Chapter 10 I'm a little satisfied with the rental agency...
Chapter 10
Lin Mujin felt that it would be difficult to find a suitable house in a short period of time on her own, so she decided to seek help from outside.
Just find a real estate agent, but they are not available in all places. Generally, there are more agents in luxury commercial areas.
After asking several shops, she finally found a part-time old lady whose main job was a dessert shop and her side job was a real estate agency.
Only $50 and you're guaranteed to find a suitable house nearby.
"Grandma, I'll give you a deposit of twenty first, and I'll give you the rest when we find a suitable house."
Lin Mujin wouldn't be so stupid as to just give the money directly.
The old lady agreed readily, not forgetting her words of flattery. "I've lived here for over fifty years, there's nothing I don't know. What kind of house do you want?"
Lin Mujin quickly replied, "I want a tenement building with red bricks and cement, with a larger interior area and a kitchen and toilet."
The old lady frowned. "Ten-story buildings rarely put toilets inside the house, but modern high-rise buildings and private housing estates do put toilets inside the house."
Lin Mujin knew it very well, but the money she had was not enough for her to get what she wanted all at once.
The old lady frowned in thought. "I do know of a tenement building. It was built about six or seven years ago, made of cement, with four floors. The first floor is rented to a tailor, and there's a vacant room on the third floor. It's over 500 square feet. What's so good about it is that there are only two rooms on one floor, with a shared kitchen and bathroom."
Lin Mujin thought it was okay, "Then can I go and see the house?"
You must conduct an on-site inspection. After all, this is your housing for a long time in the future, so you must make a careful decision.
The old lady didn't hesitate and called someone from the shop next door to help look after the stall. "Let's go, it's not far."
Lin Mujin looked at the time and found that they had arrived at the destination after walking for eight minutes.
Grandma didn’t lie, it was quite close.
"This is it." The old lady greeted the sewing shop owner enthusiastically and also asked if the house had been rented out.
Lin Mujin thought to herself, there was a reason why the old lady could be a real estate agent. With her wide network of contacts, she naturally had a lot of properties available.
She took a few more glances at the exterior of the tenement building and the street.
The streets are still very clean and there is no obvious odor.
There is no cement peeling off the exterior of the tenement building, so it should not be very old.
There are four floors in total, but it is a bit small. However, in her opinion, this is not a disadvantage but an advantage. She doesn't like having multiple families living on one floor, which makes it messy.
"Let's go upstairs and take a look." The old lady raised the key in her hand.
The two of them went up the stairs one after the other, because the stairs were narrow and it was too crowded for two people to walk side by side.
The old lady explained, "The landlord left this key at the tailor shop to save her from having to make an extra trip."
Lin Mujin was very understanding. "It's not too late to call the landlord once you're interested."
"We're here. Look, this is the public kitchen, and this is the toilet."
Both doors were not locked and opened easily.
Lin Mujin just took a few glances.
The kitchen is about three or four square meters and has two stoves. However, if two families cook together, it will probably be crowded and smokey.
The toilet is just a squat toilet and a small wash basin, and that's it. There is no separation between wet and dry areas, and no bathroom.
But these were all within her expectations, so it seemed she had to continue scrubbing.
When I lived in a subdivided apartment, I would boil some water and cool it down every day to wash myself and take a shower.
My cousins took a shower right in the corner, wetting their entire bodies with a spoon, adding soap, and then rinsing it off.
She and her cousin did not dare to expose themselves casually. Fortunately, there was a waterproof curtain that they hung up when they needed to take a shower. However, because it was troublesome, they usually just wiped their bodies with a wet towel. Taking a shower twice a week was considered a maximum.
This is the inconvenience for women.
The old lady had already opened a door. "Come in, this is the room. It's very bright and spacious..."
Lin Mujin walked into the house. The floor was cement and very clean.
It’s a north-south apartment, which is a plus.
The house has two bedrooms and a living room, which is acceptable.
There is not much furniture and no bunk beds, so they need to do some work before they can move in.
Overall, Lin Mujin is still satisfied.
First of all, the location is really good. It’s not far from Lin Muli’s school and is even closer than living in a subdivided flat. I can buy him a bicycle later and save on bus fare.
It is also close to the market, so it is convenient for my cousin to find a job as a kitchen helper or set up her own stall.
It’s not far from my cousin’s factory. There is a direct bus, which is only three stops away. It takes more than half an hour to walk there, and if you have a bicycle, it will take seven or eight minutes.
By the way, it’s not far from the wonton noodle shop.
Secondly, the room is open from north to south, so it is warm in winter and cool in summer, making it more comfortable to live in.
Again, it is rare to come across a tenement building with only two users on one floor.
She observed that the kitchen and toilet were not dirty, which meant that the other family at least liked cleanliness.
It can be inferred that the other tenant's family has fewer people because there are not many kitchen utensils, and of course it is also possible that the person locked the house.
If you ask whether there are any shortcomings, of course there are.
It's just a two-bedroom apartment, not a three-bedroom one, and there's no indoor kitchen or bathroom.
There is too little furniture and it is on the third floor, so it is not convenient for the old man to go up and down the stairs.
After three months of recuperation, the old man can walk slowly with the help of a cane, but it is still inconvenient for him to go up and down the stairs.
But after looking at a few houses, she realized how harsh the reality was, because there was a shortage of houses and a large number of people in Hong Kong. There were not as many houses to rent as she had imagined, and her budget was not that high.
So when she came across this relatively suitable tenement building, she was determined to settle down there.
The next most important thing is price.
"Grandma, how did you rent this house?"
Grandma said a number, "One thousand and one."
Lin Mujin felt that the price was a bit high, but she still had to find the owner to bargain with, as the agent had no say in the matter.
But the attitude must be conveyed, "Grandma, this price is too high. This is Sham Shui Po, not Tsim Sha Tsui or Mong Kok."
The old lady argued, "But this house is big, over 500 square feet. Even a three-bedroom apartment isn't this big."
Lin Mujin was ready to test the waters. "Grandma, please give me a base price. If it's too high, forget it. Don't make the landlord make another trip."
What this means is that the rent is too expensive so she will look for another one.
The old lady naturally heard it and asked, "Do you have a big family?"
Lin Mujin opened her palms and said, "There are five people in my family, but they are all adults and no children."
The old lady pointed to the door of another tenant and said, "He's alone and has been renting for two years. He pays nine hundred dollars a month. With so many people in your family, the rent won't be cheap."
Lin Mujin understood this, but that was from the landlord's perspective. Now that she was a tenant, she naturally had an excuse to argue, "But we pay for the water and electricity when we rent a house. What does it have to do with the number of people?"
It turns out that the head follows the butt. She needs to think of another good excuse to bargain with the landlord.
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