"Your boss is calling for you, so you'd better hurry over! Don't keep him waiting. A good boss and a great job like this aren't easy to find. Don't be so nonchalant about it; you have to cherish this opportunity!" his brother-in-law urged.
If my brother-in-law loses this job, can I even keep my fruit store running? The thing is, his job is genuinely incredible! I don't know exactly how much he earns a month, but it definitely isn't a small amount.
I really need a car, Yi Anguo realized. Getting around is becoming a hassle. Long distances are fine, but it's these awkward, in-between trips that are the problem. Walking takes anywhere from fifty minutes to an hour and a half, but if I take a taxi, I arrive almost as soon as I get in.
"Brother Yi, I've done some calculations. Even if we sell it to you for 5,000 yuan per square meter, the rebate we give you still won't cover the thirty percent down payment!" Zhuo Weidong said with a smile.
"How is it not enough? For 100 square meters, aren't you giving me 150,000 yuan? Isn't a thirty percent down payment at 5,000 yuan per square meter exactly 150,000?" Yi Anguo asked, feigning naivete.
"I almost let you fool me again. You're getting a seventy percent loan from the bank, which covers the cost of seventy square meters. Therefore, the rebate I should give you only applies to that portion. How could it be 150,000 yuan? It should only be 105,000 yuan, right?" Zhuo Weidong said, with the shrewdness of a seasoned businessman.
"Is that so? Then I'm even less likely to afford it," Yi Anguo said, looking disappointed.
The 45,000 yuan shortfall, plus the property deed tax and miscellaneous fees… that's already a gap of over 70,000 yuan. On top of that, the apartments might be difficult to rent out, so I need to have at least a year's worth of mortgage payments saved up. All told, that's a difference of nearly 100,000 yuan.
Zhuo Weidong fell silent, deep in thought. He was well aware of Yi Anguo's situation and knew he wouldn't agree to the deal unless he was certain he could hold out for a year. In short, Yi Anguo didn't want to spend a single penny of his own money on the purchase, and on top of that, he needed enough cash on hand to cover a full year of mortgage payments.
"This 100,000 yuan, if I advance it to you, how long would you need to pay me back?" Zhuo Weidong asked.
"Three years. I'll pay it back in three years, with interest," Yi Anguo said.
"No, that's too long. I can give you one year at most, interest-free," Zhuo Weidong said, shaking his head.
"What if we raise the house price? Say, to 7,000 yuan per square meter," Yi Anguo suggested after a moment of thought.
"That's risky. It could easily attract the bank's attention," Zhuo Weidong said after considering it. "Our properties at Blue Coast already command the highest prices in this area."
"Then how about waiving the property management fees for three years?" Yi Anguo proposed.
"That condition shouldn't be a problem," Zhuo Weidong replied with a nod.
"That includes the fees for my current place in Blue Coast Phase II. Those should also be extended to a three-year waiver," Yi Anguo pressed, striking while the iron was hot.
"You brat. Give you an inch and you'll take a mile, won't you?" Zhuo Weidong chided with a helpless laugh.
"Just tell me if it's a deal or not," Yi Anguo said, shamelessly pushing his luck with a sly grin.
"I'll do my best to negotiate it for you," Zhuo Weidong nodded. "But you'd better be sure about this. You absolutely must pay this money back in one year, no later."
"I know. I'll definitely pay you back within a year. Worst-case scenario, I'll just sell one of the properties. The prices should have gone up by then anyway," Yi Anguo said nonchalantly.
Yi Anguo didn't bother asking Zhuo Weidong how many units he intended to sell him. As long as Zhuo could arrange it, he was fine with it. The only thing that mattered was that he didn't have to put down any of his own money. A year was more than enough time.
From what he understood, Blue Coast Phase III wasn't massive. It consisted of only twelve buildings with about 1,600 units, all of them large. The smallest was a two-bedroom, two-living-room layout of over 80 square meters, while the largest was a six-bedroom, three-living-room unit of nearly 270 square meters—a true mansion!
However, in 2004, it was precisely these kinds of luxury mansions whose prices were rising the fastest in Shenzhen City.
Six bedrooms and three living rooms, five bedrooms and two living rooms… Aren't those types of apartments difficult to rent out?
Yi Anguo was actually quite conflicted. A part of him wanted to acquire a few hundred more units—the more, the better—while another part hoped the deal would fall through so he'd have less to worry about. His current situation was quite good; at the very least, it was extremely stable.
I just need to wait patiently for a few years, and I'll become a multimillionaire, guaranteed.
Getting greedy for the units in Blue Coast Phase III would bring real pressure if they turned out to be hard to rent.
However, just a few days later, Zhuo Weidong called him over again to formally sign the purchase agreement.
This time, the number wasn't as exaggerated as a thousand units, but it was still six hundred, a full third of Blue Coast Phase III. The purchase included a mix of two, three, four, five, and six-bedroom layouts. He also signed an agreement for three years of free property management fees, which included a supplementary agreement to extend the free period for his properties in Blue Coast Phase II. A supplementary agreement for a one-year, interest-free loan was also included.
When Li Sisi came over, Yi Anguo told her he had secured 600 units in Blue Coast Phase III. This time, he didn't just owe the bank several hundred million; he also owed the developer ninety million yuan. Despite being only 600 units, the total area was substantial. The average size was 150 square meters per unit, meaning the 600 units were equivalent in area to the previous 900. Many of them were large luxury apartments of 250 to 260 square meters.
Li Sisi found it hard to comprehend. "You just barely got your situation stabilized. Why would you go and buy another 600 units in Blue Coast Phase III?" she asked. "You yourself said that those large apartments aren't easy to rent. The 600 units you just bought are almost all large layouts. If you can't rent them out, you'll take a huge loss. The main problem is the ninety million you borrowed from the developer. You promised to pay it back within a year. How are you going to do that?"
"Don't worry, I have a hunch these large luxury apartments are going to appreciate in value soon. So, if I'm really short on cash, I'll just have to sell a few. I should be able to get through it," Yi Anguo said with a smile.
"But you said it's just a hunch! In recent years, housing prices in Shenzhen City haven't risen much; they've been very stable," Li Sisi said, her anxiety showing. "Have you checked the housing price trends in Nanshan District? The average price was over 5,700 yuan in 2001, but it dropped to just over 5,600 yuan in 2002. From the looks of it, this year isn't optimistic either. We'd be lucky if prices don't drop. Even if prices rise next year, it won't be by much. An increase of one or two hundred yuan per square meter won't make a difference. What profit will you make when you sell? After taxes and fees, you might even lose money!"
In recent times, Li Sisi had done considerable research into Shenzhen's real estate development, particularly the housing price trends in Nanshan District. She had looked up the data for the past few years and didn't believe this year or the next would be much better than the previous ones.
"You have a point, but have you noticed that in 1999 and 2000, prices in Nanshan were just over 4,500 yuan? Then in 2001, they jumped to more than 5,700 yuan. I believe that in 2004, prices will increase by more than 1,000 yuan compared to this year," Yi Anguo said with a nod. "Besides, the price I'm paying for these units is already extremely low—1,500 yuan per square meter below the market rate. Add in the appreciation after a year, and the difference will be more than 2,000 yuan per square meter. I won't lose money if I sell then; I'm guaranteed to make a profit. There's one more thing, and it's the most important: this is a high-end community, a luxury estate. Its pricing is different from regular residential properties. Its potential for appreciation is much greater than that of an ordinary complex."