays the deposit, he can simply wait a few days. Unless the other party doesn't want the deposit back, they will definitely bring the money to buy his house a few days later.

As for choosing the second option, although paying in three installments is very disadvantageous to me, as long as I find a lawyer and have it notarized, it won't be disadvantageous to me. After all, the whole process will be based on the contract, and with the contract in hand, if the other party fails to pay in the end, I can sue them according to the contract and ruin their reputation.

It was because of this idea that Dr. Tao gave Mao Jun two choices.

"I choose option 1. I'll pay a deposit of 5000 yuan today, and we'll transfer the property at the housing management bureau in 10 days." Upon hearing Dr. Tao's two options, Mao Jun naturally preferred option 1, since it meant he wouldn't need to hire a lawyer or pay legal fees.

"A deposit of 5000 yuan in 10 days is too little. If it's within a week, 5000 yuan is fine. If it's over a week, you'll need to pay a deposit of 1 yuan. And we need to set a deadline during this period. If you don't come to complete the transaction for the house by then, the deposit will not be refunded," Dr. Tao said directly, refusing the offer.

"One week it is then. I'll pay a deposit of 5000 yuan today. We'll come to you to transfer the property title in a week. If you don't come to transfer the title in a week, then I'll forget about the 5000 yuan." Mao Jun hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded and said.

This time, Mao Jun only brought five or six thousand yuan with him. If he wanted to pay a deposit of 1 yuan, he didn't have enough money. Mao Jun had also thought about it. After all, he had a lot of assets and had taken out loans before. He knew the bank's loan officers. He would apply for a loan this afternoon. Given the price of the house, he believed that it should be possible to get it done in a few days.

Since that's the case, there's no need to extend the time. After all, extending the time would require paying an additional 5000 yuan deposit, and we don't have that much money right now. Raising the money would also waste a day. So Mao Jun agreed to complete the transaction within a week.

"Okay, you brought your ID card, right? If you did, we can go to the store downstairs and buy a notebook to write down the payment contract," Dr. Tao suggested, without objection to Mao Jun's choice.

"Okay, I brought my ID card. Let's go downstairs." Now that they had decided to sign the deposit contract, Mao Jun wasn't going to stay upstairs any longer.

And so, the three of them walked out of the house. Dr. Tao then locked the door behind him and led Mao Jun and his son downstairs. As they walked out, he introduced the neighborhood and the residents of each building to Mao Jun and his son, helping them become more familiar with the environment.

However, while introducing the environment, many residents politely greeted Dr. Tao and chatted for a bit, which led to a stop-and-go journey. It took six or seven minutes to finally arrive at the small supermarket outside the community.

…………

The supermarket is small, about 100 square meters, and it's not a chain supermarket; it's a family-owned supermarket.

"Director Tao, it's been a long time since I've seen you. When did you come back?" Just as Dr. Tao led Mao Jun and the other man into the small supermarket, the supermarket owner greeted Dr. Tao with a look of surprise and delight. From this, it can be seen that Dr. Tao is really well-liked.

"Someone wanted to see the house this morning, so I came over. Xiao Liu, I need to buy a notebook, and could you lend me a pen later?" Hearing the supermarket owner greet him, Dr. Tao politely replied and mentioned what he needed to buy.

"What? Director Tao, you're going to sell your house?" Supermarket owner Xiao Liu asked in surprise as he handed Dr. Tao his notebook. Although he knew that Director Tao was going to sell the house, he didn't expect it to be sold so quickly.

"Yes, if nothing unexpected happens, this house will be sold to the father and son, and they will be your neighbors from now on," Dr. Tao said quite frankly.

"Hello, hello, my surname is Liu, you can just call me Boss Liu. May I ask where you two are from?" Upon hearing that the Mao family had bought Dr. Tao's house, the supermarket owner, Xiao Liu, handed Dr. Tao a notebook and pen while politely greeting the Mao family.

"Hello, Mr. Liu, we're from Quyang Road in XX District. It's more than ten kilometers from here. We rode our electric bikes along Siping Road for more than twenty minutes to get here. It's quite a long distance." Mao Jun introduced himself briefly.

"Quyang Road in XX District, that's quite a journey. It's really not easy for you to find this place." Boss Liu was slightly surprised, after all, it's rare to buy a house so far away.

"It's quite a coincidence. It's also a matter of fate that I came all this way to buy a house with Dr. Tao. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come all this way to buy one." Mao Jun couldn't very well say that his son had come to him, so he could only say it jokingly.

"You know what, Director Tao's house is one of the best in our neighborhood. It's spacious and has great natural light. If I weren't broke, I'd want to buy it too," Boss Liu said with a regretful expression. Of course, how much of that was true or false was anyone's guess.

"Boss Liu is joking. With such a big supermarket here, how could you not have money? Selling this supermarket would bring in at least several hundred thousand, if not a million!" Mao Jun said with a laugh.

"Because I've invested all my capital in running this supermarket, I'm broke. Otherwise, I would also like to buy Director Tao's house. After all, my house is too small and uncomfortable. A big house is much more comfortable," Boss Liu hurriedly said, waving his hand.

"Mr. Mao, take a look. I've written two copies of this contract. If you see no problem, we'll just sign it." While Mao Jun and Boss Liu were exchanging compliments, Dr. Tao had already written two copies of the deposit contract. At this moment, he handed the contract to Mao Jun while talking.

Upon hearing Dr. Tao's words, Mao Jun took the contract and read it through. There was a template for the deposit contract, so Dr. Tao only needed to write down the money, time, and each party's requirements.

The contract stated that the price of the entire house was 45. Today, Mao Jun paid a deposit of 5000 yuan, and he had to come and buy the house within a week. If Mao Jun did not buy it within the deadline, the 5000 yuan deposit would be forfeited.

"This contract is binding on us, but not on you. What if we have the money ready, but you refuse to sell? So we need to add another clause to the contract. That is, if we come to buy the house and you suddenly change your mind and refuse to sell, you need to compensate us 2 yuan." Mao Jun pointed directly at the contract and said.

Upon hearing Mao Jun's request, although Dr. Tao did not want to add this condition, she knew in her heart that if she did not add it, the other party would not agree to sign the cooperation agreement. So Dr. Tao hesitated for a moment and finally nodded in agreement.

So Dr. Tao added the last clause to the contract, and after both parties reviewed it and found no problems, they signed the contract directly.

After the contract was signed, Mao Jun took out 5000 yuan from his pocket and handed it to Dr. Tao. After Dr. Tao counted the money, the matter was considered half completed.

"Remember, you must contact me to complete the transfer within a week, otherwise, the 5000 yuan will be lost." Since the contract had been signed, Dr. Tao was not going to stay in this community any longer, so he prepared to get in his car and leave. However, before leaving, Dr. Tao told Mao Jun again and again.

"Dr. Tao, I understand. At most, it will be a week. We will definitely have the money ready. We will meet at the Housing Authority to complete the transaction then." Mao Jun politely shook hands with Dr. Tao and said goodbye.

After saying goodbye, Mao Jun didn't leave immediately after Dr. Tao left the neighborhood. Instead, he chatted with the owner of the small supermarket, Mr. Liu, for a while, managing to get a lot of information about the neighborhood from him. It wasn't until after 10 o'clock, almost 11 o'clock, that Mao Jun finally rode his electric scooter back home with Mao Xiaoyu.