Palisades Community.

After lunch, Luke hurried to the Palisades Community.

He had already gotten the keys to the house, and coming here again meant his identity changed from a house viewer to the owner.

Luke unlocked the door and entered the house, inspecting it thoroughly inside and out. This time, he didn't find anything unusual.

Standing by the window on the second floor, he saw someone walk into the yard. It was Li Zhaofeng and two unfamiliar Chinese men.

Luke went downstairs to meet the three.

Li Zhaofeng pointed to the two Chinese men beside him and introduced, "These are Zhang Jianguo, the general manager, and Zhang Jianmin, the deputy general manager of the Zhang Brothers Construction Company.

This is my son, Luke."

The older Chinese man took the initiative to shake hands with Luke, "Captain Li, I've heard a lot about you; you're a shining light for us Chinese. I'm Zhang Jianguo, and I look forward to your guidance."

Luke smiled, "You're very kind. I will certainly need your help with this house in the future."

"Our company started from scratch and grew step by step through the reputation of old customers. We use workers who've been with us for years, all very skilled, responsible, and reliable, guaranteed to satisfy you.

Moreover, we're old acquaintances with Accountant Li, so we'll definitely offer you the best price."

"Let me show you around first." Luke led the Zhang brothers on a tour around the house.

The Zhang brothers observed as they walked, tapping and inspecting, even removing a piece of wall tile and wood panel.

The younger Zhang Jianmin shook his head, "This house hasn't been maintained for many years; these should have been replaced long ago."

Luke didn't respond, taking them around outside, and then guided them inside to look. Luke had seen the structural drawings of this house and had a clear understanding of the condition inside and out.

After touring around the house, Zhang Jianguo asked, "Captain Li, do you intend to renovate this house or completely rebuild it?"

Luke countered, "Which do you think is more suitable?"

"Is it for investment or personal use?"

"For personal use."

"How much budget do you have for renovation or rebuilding?"

"I haven't decided yet." Luke thought about yesterday's conversation with real estate agent Tom Aklam, who mentioned the price of similar houses. He had a rough idea but didn't disclose it.

"If you have enough budget and plan to live here, I suggest demolishing and rebuilding the house." As he spoke, Zhang Jianguo removed another piece of wall skin, exposing the wooden structure underneath.

"This house has been built for at least twenty or thirty years; if you want to renovate, it would require major repairs and not be cheap."

Li Zhaofeng asked, "Isn't the cost of demolishing and rebuilding higher?"

"That's for sure, but the advantage is everything's new, and you won't need to worry about repairs for years.

If you just renovate, it's impossible to repair every part, and there might be constant minor issues. This house has been built for quite a while, and its design concept is quite outdated. The pipes and wiring are also aging, making renovation troublesome.

I noticed the foundation is also made of wood, which is rare nowadays. The current foundations are all reinforced steel and concrete.

If you want to renovate, the foundation requires a comprehensive inspection.

If you opt for rebuilding, the wooden foundation is easier to clear."

Luke scrutinized the house, indeed feeling it was somewhat worn out, "How much would it cost to rebuild?"

"That depends on the style and area of the house you want to build." Zhang Jianmin took out a tablet from his backpack, looked around, and there was thick dust everywhere, no decent place.

Luke suggested, "Let's discuss outside."

The group left the house and simply sat on the lawn outside. Zhang Jianmin turned on the tablet, opened software, "Here are various house styles with approximate construction costs. The house is delivered fully furnished.

Additionally, you can specify extra requirements."

As Luke browsed the house styles, he asked, "How many types of houses are there?"

"Hundreds." Zhang Jianmin pointed to the computer screen, saying, "You can enter your requirements for the house, such as rough area, number of floors, and basement specifications.

Below, you'll get house styles that meet the criteria."

"All these styles are designed by your company?" Luke was somewhat surprised, wasn't this company's scale supposed to be small?

"These house wooden structures and parts are custom-made at the factory, then transported and assembled by us. Actually, the large construction companies also order from these factories, and there's no difference in materials, craftsmanship, or technology."

Luke entered his requirements in the software: building area between 13,000 and 15,000 square feet, two floors above ground, one underground, with a swimming pool.

Quickly, house styles meeting Luke's criteria appeared—42 in total, starting with the exterior structure, and clicking open showed the internal structure and layout, all sample houses fully furnished and looking very beautiful.

Luke looked through them once, using the elimination method to remove styles and structures he didn't like.

The second round was for narrowing down to the house styles he preferred, comparing prices with his needs.

Finally, Luke chose a house he liked best, with construction costs reaching as high as 1.5 million USD.

Luke asked, "What does this 1.5 million USD cost include?"

Zhang Jianmin said, "This is our contracting price, covering labor, materials, transportation, and interior decoration, so you can move in directly upon completion."

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