The price rose and Li Du made another bid. When he raised his hand, the house-pickers all looked at him. They all had a hunch that he was going to make a big move.
Li Du did not disappoint them. He immediately said, "Four million!"
The faces of the house-pickers who were interested in the manor darkened.
Compared to the value of the manor, Li Du felt that four million was not much. Five million was not much either. The bank estimated the manor to be worth ten million. It was one of the most expensive houses in Santa Monica.
According to the law of profit in real estate auctions, the higher the value of the house, the more worth the risk.
The risk of an auction house was nothing more than damage to the wiring and pipes of the house or the previous owner refusing to sell the house. For high-value houses, these risks were easy to solve.
The higher the value of the house, the smaller the ratio of the value of the wiring and pipes. For example, rewiring the wiring and pipes of a detached house that was worth a hundred thousand dollars might cost tens of thousands of dollars. The ratio was one-tenth. Rewiring the wiring and pipes of a million-dollar villa might cost twenty to thirty thousand dollars. The ratio was two to three percent.
As for the risk of the previous owner staying in the house, it was easier to avoid. Whether there was anyone in the house or not, one only needed to stay at the door and observe for two days to be sure.
Like this manor, Lu Guan and Li Du had studied it before. It could be sold for about eight million. After renovating it and putting it up for sale, the manor could be sold for at least nine million. The profit margin of one million was not small.
However, something strange happened. When Li Du's bid reached four million, some of the big shots shook their heads and quit the competition.
This made him feel incredulous. Did these people think that they could take down a large manor of more than 20,000 square meters for four million? How was that possible?
Some people quit, some people persisted, and the price gradually rose.
Li Du could not be bothered to waste time here. He directly raised the price to five million.
Compared to the value of the manor, this price was not expensive at all. There was still room for them to compete for at least two million dollars. Li Du almost wanted to directly bid seven million.
However, something even stranger happened. When the price reached five million, the house-pickers all quit.
They were all looking at Li Du with the same expression on their faces: mockery. They looked like they were watching a show. Some had their arms crossed in front of their chests, some were sneering, as if spending five million to buy such a house was a losing deal.
Li Du was baffled. He noticed the strangeness of the scene, but he did not understand what was going on.
The auctioneer was the only one who was still calm. He was shouting, "Five million, five million, five million, my friends, this is the real king of bids, but it's definitely worth it, so is there anyone willing to bid higher? Five million, one million, one million, anyone?"
"Well, it seems that the price has reached the threshold of the value of the house. Then, five million going once, no one wants to intervene? No? Then, five million going twice, five million going twice, very good, five million! Deal! "
Sparse applause rang out, accompanied by laughter and laughter. Many people looked at Li Du with teasing eyes, their expressions ambiguous.
Lu Guan came up and whispered, "Boss, something's wrong."
Li Du rolled his eyes and said, "I'm not blind. Of course I know something's wrong. Find out what's going on."
After the manor was sold, the auction came to an end. The real estate agents entered the venue, stuffing business cards everywhere, looking for agents.
Before Lu Guan could ask what was going on, someone walked up. It was Marcos, who had greeted Li Du earlier. He said, "Buddy, is this your first time participating in a real estate auction?"
Li Du nodded. "Yes, please advise me."
Marcos smiled and said, "I saw that you didn't turn on your phone during the whole process. You don't have a partner? Or did your partner not go to the house? "
Li Du said, "Is that necessary?"
Marcos nodded and said, "It's necessary. You'll find out soon. Of course it's necessary!"
He did not say what exactly was going on. He came over and left after saying a few ambiguous words.
Behind him, another house picker came over and smiled. "You're really rich, buddy. But the more money you have, the greater your loss this time. Rich people are stupid. What a pity."
"I hope you cry happily, haha."
"Four million. If this money came from a bank loan, then you should be prepared to run or jump off a building."
There was something wrong with the house, that was obvious. However, Li Du did not know what the problem was.
It was also obvious that these house pickers had no intention of telling him the answer. They were there to mock him. In their eyes, Li Du was the enemy.
Li Du found a very experienced real estate agent with the highest asking price. His name was Snyder Tilav, a black man who looked very down-to-earth.
The process of buying a house was complicated, and the procedures required were also complicated. It was better to leave these matters to the professionals. Although it would cost some money, it would save a lot of trouble.
Li Du hired Snyder and then asked him about the situation of the beach manor.
After listening to Li Du's introduction, Snyder also looked confused. He said, "There's no problem with the manor's procedures. I've looked at them in advance. What's the problem now? Sorry, buddy, I really don't know."
Not long after, Lu Guan came looking for him. He said with a serious expression, "Boss, I know what's going on. We've gotten into trouble."
Li Du said, "Speak."
"The name of the beach manor is' Sunshine Jazz. 'It also has another name,' Dark Villain. 'The reason is that its current owner is a very famous mafia boss in Santa Monica."
"This mafia boss was arrested by the federal police and sent to prison. Because he did not pay property taxes, property management fees, and because he was unable to pay the government fines for his crimes, the Sunshine Jazz was confiscated by the government."
"However, although that b * stard was sent to prison, he still has many underlings outside. Just when the auction started, some of his underlings went down to the manor and warned the house pickers there that they would kill whoever bought the house …"
"In other words, this house is a problem?" Li Du frowned.
Lu Guan nodded helplessly. "Yes."
No wonder these house pickers had told him to leave his partners around the house during the auction. It turned out that during the auction, the original owner's men had appeared and issued a warning.
Li Du guessed that he had been tricked. The house pickers probably did not even intend to bid two million. They did not want to provoke the local mafia. The previous bidding was to make him pay more.
When the price reached four million, they did not bid anymore. They were afraid that if the price continued to rise, they would give up. If that happened, the house would be in their hands. After all, they did not know the price that Li Du had set for the Sunshine Jazz.
Of course, this was just his guess. It could also be that the big shots felt that at a price like four million, it was not worth it to take down a house that someone was threatening. If the price was lower, there would still be value in taking the risk.
In short, the house was a hot potato. The house pickers thought that Li Du would lose it.
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