Chapter 659
After leaving Shichahai, the group drove to three courtyard houses near Nanluoguxiang.
The conditions of these three courtyards were completely different, allowing Su Miao and the others to have a more intuitive comparison.
The first one is located in Xiaoyu Hutong. It is a three-courtyard courtyard. Such a large house is very rare, but its current situation is regrettable.
The painted decoration on the courtyard gate had long since faded and fallen off, and the door panel was also crooked, making a harsh creaking sound when pushed open.
There were twelve families crammed into the yard, each with a simple kitchen in the courtyard, and electrical wires crisscrossing overhead like a spider web.
The street worker who showed them the house said helplessly:
"This courtyard has a complex ownership structure: half is owned by residents and half is state-owned. With so many residents, anyone who buys it will be responsible for vacating the entire property.
Although the total price of the three-story house is only 60,000 yuan, the resettlement fee alone may cost another 30,000 to 40,000 yuan."
The second place was a small courtyard, which was not on the notebook. It was Sister Guan from the Street Office who suddenly thought of bringing them here. It was only about a hundred meters away from the previous place.
Before entering the yard, I could hear the clattering of mahjong and the crying of children.
Sister Guan pushed the door open and shouted, "Old Li! I'm bringing someone to check out the yard."
When the door was opened, I saw that the yard was filled with various temporary buildings, colorful clothes were hung on the clotheslines, and honeycomb coal and cabbage were piled in the corners of the walls.
"I'm sorry, there are so many people living here, so it's a bit messy." The homeowner, Ms. Yang, came out of the kitchen wearing an apron and holding a spatula in her hand.
This is a half-entry courtyard. The so-called "half-entry" means that there is only a dilapidated earthen house in the backyard, which has been converted into a storage room.
The main house and the east and west wing rooms were divided into small rooms and rented out to several migrant workers.
Sister Yang wiped her hands on her apron and said, "I bought this yard from the Housing Authority a few years ago. I spent a total of 12,000 yuan at the time, and now I want to sell it for 25,000 yuan.
Don’t be fooled by the mess it is now. Once these temporary buildings are demolished, there will be a lot of space. If only one family lives here, it will be very spacious.”
Su Miao followed her into the main room and saw old newspapers pasted on the walls, spider webs hanging on the rafters of the roof, and a damp and musty smell hit her face.
Sister Yang pointed at the roof and said, "Look at these beams. They're all good pine wood, not worm-eaten. They just need to be renovated, and the plumbing and electrical work needs to be redone."
The dilapidated house in the backyard was even more dilapidated, with cracks in the corners of the wall and a large piece of tile missing from the roof.
Tang Ziyi squatted down and knocked on the ground: "The foundation is sinking a bit, it needs to be reinforced."
Su Yuanzheng frowned and asked, "Twenty-five thousand is cheap, but how much will it cost to renovate it?"
Ye Jiayin quickly estimated: "It will cost at least more than 10,000 yuan, and it will take another half a year. Besides, this yard has been divided into too many pieces, and the structure is seriously damaged."
Sister Li quickly said, "The price is negotiable. If you're serious about buying it, 22,000 is fine!"
But when everyone looked at the "mess" in front of them, they all understood that this was not a simple "picking up a bargain", but a "filling the hole" project that required a lot of time and money.
The next one is in Yuan'ensi Hutong, which is a well-preserved two-courtyard quadrangle.
The copper nails on the vermilion lacquer gate sparkled, and the corridors in the courtyard were spotless.
The owner of the house is a returned overseas Chinese. He specially hired professionals to repair it, and even the ice cracks on the window frames were restored meticulously.
But the asking price of two hundred thousand made Su Miao smack his lips: "This price is enough to buy several courtyards like Qin Lao's."
After looking at five courtyard houses selected from the notebook, it was already three o'clock in the afternoon.
The four of them returned to the small courtyard rented by the Su family. Su Yuanzheng prepared a table of delicious food for the children. At noon, they only bought buns to make do with their meals, so he must make some delicious food to reward them in his spare time.
After dinner, Ye Jiayin took out a notebook and clearly listed the advantages and disadvantages of each place.
Tang Ziyi spoke first: "The advantages of Mr. Qin's house are obvious. It has two entrances, a good location, and it is a rare 'whole courtyard' that is not divided by a slum.
The price isn't too high, and the renovation costs are manageable. The Hexi painted pattern is a unique selling point, and I can tell Miaomiao really likes it."
Su Miao poured everyone a cup of jasmine tea, and the fragrance spread with the hot steam:
"That's right! Grandpa Qin's paintings are so precious. It would be a shame if they were destroyed by that foreign company manager. Did you notice how angry Grandpa Qin was when he heard that the paintings were going to be destroyed? He would definitely prefer to sell them to someone who can appreciate them.
I particularly like the historical feel of Grandpa Qin's house; the colorful paintings and the old locust tree all have stories. But that foreign company employee surnamed Huang is watching, so I have to make a decision quickly.
Ye Jiayin added, "Teacher Guo's house is also nice. Forty thousand yuan, you can buy a move-in ready yard. It's a very good value in Shichahai. And that living well is so attractive. This kind of lifestyle cannot be measured by money."
Su Yuanzheng twisted his chin. "I'm worried that the appreciation potential of a house with a single courtyard won't be as great as a house with two courtyards. But then again, Mr. Guo is a cultured person and easy to deal with. The property rights are clear, so it saves a lot of trouble."
When talking about the 200,000 yuan yard, everyone shook their heads.
Su Yuanzheng smiled and said, "That's for intellectuals. We're just ordinary people. Living comfortably is the most important thing. There's no need to spend the extra 20,000 yuan for a 'Hanlin Former Residence'."
As for the others, the renovation cost is too high, especially for Sister Yang’s “broken earth house”. Just thinking about the amount of renovation work is enough to give people a headache.
Ye Jiayin said: "I don't think something as big as buying a yard can be rushed, there are still many houses available on the list.
We don’t have any exams scheduled tomorrow, so let’s go look at a few more. I’ll come back and compare them with what I saw today before making a decision.”
So, the next day, the four of them ran around for half a day and came back with a pair. They found that Mr. Qin's house and Teacher Guo's house were the most suitable.
Su Miao's eyes flashed with excitement:
"Dad, why don't we buy these two sets. I think Mr. Qin's yard needs to be renovated. The key is to get the toilet drainage, which takes time.
It just so happens that we can move into Teacher Guo’s house right after we buy it. It is much wider than the small courtyard we are renting now, and every detail is exquisite and beautiful.
After the renovations are finished, we'll consider where to live next. We'll keep the other one for appreciation. According to current trends, courtyard houses will definitely become more and more expensive, so we won't lose out in the end."
Su Yuanzheng did some calculations: "Mr. Qin's yard is 80,000, and Teacher Guo's yard is 40,000, which adds up to 120,000.
We also have to add the cost of renovation, moving and furniture, how do we calculate this?"
Ye Jiayin, who has recent renovation experience, said:
"If Mr. Qin's yard is renovated according to the standards of my house, it will cost about 10,000 yuan. The main reason is that many of his rooms have been unoccupied for years and are old.
As for furniture, it depends on its quality. If you want to make some high-quality wooden furniture.
Plus, Miaomiao said she wanted to go to Panjiayuan to buy some nice things to decorate the house, which would cost another 20,000, so the total is 150,000, plus some taxes, so 150,000 to 160,000."
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