Reborn as a landlord in Shanghai

Chapter 33 Meeting Li Mingyue: Happy New Year!

"Old Li, let's not talk about loans for now. Let's talk about housing prices in Shanghai. Do you think housing prices in Shanghai will go up or down in a few years?" Mao Xiaoyu changed the subject and asked.

"Shanghai is a big city. I wouldn't say that all the elite talents in China flock to Shanghai, but anyone with a bit of ability still wants to go there. So I think Shanghai will only get better and better in the future, and as for housing prices, they will only get higher and higher."

Although it felt a little strange to be called "Old Li" by Mao Xiaoyu, considering my young age, it was a minor issue. Now that she was asking me about housing prices in Shanghai, I shared my thoughts.

After all, it was precisely because Li Mingyue was optimistic about Shanghai that she wanted to buy a house there, settle down there, and live there. Therefore, she naturally expected Shanghai's housing prices to rise.

"To be honest, I am also very optimistic about the housing prices in Shanghai. After all, according to the development trend of developed countries around the world, the economic development of a region will definitely drive the housing price development of that region. As a city on par with Beijing and Shenzhen, I believe that its housing prices will definitely rank among the top three in China in the future."

So in my opinion, housing prices in Shanghai will only keep rising, and even if they sometimes stop growing or slightly decrease due to certain events, they will still rise after the fluctuations. Don't you think I'm right?" Mao Xiaoyu asked rhetorically.

"I agree with what you said. After all, our company's mortgage ratio is quite high. As for why our company has such a high mortgage ratio, it's because we are optimistic about the housing prices in Shanghai. Recently, since China joined the WTO, the economy has seen visible growth," Li Mingyue nodded in agreement.

"Since you agree with what I said, Lao Li, then I want to ask you something. Lao Li, do you think it's difficult for an ordinary person to buy a house, or even several houses, in Shanghai?" Mao Xiaoyu asked again.

"It's difficult. It's really hard for ordinary people to buy a house in Shanghai. Of course, if it's just one house, even if it's a bit difficult, the whole family can grit their teeth and buy it. But if it's several houses, it's impossible for ordinary people to earn that much money." Hearing Mao Xiaoyu's question and thinking about her own experience, Liu Mingyue shook her head and answered.

"Yes, it's really hard for ordinary people to make money, let alone buy a house. Many people have emptied their pockets to buy a house in Shanghai. They even have to borrow money from the bank to have their own house," Mao Xiaoyu said with a sigh.

"Sigh, yes, we in the lending business see this kind of thing far too often."

Li Mingyue, who had been working in the loan department for almost a year, had seen far too many of these kinds of things. So when she heard Mao Xiaoyu's sigh, she couldn't help but sigh as well.

"Old Li, just kidding. Let me ask you a little question: when do you think you'll be able to buy a house in Shanghai?" Mao Xiaoyu asked in return.

Buy a house?

I'd like to!

But I don't have any money on me!

We're already on borrowed money to make ends meet, and you still want to buy a house? You're dreaming!

Li Mingyue didn't know how to answer Mao Xiaoyu for a moment. She could only sigh, and this sigh immediately lowered the atmosphere in the entire living room.

…………

"Old Li, do you want to make money?"

Mao Xiaoyu felt the atmosphere was about right, so she suddenly asked a question in return.

Upon hearing Mao Xiaoyu's question, Li Mingyue finally realized what was happening and looked directly at Mao Xiaoyu.

"You said my house has a loan of 50 yuan, will your company lose money?" Mao Xiaoyu asked, ignoring Li Mingyue's gaze.

Upon hearing Mao Xiaoyu's question, Li Mingyue glanced at the property certificate on the table and said, "It's not a loss, but there's not much profit to be made, and there are risks involved. Considering the current trend, the risks aren't too great, but for the company, there's not much difference between lending and not lending."

"Okay, I'll take out a loan for this house through you. You can help me get a loan of 50 yuan first, and I'll give you a 1% commission. As soon as the loan is approved, the commission will be in your hands. What do you think?" Mao Xiaoyu began to tempt him directly.

A loan of 50?

A 1% rebate?

That's 5000 yuan!

Hearing Mao Xiaoyu's words, Li Mingyue pondered for a moment. After all, such a rebate was really tempting, and Li Mingyue felt that she had suddenly realized some things.

After all, she had seen this kind of thing quite often in the company. At the time, Li Mingyue saw that her colleague had taken out a very high mortgage and felt that there was something wrong, but she never felt that there was anything wrong with it.

Now that Li Mingyue heard Mao Xiaoyu talking about rebates, she finally understood. It turned out that her colleague's high mortgage was probably due to rebates. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense to take out such a high mortgage, since the house was valued a little too high.

Now that I've finally encountered this situation myself, should I get involved?

The moment the idea crossed her mind, Li Mingyue had her answer.

Let's do it!

If my colleague can do it without any problems, why can't I?

No wonder some of my colleagues have already bought houses and cars after only two or three years at the company, while I've been working there for a year and I'm still renting a place outside, not to mention I don't have enough money and have to borrow from colleagues every month.

It turns out they all have their own side businesses; they don't rely on that meager fixed salary to make a living.

Thinking of this, Li Mingyue picked up the property certificate on the table and looked at it again, preparing to see how to handle this case.

What Li Mingyue didn't know was that if Mao Xiaoyu hadn't come looking for him tonight, Li Mingyue would have been penniless this time and had to borrow money from his colleagues. His colleagues saw how pitiful he was and that's when they told him this trick.

After learning the trick, Li Mingyue went on a rampage, helping customers increase their loans and receiving kickbacks. Over two or three years, he amassed more than 1 million yuan in kickbacks and used his relatives' ID cards to buy six houses in Shanghai, securing 30-year mortgages directly through his own hands.

Because he had money and houses, he was able to repay his loans and own these houses normally during his five years in prison. By the time he was released, the house price had risen from the initial purchase price of six or seven thousand yuan per square meter to more than ten thousand yuan per square meter, a two or three-fold increase.

At this time, the price of renting houses also increased by two or three times. Then he started to renovate and rent out these six houses. With the rent, he paid off his already not too much mortgage and had money to eat, drink and have fun. When Mao Xiaoyu was reborn, this guy could receive more than 10 yuan in rent every month. As for the bank loan, it had already been paid off in advance.

…………

Mao Xiaoyu looked at Li Mingyue, who was studying the property, and wasn't in a hurry. After all, judging from her appearance, Li Mingyue should be interested.

After waiting for about five or six minutes, Li Mingyue finally looked up at Mao Xiaoyu and asked, "Does your father know about what you did?"

"This is my house, and it's in my name. I don't need my father to know. Besides, my father is a bit old-fashioned and believes in doing things within one's means, so he doesn't like taking risks. But I'm different. We young people like to take a little risks," Mao Xiaoyu said.

"Let me ask you one more thing, what do you plan to do after you get this loan? Of course, you don't have to say," Li Mingyue asked again.

"Of course, it's buying a house. Do you think it's stock trading? Stock trading is all a scam. After all, big fish eat small fish, which is the most normal phenomenon in the stock market. People like us who put money into stock trading are mostly just韭菜 (leeks, a metaphor for being exploited), and in the end, they get fleeced piece by piece, and all the money is taken away by the big players."

"This time I'm taking out a loan on my house to buy another house in Shanghai, and it's a rolling purchase. That means I plan to use my 50 yuan house to buy a 500 million yuan house. This 500 million yuan is a base; even if I lose money, I shouldn't lose everything. If I make a profit, I can earn 1:10 on the house price," Mao Xiaoyu said.

"Oh, so you're going to take out another loan?" Li Mingyue asked with interest.

"Of course, if you can disburse the loan promptly, I'd still prefer to work with you. And as you've seen, my family situation is like this: we own a house and a shop, which makes my loan very secure. Besides, with housing prices constantly rising, there's a high probability that there won't be any major problems. Even if there are, my family will be there to back you up, so it won't be a big issue for you," Mao Xiaoyu said.

Hearing Mao Xiaoyu's words, Li Mingyue thought it made sense. Mao Xiaoyu's family had a storefront and a house. Since they could buy one for their son, the couple must have at least one more. So even if the house prices dropped and they couldn't afford it, at least his father would be there to support them.

Moreover, Li Mingyue felt that housing prices shouldn't fall, at least not in the last two years. So, if she bought houses according to Mao Xiaoyu's suggestion of a 1:10 ratio, she might actually make money.

"So, may I ask what kind of loan you need? As you know, there are many types of loans, and the interest rates and disbursement speeds vary," Liu Mingyue asked.

Hearing Li Mingyue's question, Mao Xiaoyu felt much more at ease. Since the other party dared to ask, it meant that the other party had accepted this order, and that the other party would probably accept her orders as well. This gave her more confidence in purchasing the demolished houses next.

"I need a loan that can be disbursed as quickly as possible," Mao Xiaoyu said.

"If you want a loan that can be disbursed as quickly as possible, like a 10-year, 20-year, or 30-year loan, you won't be able to get it because those kinds of loans have stricter reviews, require all sorts of bank statements, and are extremely troublesome. In fact, it usually takes at least half a month to a month to get the loan approved."

"If you want to get a loan as quickly as possible, the best option is a mortgage loan. For example, you can mortgage your house to the bank for one, two, or three years, and then pay back the principal and interest when it's time to repay the loan. That way, the loan will be approved faster," Li Mingyue said after thinking for a moment.

"Since this type of loan is faster, I'll take it. You can take out a one-year loan for my house, with the interest rate as low as possible. After a year, I'll pay back the principal and interest together. By the way, how long does it usually take to get the money for this type of loan?" Mao Xiaoyu asked.

"It usually takes about 10 to 15 days, but with my help, it can be faster, in 5 to 7 days," Li Mingyue said.

"Hey Lao Li, let me ask you something. I want to buy a house, but we don't have the property certificate yet because it's in the process of being transferred. However, I already have the purchase certificate. I'll leave the purchase certificate with you. Could you do the preliminary work for me first, and then once the property certificate is issued, I can send it directly to your company, and the loan can be disbursed to me the next day?" Mao Xiaoyu asked, changing her request.

Actually, Mao Xiaoyu's request was a bit unreasonable. After all, according to the rules of financial institutions, the property ownership certificate must be obtained before other things can be done. Although this advance review is already against the rules, it can be treated as not being against the rules by internal processing. It just depends on whether anyone is willing to do it.

As for Li Mingyue in front of her, Mao Xiaoyu knew that this guy was definitely capable of doing it; it just depended on how big his tongue was.

Upon hearing Mao Xiaoyu's request, Li Mingyue considered it for a moment, weighing the pros and cons. After thinking for about two or three minutes, she looked up and asked, "Are you sure you can produce your property certificate?"

"I can definitely get it out. I'll only release the loan the day after I hand over the property certificate to you. Don't issue the loan without the property certificate. I'm just arranging the preliminary work for you in advance. This way, I won't have to go through this process step by step when I actually disburse the loan," Mao Xiaoyu said.

Li Mingyue hesitated for a moment and said, "Although it's a bit against the rules, it's still possible to do it this way. However, my rebate requirement is a little higher, 1.5%. After all, I still have to give the extra 0.5% rebate to my superiors. If you're just using the property certificate as collateral and come to me for mortgage like this, then it can be 1%."

Hearing Li Mingyue's words, Mao Xiaoyu knew that she had passed the hurdle she wanted most, and happily said, "Okay, 1.5 it is. I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation in the future."

Since both parties have decided to cooperate, they are prepared to use Mao Xiaoyu's house as a pilot project first.

The two discussed it and decided that Mao Xiaoyu would come over tomorrow to go to Li Mingyue's company with him, and then help Mao Xiaoyu deal with the mortgage for the house.

The two chatted for another half hour before Mao Xiaoyu finally left Li Mingyue's house.

Then Mao Xiaoyu returned home and gave the newly made fake property certificate to her parents. Her parents held it in their hands and looked at it for a long time, but they couldn't tell that it was fake. Mao Xiaoyu's mother then took the property certificate back to the bedroom and locked it in their safe.

Seeing this outcome, Mao Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief. With the fake property certificate in her parents' hands, she could finally use the real one and move on to the next step.

Now everything is finally ready, except for the final push.