Reborn as a landlord in Shanghai

Chapter 16 Storefront

"It'll be soon, in at most half a month, I'll be able to use the money to buy houses here. I'll buy 10 or 20 houses here as compensation for demolition, and when the demolition happens in August, I'll get at least several million. Once I have several million, I can buy houses in other places and become a real landlord to rent out."

The electric scooter was parked on the side of the road. Mao Xiaoyu looked at everything in front of her and thought to herself.

Although Mao Xiaoyu doesn't have money right now, it doesn't matter. In a few more days, she can get a house loan. Once she gets the loan, she'll naturally have money, and then she can use that money to buy a house here.

As for whether those who sold their houses and didn't receive the demolition compensation would feel sorry for them, Mao Xiaoyu felt it was none of her business. After all, even if these people didn't sell to her, they would sell to others, and in the end, others would still make a fortune. Since that was the case, she figured it was better to sell to herself, since she would be the one to make money and reap the benefits.

As for why Mao Xiaoyu can't wait for demolition in this way but instead plans to become a landlord, it's mainly because Mao Xiaoyu is familiar with this place. After all, her barbershop was located here in her previous life. Many original residents moved back after the demolition and got their hair cut in her shop. She heard a lot about this place from these original residents and witnessed the demolition. Therefore, she is clear about the relocation plan here.

For example, the demolition on this street in August was only a small area. It wasn't very big, but it wasn't too small either. However, for the entire Yangpu District of Shanghai, it was equivalent to demolishing 1/100 of the area. Other areas in the surrounding area weren't being demolished just like that. Some areas would have to wait another three years before demolition, while others would have to wait another 10 years. As for some areas, even after Mao Xiaoyu was reborn, they hadn't been demolished.

It could be said that it was precisely because she was familiar with this place that she knew which plots of land were being demolished. As for other different places, Mao Xiaoyu was not familiar with them. Although she could vaguely recall that some places would be demolished in the future, after all, such a large complex of buildings had been completely torn down, she still knew in her heart that. However, she could only roughly estimate when the demolition would take place and when the new buildings would be completed. It was really difficult to grasp the exact time.

That's why Mao Xiaoyu didn't think much about the future demolition and relocation. She thought that when she became a landlord, she would buy more houses in the areas that were going to be demolished, and try not to buy houses in the areas that were not going to be demolished. After she got the houses, she would rent them out as a landlord and wait for the demolition and relocation to happen in a few years. That way, she would make money both ways.

Not to mention that after 2008, the housing prices in Shanghai have been rising continuously. At worst, she can sell all the houses she owns between 2020 and 2022. Of course, it depends on the situation at that time. After all, there are still more than ten years. During this period, Mao Xiaoyu does not know if she can make a lot of money. If she makes a lot of money and doesn't want to collect rent from these houses in Shanghai, she can keep the houses.

…………

Since she had unknowingly arrived here by bike, Mao Xiaoyu didn't think much of it. Since she was already here, she decided to ride her bike to take a look at the area that was scheduled to be demolished in August and see how many houses were for sale. After all, she planned to buy houses there in the next two or three months. If there were many people selling houses, she would buy more houses and make more money when the demolition happened.

With that in mind, Mao Xiaoyu got on her electric scooter and started heading towards her destination.

According to Mao Xiaoyu's knowledge from her previous life, the area to be demolished in August was about 100 acres. Because people are very enthusiastic about demolition now, the demolition started in August and ended in November. In the next three years, high-rise residential buildings and storefronts will be built on this land. After three years, when these houses and storefronts are completed and the developers have made money, they will demolish the houses next to them and move all the homeowners of the houses next to them into these high-rise buildings.

However, because the second batch of demolitions was three years later, and the area of ​​the second batch of demolitions was one or two times larger than that of the first batch, there were too many problems. The second demolition was much more difficult than the first one. It can be said that the second demolition was always piecemeal. What should have been completed in a few months dragged on for three years.

By the time the second batch of high-rise buildings and storefronts were completed, it was already 2015. Then, in 2015, the developer started the third batch of demolitions. This time, the demolitions were much easier, but the prices were also higher. By the time the residents could take possession of their properties, it would be 2023.

By then, the real estate market had passed its peak, and developers could no longer make a profit. So there were no more demolitions planned. Although there were rumors that this place would be demolished and that place would be demolished, nothing happened until Mao Xiaoyu was reborn in 2025.

So today, Mao Xiaoyu is going to visit this area of ​​25 acres. As for the second batch of land to be demolished, Mao Xiaoyu thinks she can wait until she has more money. She'll focus on buying land in this area that's going to be demolished first.

…………

Narrow alleyways, a few storefronts, weathered walls, and high-stretched electrical wires create the old-fashioned hutongs of Shanghai. As Mao Xiaoyu rode her electric bike through these houses, she felt as if she had returned to the 70s.

Actually, these houses look nice and have a lot of historical charm, but in terms of living environment, they are really hard to describe.

The living space in Shanghai is really too small now. Many families live in a few square meters, but two, three, or even four generations. It may seem lively at first glance, but just thinking about such living conditions is indescribable. Not to mention, if you want to use the toilet at home, you have to go to a public toilet, which is too troublesome.

So when Mao Xiaoyu was riding her electric bike around here, she actually saw rental and sale signs posted on utility poles and on the walls of the buildings. There was nothing she could do about it; the environment here was just so-so. Anyone with a decent income would want to move out.

However, moving out and buying a new house is a significant expense. If you could sell your old house to get some extra money, it would definitely make things a little easier. So there are quite a few listings for houses for sale here.

However, none of these houses were very big. The largest one Mao Xiaoyu looked at was only fifty or sixty square meters, many were only thirty-odd square meters, and the smallest was only a dozen square meters. This made Mao Xiaoyu wonder what kind of living conditions these people had.

But this was good news for Mao Xiaoyu. After all, the more people who sold, the more money she would make. If one-tenth of the houses here were sold to the public, and she bought them, how much money would she make?!

Just then, Mao Xiaoyu suddenly saw a storefront for rent, which made her stop in front of the storefront. Looking at the phone number left on the storefront, she couldn't help but fall into thought.

Should I rent this house?

After all, I'm going to buy a house here. If I rent this storefront, open a real estate agency, and hire two employees to help me inquire about prices and negotiate lower prices, wouldn't that save me a lot of money when I buy the house?

After all, saving a few hundred or a thousand yuan on one house may not seem like much, but if you buy 10 or 20 houses, you could save several thousand or even tens of thousands of yuan.

As for employee salaries, isn't there a commission from the housing sales?

Besides, you can also earn a commission by helping sellers sell their houses. In the end, this real estate agency might not only help you save money on buying a house but also make money.

More importantly, if things go wrong with this storefront, I can use it for free for a few months. After all, this storefront is going to be demolished in August. I've only been living here for less than a year. If the landlord asks me to leave, he should at least refund the rent I've already paid!

Otherwise, I won't move. After all, I'm acting according to the contract. I haven't even been here for a year, and I paid for all the renovations and office supplies myself. I've invested so much in these things, so if I have to move, I should at least be compensated for my losses.

Thinking of this reason, Mao Xiaoyu was even more tempted, so she got off the electric bike and prepared to go to the store next door to call the landlord and ask him to come over and talk about how the storefront was rented.

"Brother, excuse me, is the storefront next door for rent?" Mao Xiaoyu saw a small shop with a public telephone sign, so she went in and politely asked the owner first.

"Young man, do you want to rent the storefront next to ours?" Upon hearing Mao Xiaoyu's question, the shop owner first looked at Mao Xiaoyu. Although Mao Xiaoyu was young, he didn't seem like someone who was there to scam people. However, he still asked with some suspicion in his tone.

"If the price is right, I'm prepared to help a friend rent a house here." Mao Xiaoyu didn't say that she wanted to rent a storefront, but instead used a so-called friend as an excuse.

"This storefront isn't very big, only about 1 or 3 square meters. If your friend wants to rent it, it'll be 2000 yuan a month. Although it doesn't say you have to pay a year's rent upfront, you'll need at least a deposit of one month's rent and three months' rent in advance. If you agree to that, I'll call the landlord for you. If you don't even agree to that, you'd better not say anything." The shopkeeper didn't care whether it was Mao Xiaoyu's friend or Mao Xiaoyu who wanted to rent it, and directly stated how much the storefront would cost.

Hearing the price, Mao Xiaoyu wasn't too surprised. After all, the location wasn't great, and it wasn't on the main street where the foot traffic was visible. But even so, at least 2000 yuan a month was still necessary, since this was Shanghai.

"Okay, I accept this price. Call the boss over now!"

After hearing Mao Xiaoyu's agreement, the boss picked up his public phone and called the landlord next door, telling him that someone wanted to rent his house.

When the landlord heard that someone wanted to rent his house, he quickly said on the phone that he would arrive in 20 minutes.

"I wonder what you're planning to do next after renting this storefront for your friend? We've been here for quite a while now, so I thought I'd give you some advice?" After hanging up the phone, the shop owner asked Mao Xiaoyu curiously.

"I don't know. My friend just asked me to come and rent it for him. As for what we'll do with it, we'll talk about it after we get the storefront. After all, the location of this storefront isn't very good, and it's really not easy to do business here," Mao Xiaoyu said evasively.

After all, Mao Xiaoyu still needs to buy a house in the surrounding area. If she were the owner of the real estate agency, it would be easy to run into trouble. So, she might as well say that she was renting it for a friend. Once the house is rented, the agency can find a manager to run it, and she can stay behind the scenes.

This won't affect my ability to buy a house. Even if others find out, they'll just assume I'm good friends with the real estate agent and asked him to help me find a house.

The shop owner didn't get anything out of Mao Xiaoyu, and he didn't care. After all, the storefront was right next to his shop. No matter what kind of shop she opened, this was the first one he saw. And even if she did open a shop, it wouldn't be a store. So for the shop owner, it didn't matter at all. He was just curious at most.

"Actually, the foot traffic here is quite good. There are even more people at night than during the day, so if you want to open a shop selling food and daily necessities, it shouldn't be a problem," the shop owner said casually.

"It's not that easy to do business here. Look at this spot, it's all regular customers. After all, it's hard for newcomers to come here. So if you want to do business here, you have to be prepared that business might not be good for the first few months, but it will gradually get better later," Mao Xiaoyu said absentmindedly.

After all, Mao Xiaoyu planned to use this excuse to talk to the landlord later. When signing the contract, she wanted the landlord to at least agree that she wouldn't have to move out for a year. Otherwise, if the landlord breached the contract, the landlord would have to refund the full amount of rent. That way, when the land was demolished, if the landlord wanted to get compensation or a new house, they would have to refund the rent she had paid.

Of course, the landlord wouldn't lose out by canceling his rent payment either. After all, Mao Xiaoyu knew that the developer was generous and offered huge discounts to the relocated households. In other words, the relocated households could have their properties demolished again, which resulted in 90% of them getting their properties demolished again. Moreover, these households received a 1:2 return of their properties. That is to say, if a 35-square-meter house is demolished now, the landlord can get a 70-square-meter house when he gets the new one. If the storefront he is going to see later is 30 or 40 square meters, the landlord can get a 70 or 80-square-meter storefront by 2008.

If this landlord wants the storefronts for the demolition compensation but not the money, they'll be a golden goose. After all, by 2025, when Mao Xiaoyu is reborn, the storefronts here will be very easy to rent out.