The Sweetness of the Seventies
Chapter 776 - 745: Not Enough Money, Getting a Mortgage to Buy a House_1

Chapter 776: Chapter 745: Not Enough Money, Getting a Mortgage to Buy a House_1

Lao Lian, along with He Tiantian and Huo Yingjie, went to see other courtyards.

He Tiantian took a liking to a courtyard by the road, bustling with people passing by, surrounded by residential areas—it was suitable for opening a shop. Another one was near a large park, with many local residents and also close to a commercial area; the first floor could house shops, while the second floor could be used for a restaurant or teahouse. However, if He Tiantian were to open a store there, she would demolish these old houses and rebuild them into a row of quaint, antique rooms.

There were three other courtyards as well. He Tiantian noted down their advantages and disadvantages and, of course, their prices.

After a busy day, He Tiantian and Huo Yingjie took Lao Lian out to dinner before heading home in the evening.

Since they had told Old Madam Huo not to wait for them for dinner that morning, they ate out before returning.

"Have you eaten?" Old Madam Huo asked. "There’s some food left in the kitchen!"

"Grandmother, we have already eaten," He Tiantian said with a smile. "We’ve been out all day and ate quite a bit."

"That’s good," said Old Madam Huo. "The children are in the room playing with Ruixiang. Go wash up, and later, come and take care of the children."

"Thank you, Grandmother," said He Tiantian, leading Huo Yingjie upstairs.

Watching He Tiantian’s retreating back, Old Madam Huo pondered, becoming more curious about what exactly her grandson and granddaughter-in-law were doing outside.

After washing up and taking the children, Huo Yingjie bathed them.

He Tiantian, meanwhile, was busy with the abacus, reviewing the addresses, sizes, conditions, and prices of various properties recorded in her notebook.

"Brother Yingjie, I’ve set my sights on three places, but with our money, we can only buy two of those courtyards," He Tiantian replied, realizing she was becoming increasingly greedy.

Huo Yingjie chuckled and asked, "Which three courtyards have caught your eye?"

"Uncle Cai’s courtyard in Maoer Alley is just the right size and location for us to live in," He Tiantian answered. "The asking price is four hundred and twenty thousand, but that old man will at most lower it by twenty thousand. The property near the street can be converted into a storefront. It’s a bit smaller, but the asking price is three hundred and forty thousand, and we can probably get it down by ten or twenty thousand; the other is in a nice location near Shang Garden District, quite spacious, and the most expensive at five hundred and eighty thousand. I haven’t taken a fancy to the other places for the time being."

After some thought, Huo Yingjie said, "In that case, we’ll need at least one million three hundred thousand to buy all three properties."

"Yes!" He Tiantian replied. "I only have nine hundred and sixty thousand on hand, so we’re short some money."

Thinking it over, Huo Yingjie said, "I have twenty thousand here. Let’s buy the one for four hundred and twenty and five hundred and sixty thousand first. For the remaining one, we’ll pay a deposit now and the balance in three months. We need to secure that property first."

He Tiantian didn’t quite catch the latter part, but her ears perked up when she heard Huo Yingjie mention "twenty thousand."

"Brother Yingjie, where did you get these twenty thousand from?" she asked in surprise, suspecting this might be Huo Yingjie’s private money.

"It’s the bonus awarded after completing projects last year and this year. It’s all in the passbook—I was about to give it to you, but we rushed to Yanjing and forgot about it," Huo Yingjie explained, pulling out a passbook from his travel bag.

He Tiantian took it without hesitation and instructed, "Husband, you’re awesome. In the future, report your bonus to me the moment you get it!"

"Alright, it’s all yours," said Huo Yingjie. "Perfect timing; Uncle Qian’s son is coming back too soon. I’ll ask about how his company is doing. It should be making money by now. If not, I might have to consider changing partners."

He Tiantian nodded, "Business is business; if he’s not capable, we change people."

"I think paying a deposit might not be appropriate, though. You know, if we are to pay the balance in six months, in the meantime, if they find a buyer who offers a higher price, they could break the contract. Even if we got double the deposit back, I still wouldn’t be happy," said He Tiantian. "And worse, if they sold it to someone else and ran off with our deposit, we would have wasted that money for nothing."

After reflecting, Huo Yingjie suggested, "Well, how about this? We just bought two courtyards, right? We can mortgage the one that cost four hundred and twenty thousand. We could earn over thirty thousand in three months, completely capable of paying off the loan."

He Tiantian’s eyes lit up, and she nodded, "That’s a good idea. As long as we can afford the interest and the principal, we don’t have to worry about the bank backing out."

"Let’s do it this way. We need to secure Uncle Cai’s property as soon as possible," said He Tiantian. "I originally wanted to push down the price, but if we take care of it tomorrow morning with four hundred thousand, I estimate he won’t sell for a penny less."

Huo Yingjie smiled, "No problem, we can wait a day. Maybe he’ll come to us first!"

He Tiantian set aside the papers in her hand; these things couldn’t be rushed.

The next afternoon, when He Tiantian and Huo Yingjie were planning to take a look around the area, they heard that Lao Lian had come over.

He Tiantian and Huo Yingjie, together with Lao Lian, went to a teahouse. "Uncle Lian, weren’t you supposed to be in a meeting today? Why the rush over here?"

Lao Lian chuckled, "The meeting finished this morning. Uncle Cai came looking for me this afternoon; he said if you’re willing to buy for three hundred and ninety thousand, you should transfer the property and pay promptly."

He Tiantian’s eyes shone brightly with curiosity, "Yesterday, Uncle Cai was holding firm. Why is he in such a hurry today?"

"He received another telegram from his son. If he can’t get the money, he’ll be facing jail time," Lao Lian explained. "Looks like he’s really in need of the cash. I guess the other offers he got were slightly lower than ours."

After pondering, He Tiantian said, "Alright, for three hundred and ninety thousand, I’ll buy it. As for the procedures tomorrow, I’ll have to trouble you, Uncle Lian."

"As long as you’re ready with the money, the rest is easy," Lao Lian smiled. "I’ll go inform Uncle Cai now."

"We appreciate it, Uncle Lian," Huo Yingjie said. "Be careful on the road."

Everything went smoothly, including the transfer of ownership and all the necessary documents such as the property purchase contract.

However, transferring the funds was a bit troublesome—He Tiantian’s passbook was from a bank in Nan City, and it took two days for the banks in Yanjing to confirm and finally transfer the money to Uncle Cai’s account.

Following that, He Tiantian and Huo Yingjie bought the beautiful courtyard near the park for five hundred and thirty thousand.

After these two transactions, everyone recognized that He Tiantian had money, so when she proposed to take out a mortgage on one of the properties, it only took three days to review and approve the loan.

It seems that after the reform and opening-up, not only policies have become more open, but people’s mindsets as well.

Like this time with the mortgage!

But this was good for He Tiantian.

Afterward, He Tiantian finally managed to secure the roadside courtyard she desired.