"Don't be a pushover; we still need to negotiate the price!"

Xu Lin whispered to Rong Xiyi, "Two hundred and thirty square meters, I estimate the rent starts at ten thousand. The annual rent is at least a hundred thousand or more. Let me negotiate first, but let's take a closer look at the apartment."

"Oh, oh!"

"Xu Lin, you're amazing."

"It's just a life hack, nothing amazing about it. Save where you should, spend where you should."

The real estate agent led the two of them upstairs.

Their current complex has twenty buildings, not too big or small. They live in a duplex in Building Three, and now they're heading to Building Fifteen.

Xu Lin had previously checked the rent for residential apartments, generally higher than duplexes, ranging from a few thousand to starting at ten thousand more.

This one they're looking at now, the agent said it's two hundred and thirty square meters, which is already considered a large flat. Just not as large as Chi Linyue's kind. Most residential apartments range between eighty and a hundred and thirty square meters. Even a hundred and thirty is considered large, and many eighty-square-meter apartments can somehow fit three bedrooms, one living room, one kitchen, and one bathroom. A hundred and thirty can even accommodate five bedrooms.

So, a two-hundred-thirty-square-meter area is quite large, equivalent to two ordinary apartments.

As they entered, past the entrance, was the living room, which consists of two connected living rooms, totaling seventy square meters, quite spacious.

This apartment has five bedrooms, two living rooms, one kitchen, and two bathrooms, plus a big balcony, which comes included. With the balcony, the total area is around two hundred and forty square meters. The balcony is enclosed, with wooden flooring inside. The overall decoration is done very well, giving a sense of sophistication.

According to the agent, the landlord spent over a million and six hundred thousand on renovation.

Xu Lin could understand the one-million six-hundred-thousand renovation; his own one hundred seventy-square-meter home cost over six hundred thousand in decoration, completely not in the same league as this apartment.

The agent continued, "The renovation of this apartment was completed more than half a year ago, so there's no need to worry about formaldehyde issues, and no one has lived in it yet. What do you two think?"

Rong Xiyi didn't speak; she looked at Xu. She really wanted to rent this apartment because she thought it was excellent.

Xu Lin said, "What's the rent like?"

"The landlord is asking for forty thousand!"

The agent added, "Because the rent is relatively high, despite how well this apartment is done up, it hasn't been rented out yet."

Xu Lin replied, "Forty thousand a month, four hundred eighty thousand a year, apartments generally require a year's lease, add in various miscellaneous costs, only wealthy people could afford to rent this kind of place."

"What do you think, Classmate Xu?"

"Ask the owner if thirty thousand would work?"

"Thirty thousand, isn't that too much of a cut, Classmate Xu?"

The agent seemed a bit troubled.

Xu Lin calmly said, "If this one doesn't work, we'll just move on to the next one. There's a severe housing surplus these days; it's not like we lack options."

Besides, they could always switch agents.

Rong Xiyi, next to him, held Xu Lin's hand, her index finger tracing circles in his palm. She felt Xu Lin was amazing, with a slightly domineering air.

"Let me check with the owner."

The agent then sent a message to the owner.

"Classmate Xu, the owner says thirty thousand is too low."

"Ask the owner what the minimum acceptable rent is."

"Okay."

The agent continued messaging.

After a short while, the agent said, "The owner said the minimum is thirty-two thousand."

"Thirty-two thousand, can you ask if that includes property management fees?"

The property's management fee is six RMB per square meter, about a thousand per month for two hundred thirty square meters.

"The owner says that including the management fee, they'd need five hundred more, totaling thirty-two thousand five hundred. What do you think, Classmate Xu?"

"That's acceptable."

Xu Lin calculated in his mind; at 1380 RMB a month for management fees, the rent was still reasonable. Earlier, he had cut a thousand off, which was a negotiation tactic. If they outright refused to rent, then Xu Lin would move on to another place. As he mentioned before, there's an overabundance of housing options these days; he's got plenty of places to rent; it's not like he needs this specific one.

If they negotiate, like now, he can accept it, as long as it falls within his acceptable range.

This apartment is large, and the decoration is premium, quite sophisticated. Xu Lin really liked it, and Rong Xiyi clearly liked it too.

It would be nice to rent this place, but it is indeed pricy.

Still, in a better complex like this in Jiangdu, given the large area, it's quite normal.

Xu Lin asked, "Ask the owner if I can change the locks?"

"The owner said yes, changing the locks is no problem."

Xu Lin nodded slightly.

Some people don't pay much attention when renting and don't change the locks. Later, the landlord could come in without you knowing.

It's nothing to be careful about; society is full of all sorts; you never know.

The agent said, "Classmate Xu, if you'd like to rent this apartment, are you available to sign the contract today?"

"I'm free before eleven. Can you check if the owner is available now?"

It's currently a bit after eight in the morning.

Xu Lin is for wrapping things up quickly; he doesn't want to waste too much time on such trivial matters.

"The owner says they're getting ready to come over now."

Next comes signing the contract and some other processes, didn't take too long, just a little over half an hour to complete.

Xu Lin added the landlord's contact with his alternate number; he doesn't add outsiders on his main number.

The landlord turned out to be a wealthy middle-aged woman. After meeting Xu Lin, although they initially discussed a rent of thirty-two thousand five hundred, she finally decided on thirty thousand on her own.

Why?

Because she felt a personal connection with Xu Lin, they clicked in conversation, so she proactively reduced it by two thousand five hundred.

Xu Lin transferred half a year's rent, which is one hundred eighty thousand, to her in one go.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.