Bust a Move

This time last year, we completed our search for a new apartment where we could spread out and be around more families. The grass hasn’t always been greener in the apartment but we didn’t expect that we would never encounter problems when we moved out of the Chateau. We moved into our apartment at Horizon Resorts in October of last year. With a one year lease ending soon, we had been talking with our agent about extending the lease for the remainder of my contract. Up until recently, we expected to have the extension (if you read carefully, you should know what is coming next). We found out last Thursday (yes, that is correct Thursday, October 21) that we are out on our butts at the end of the month. WHAT!?!?!?

It turns out that our landlord is in the midst of a divorce and unfortunately for us, we are collateral damage. Her husband (it’s always the husband’s fault isn’t it?) wants his fair share of the assets (they own 10 different apartments in Suzhou) and the only way that he could get that was to go through the courts for the cash settlement of the assets. At first, it was a question of the courts to decide but we would be granted a 1 month extension to see what would happen. If the apartment were to be sold, we would have to be out at the end of November. However, it seems that this isn’t acceptable and therefore the apartment will go up for auction much sooner. Due to this, there will be a new owner and a lot of uncertainty. The one certain thing is that we cannot be in the apartment when it goes up for auction. Did I mention that we found this out on Thursday (9 days before the end of the month)? Tammy had already been doing some preliminary apartment looks just in case something would happen but she was unable to find anything suitable in our price range (and by suitable I mean clean and in decent condition).

So Thursday we immediately raised the stress level to orange. At 7:00, we met with our realtor/agent and took a look at two of the “better” apartments from the previous lot that Tammy had viewed. One needed a lot of work, the fridge had not been used in some time and they had closed it without airing it out. When you opened it, you were immediately sorry you did (a new fridge was the only option). There were other issues as well so the apartment wasn’t really on the list. The second apartment we looked at we had seen in the past. We knew the pervious tenants and it had been open since the summer. They had painted it and it was in good condition. Both apartments were in Horizon so we didn’t have to move far so that was a good thing. Our agent contacted the second landlord on Friday but it seemed that someone else also looked at the apartment as well and they wanted to increase their asking price. It was nice but I wasn’t going to get into a bidding war over the place (plus we found out the landlords were not as nice as advertised, sign the deal and they instantly turned into deaf, dumb and blind….see no tenants, hear no tenants, think no tenants). So, we were still were without anything and the countdown timer was rolling.

We had to expand beyond Horizon since it seemed that the prices here are higher than other areas (although I am not certain I know why). We first went to Bai Ling to look at 7 apartments there. Some were okay but only 2 made our list. The others had too many things that would need to be changed (one had a nice “theme” for the one bedroom, it was like little Timmy’s wild adventures. The ceiling light was a sun, there were glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling as well. One wall had fishies, one wall had aireoplanes, one wall had birds and the other wall was full of 3M sticky pads from the stuff that had been removed). Then it was on to Four Seasons to look at a duplex. This was a quaint (Tammy’s term) place, it was a two story apartment, not too small but not really big that actually had a small backyard (and by small I mean when I say it’s time to cut the grass you grab your scissors). Then we looked at one place at Landmark Skylight. This apartment was separated into two floors and actually had a lot of space, it was very nice so we had to make a choice. The most interesting thing is the prices for the apartments. There was a 3,000 RMB difference in price between the 250 sq. meter apartment at Landmark versus a 210 sq. meter apartment at Horizon. The smaller apartment at Horizon was more expensive than the larger apartment at Landmark (and yes, I wrote that correctly). Landmark is an older complex which probably plays into the price but still, that’s a lot of coin to pay for a newer place.

I really don’t like to apartment search (especially with such short notice) but we hope we get a shot at the right place. Now, we are in the offer and wait mode to see what comes of the offers we have put on the apartments. When they give you a price, it is the same as the US. It’s the rental cost without any of the extras. Water, gas, electricity, telephone, internet, etc. are all additional costs that have to be negotiated into the contract. Here, we try to negotiate all of the costs to be paid by the landlord since it takes all of that extra stuff away from us and makes it one check (one call does it all) to track every month.

Now the story gets even more interesting. Divorces in China are just as brutal as the ones in the US. Tuesday, the husband of our landlady “stopped by” (and by stopped by I mean he attempted to break into the apartment by picking the lock) to see the apartment. He convinced one of the people from the management office to help him to get into the apartment (with a 100 RMB bribe). Tammy was just out of the shower and didn’t hear the doorbell so she was surprised when she found these two at the front door trying to pick the lock. She didn’t know who the guy was but assumed he was there to look at the apartment (potential buyer) since there was another person that was there earlier. So in he comes and begins the third degree on Tammy, he wants to see the contract/lease, how much do we pay, etc. She calls our agent and he talks to her on the phone. Tammy calls me and lets me know what is happening. This fool is in the apartment and refuses to leave until he gets the contract. We are under no obligation to show it to him since his name isn’t on it and we don’t know who the hell he is so she tells him no. He continues to ask how much we pay, etc. I go to the people at work and ask for help to get him out. They contact Sammi (our agent) and she already knows. So I call Tammy and ask to speak with the guy. I tell him he should leave and he claims not to speak English (this really fired me up because I knew he could understand me), so I start raising my voice and indicate to him that he should leave because he was asked to leave by Tammy. He listens and hands the phone back to Tammy. Did I mention that I am in the front office at work cursing over the phone at this idiot? I mean, here he is in my apartment refusing to leave and giving my wife the third degree…what would you do? I ask to get a taxi to go home and see what is happening. Sammi is on her way to the apartment to assist. Meanwhile, Tammy is held back from meetings at the school because she can’t leave with this man sitting on the couch (like a small child, I’m going to hold my breath until you give in and give me what I want).

When I arrive at the apartment, there are 5 Chinese in the apartment including the fool and of course Tammy. One security guy from the complex, two people from the real estate agent’s office and a others that I don’t know. It was surreal. I ask why they have to deal with this problem in our apartment; it’s between him and his wife. It turns out that he has called the police and we are waiting for them to arrive. When they arrive, he speaks with them and with my limited Chinese I only understood that he wanted the contract for the apartment. He claims that his wife told him the apartment was empty and he wants to see the contract to know that we are okay to be here (I call BS!!!). So we get asked for our passports by the police and then after they take the information, everyone slowly goes into the hallway. The landlady is contacted and is convinced to provide the contract to her soon to be ex-husband (gee, I wonder what went wrong with this loving couple?). We wait for another 20 minutes and someone shows up with the contract. He comes back and apologizes (like I give a rats butt!) and says he will not be back (the anti-Arnold). The man from the realtors office tells us that his wife made a false claim to the courts and the contract will help him in court. I tell them that I hope he gets what he deserves (it’s too bad in cases like this that good old American sarcasm is lost on the Chinese because he didn’t get the meaning). Then, poof, it’s all over. After 2 hours of this garbage, things settle back down I guess but many questions remain. Okay, now that the contract has been looked at, is he coming back on the 1st to be sure we are gone? When can we move into the new place?

It still boggles my mind that he actually came into the apartment and refused to leave. What would’ve happened had he done this to the kids? I don’t think he understood our anger but he and everyone else knew that we were unhappy. I think that if they didn’t know some Laowai swear words, they should know a few by now. Back home, he probably could’ve been prosecuted for trespassing (he really had no legal right to the place that I know of) or someone could’ve busted a cap in his butt. This is some crazy stuff people. The old adage, money is the root of all evil seems to fit the bill. Stay tuned, more to come on this situation as the week progresses.