"Huh? Aunt Zhou, why doesn't the property area listed on these two certificates include this yard?" Chen Yang noticed the problem immediately and couldn't help but ask.
"Oh, this yard belongs to my child's uncle," Aunt Zhou said casually. "When the family divided the property, his house was a little smaller than ours, so my deadbeat husband said he'd give this land to my uncle. But we've been using it all these years; he can't build a house on such a small piece of land!"
"Oh, then why don't you buy it from him?" Chen Yang pressed further. "Where would we get the money?" Aunt Zhou said, pursing her lips. "My husband was always sickly, and all our savings went to his medicine. He only left this house when he passed away. A few years ago, when we went to renew the land certificate, my uncle offered to transfer the land to us for only five thousand yuan, but we couldn't afford it!"
Chen Yang nodded, remaining silent, casually flipping through the property certificate, but his mind was racing.
Seeing Chen Yang remain silent, Aunt Zhou assumed he was dissatisfied with the house and couldn't help but say,
"Young man, this house is really nice! With a little renovation, it'll be perfectly fine! And I heard it's going to be demolished soon, maybe you'll get several houses as compensation!"
"Hey! They've been talking about demolishing this area for years, who knows when that'll actually happen!" Chen Yang said calmly. "I bought this house so my elderly parents could move in. Older neighborhoods like this are more comfortable for them, I wasn't thinking about demolition!"
"Yes, yes, yes! This is perfect for seniors!" Aunt Zhou pressed on, "The neighbors are all very nice, and the community often organizes activities for seniors. You definitely won't regret buying here!"
"That's true, but your price is too high," Chen Yang said. "That's still high!" Aunt Zhou's voice was loud, almost like she was arguing. "Young man, go ask around, the prices around here are at least 6,000 yuan per square meter! My 120-square-meter apartment is only 550,000 yuan, which works out to less than 5,000 yuan per square meter."
Chen Yang was prepared and calmly replied:
"Auntie, you can't do it that way. It seems like your price per square meter is much cheaper, but your apartment is really too old. Calling it a dilapidated building wouldn't be an exaggeration. I'd have to spend a lot of money renovating it. Besides, your apartment is too old to get a mortgage; you have to pay in full. And you're only receiving 550,000 yuan, which means the taxes and fees for a second-hand apartment transaction aren't low. I'd have to cover both the buyer's and seller's fees, which adds up to tens of thousands of yuan!"
"For the same price, I could buy a much newer apartment," Chen Yang added, seizing the opportunity when Aunt Zhou remained silent.
Actually, quite a few people have been looking at houses recently, and through these past few days of observation, Aunt Zhou knows that selling this house for 550,000 yuan is indeed not easy. However, she's also tight on money to buy a new house, so she's been holding firm on this price.
"Young man, I think you're a nice person, so I'll be honest with you! This house may be old, but I've lived here for decades, I know all the neighbors well, and I'm very comfortable living here. If it weren't for needing money urgently, I would never sell it," Aunt Zhou sighed. "But this price really can't be lowered, otherwise I won't be able to raise the money, and selling the house would be meaningless!"
Perhaps because Chen Yang seemed very kind, or perhaps because she had been holding back these feelings for a long time, Aunt Zhou began to ramble on about her family's difficulties. She felt helpless about having to sell the old house to buy a new house for her son's wedding.
Chen Yang listened with a smile, not saying a word. Actually, he wasn't saying all this to bargain; he had other plans in mind.
"Auntie, you've put it so plainly, I'd feel bad if I bargained any further," Chen Yang said with a smile. "Actually, I really want this house, but I think the price is a bit high. Also, I just checked your property certificates, and the courtyard isn't included in this transaction. That's quite troublesome. It's fine for you to live here, since they're all relatives, but if I buy it, your relatives will definitely take the courtyard back, and then the house won't be habitable. Even the direction the main gate faces will have to be changed…"
"This…" Aunt Zhou realized Chen Yang's words made sense and was quite conflicted. Chen Yang glanced at Aunt Zhou's expression and seized the opportunity to say,
"How about this? The price is 550,000 yuan, as you said, and I won't haggle. But could you discuss transferring the courtyard to me with your relative as well?"
Aunt Zhou hesitated, and Chen Yang pressed on,
"How about this, I'll add another 20,000 yuan, making it 570,000 yuan including the courtyard. What price you negotiate with your relative is your business, okay?"
Hearing this, Aunt Zhou was immediately tempted. Her uncle hadn't used the courtyard for so many years, and a few years ago he even offered to transfer it to her for 5,000 yuan. If she discussed it properly, it should be fine, and maybe even less than 20,000 yuan, allowing her to make a profit.
Chen Yang's offer was incredibly attractive. Compared to the harsh conditions proposed by previous groups of people looking at the property, Chen Yang was practically too easy to talk to. "Okay! I'll call my uncle right now and discuss it. Wait here for a bit!" Aunt Zhou said after thinking for a moment, finally making up her mind.
"Oh dear! Look at me! You've been here so long and I haven't even poured you a glass of water! How rude of me!" Aunt Zhou exclaimed, just as she was about to go inside, suddenly remembering something.
Chen Yang quickly waved his hand and said,
"Auntie, I'm not thirsty. Please take care of your business first!"
"How can I not! A guest is a guest!" With Chen Yang showing interest in buying, Aunt Zhou became incredibly enthusiastic, quickly pouring him a glass of hot water and saying, "Have some water first, I'll go upstairs and call my uncle!"
"Okay!" Chen Yang nodded with a smile.
After Aunt Zhou left, Chen Yang strolled around the yard with his water glass, feeling a little nervous. He had only realized how large the yard was after seeing the site. Seeing that the property certificate didn't include this yard as part of the building's boundaries, Chen Yang's mind started racing. If Chen Yang could really acquire this courtyard for 20,000 yuan, he'd be rolling in money!
As long as the courtyard was included in the property certificate and land certificate during the transaction, it would be counted as part of the building area during demolition compensation. This courtyard is at least 30 square meters. If Chen Yang's memories from his previous life are accurate, the monetary compensation for the Hongguang Road Hengxiang old city redevelopment project is around 13,000 yuan per square meter. Even with the house's relatively low condition, he could still get at least 12,000 yuan per square meter.
That means he could get nearly 400,000 yuan in compensation just for this courtyard. Relatively speaking, the extra 20,000 yuan is negligible—a truly unexpected windfall!
Chen Yang felt the chances of this going through were quite high. It wasn't that the courtyard owner was unaware of the land's value; it was just that the demolition of this area had been rumored for a long time without any implementation. The local residents had already given up hope, and since Chen Yang was making this condition under the guise of buying a house, the owner was very likely to agree.
Sure enough, a moment later Aunt Zhou came downstairs with a beaming face, calling out from afar:
"Young man, my uncle has agreed! Tell me, what's the plan?"
Chen Yang was overjoyed, but his expression remained impassive. He said:
"Auntie, it's not complicated. We'll first sign a preliminary transfer agreement. I'll pay you a deposit, and then I'll deposit the remaining balance into a designated bank account for escrow. Then we can begin the transfer process. After the transfer is complete, we'll both go to the bank to unfreeze the funds, and you'll receive the money. Of course, the owner of the house is also the transferor, and he needs to be present when the preliminary agreement is signed."
Chen Yang, having studied law in this life, was very familiar with these procedures and didn't need to waste money on a real estate agent. Aunt Zhou, however, was confused and listened in disbelief. Seeing this, Chen Yang smiled and said, "Auntie, it's actually very simple. Just think of it this way: I'll pay you a deposit of 50,000 yuan today, and we'll sign the transfer contract. The remaining 520,000 yuan will be held in escrow by the bank, meaning neither of us can access it. Then we'll complete the transfer of ownership. Once the house and yard are in my name, we'll take the new property certificate and land certificate to the bank, and the bank will transfer the 520,000 yuan to your account. Escrow is a reliable way to protect the rights of both parties."
"Of course, I'll cover all the expenses. You can ask the bank for details," Chen Yang added.
"Oh, I understand now!" After Chen Yang's explanation, Aunt Zhou suddenly understood and said, "Then I'll call my uncle to come and sign. Please wait a moment; he lives nearby!"
A short while later, Aunt Zhou's uncle arrived with the two certificates; he was a thin, elderly man around sixty years old. It's unclear how he and Aunt Zhou discussed it privately, but the old man was very straightforward; the first thing he asked upon entering was where to sign.
Chen Yang took out the pre-prepared letter of intent to purchase the property, filled in the required information in the blank spaces for the property location, area, price, deposit amount, and both parties' ID numbers, and then had both parties sign and affix their fingerprints.
After completing these tasks, Chen Yang readily handed over the 50,000 yuan in cash he had brought to Aunt Zhou, saying,
"Auntie, this is a 50,000 yuan deposit. Please check it!"
Aunt Zhou was quite excited; her hands trembled slightly as she took the money. Although the bills were in unopened bundles of 10,000 yuan each, she carefully counted them twice before smiling and saying,
"The amount is correct!"
Chen Yang smiled and nodded,
"Alright! Auntie, I'll take my leave now. Tomorrow, the three of us will sign a formal transfer contract, and then we can go to the bank to handle the fund supervision. During the next step of the property transfer, some steps will require your and this uncle's personal presence, which may be a bit of a hassle!"
"No trouble at all! No trouble at all! Take care, young man!" Aunt Zhou said excitedly, clutching the 50,000 yuan tightly in her hands.
Chen Yang nodded to the two of them, then took his leave. The uncle, however, didn't leave; it was assumed that Aunt Zhou would use the 50,000 yuan deposit to pay the portion intended for him. However, this was none of Chen Yang's business. They had signed a complete transfer agreement, with all three parties signing simultaneously. How Aunt Zhou and her relatives negotiated was their problem; the papers were already signed. The next step was simply to ensure the yard and house were on the same property certificate and land certificate during the transfer process, and everything would be fine.
Chen Yang walked briskly, feeling extremely pleased. His first investment—or rather, speculation—after his rebirth had gone remarkably smoothly. The thought of his 500,000 yuan quickly turning into one or two million filled him with a sense of smug satisfaction.
In his cheerful mood, Chen Yang didn't notice that the door next to Aunt Zhou's apartment opened, and a person walked out, staring at Chen Yang's retreating figure with a hint of resentment in their eyes.
If Chen Yang had turned around, he would have been shocked. The person who emerged from next door to Aunt Zhou was none other than Yan Huiming, the man who had been publicly humiliated at the calligraphy and painting competition that day.