The youth economy says the
eggshell apartment is caught in the "funding chain" break
This is not the first time Eggshell has defaulted on the landlord’s rent and caused tenants to be evicted.
As early as February 16, Su Su (pseudonym) received a call from the eggshell staff: “Because of force majeure, the landlord wants to take back the house and you are restricted to move out before the end of the month.”
---------------
"The house belongs to me. I have not received the rent. I have the right to take the house." On November 11, a person who claimed to be the landlord came to the rental house where Chen Chao (pseudonym) was renting and told Chen Chao that the eggshell apartment was not available. Pay his rent on time and ask him and several other tenants to move out on November 14.
The day before, he had posted a notice of "moving out within a time limit" on the door.
Just 9 days ago, Chen Chaogang paid more than 20,000 yuan to renew the lease for half a year.
"My money has been paid, what should I do?"
"Eventful Autumn" at Eggshell Apartments
On November 13, Chen Chao held up the printed payment information in front of the eggshell apartment company, seeking explanations and solutions from the staff.
After queuing for several hours, it was finally his turn as No. 347 to negotiate a solution with the staff.
On the same day, the staff gave Chen Chao two solutions: one is to change the rent, and the eggshell apartment will provide him with a new house. The original deposit can be used as a deduction, but the rent needs to be repaid; the second is to cancel the contract and work. The officer verbally promised to pay him the rent within 14 working days.
Chen Chao said that the entire negotiation process only lasted more than 2 minutes.
Chen Chao rejected both of these proposals.
He said that choosing to change the rent may mean that the original rent has not been withdrawn, and he dare not "take" in a sum of money; he may also face the risk of being sent out by the landlord again; he chose to terminate the contract because of some previous long-term rental apartments. He didn't believe in the promise made by Eggshell by running away after the thunderstorm.
"Who dares to cancel the contract?"
"My goal is to stop the landlord (accepting the house)." Because the next day is the day of accepting the house, Chen Chao was particularly anxious. He went to the scene to let Eggshell come up with a solution to appease the landlord.
Chen Chao felt that he signed a lease contract with Eggshell Apartment, and the landlord signed an escrow contract with Eggshell Apartment. If both contracts are not terminated, the landlord cannot send them away.
Chen Chao's demands were not fulfilled.
On November 14, the person who claimed to be the landlord came again to ask them to move out, but Chen Chao and several other tenants refused to move out. The two sides were in a stalemate and the whole process lasted several hours.
Chen Chao said that he understood the landlord's difficulties, but "I can't help it."
Previously, the landlord had considered power outages, network disconnections, heating and lock replacements.
On November 15th, the landlord took the initiative to find them and told about their situation: renting out the house is to support the family, and now they can't receive the money, nor can they live in the house.
It is not easy for both sides, and then help each other.
"You can live with peace of mind. I promise that you will not collect rent until the end of the year. I hope you can get the rent back."
Chen Chao said that he was relatively lucky.
According to his understanding, among the tenants are students who have just graduated. They pay the rent through rent loans. The money has been paid to the long-term apartment in one lump sum.
If they choose to terminate the contract or compulsorily take over the house, they may face the situation that they have no house to live but continue to repay the loan.
Re-trapped "capital chain" rupture storm
This is not the first time Eggshell has defaulted on the landlord’s rent, causing tenants to be evicted.
As early as February 16, Su Su (pseudonym) received a call from the eggshell staff: “Because of force majeure, the landlord wants to take back the house and you are restricted to move out before the end of the month.”
Su Su thought about surrendering the rent, but it was in the early stage of the epidemic and the risk of moving was relatively high. He also worried that once the rent was surrendered, the rent of 27,000 yuan renewed in October last year would not be returned, so he gave up this idea.
Su Su said, "A year ago, my roommate moved out of the residence, and the deposit was not refunded until mid-February."
Someone once asked the eggshell staff about whether it can guarantee that there will be no similar situation after subletting. The other party replied, "Because it is caused by the epidemic, it is unpredictable."
Susu once contacted the owner of the house.
The landlord stated that the repossession of the house was due to the rent arrears with the eggshell.
In fact, not only tenants are defending their rights, but homeowners are also taking actions to safeguard their own interests.
On January 30 this year, Ms. Liang, the owner of Wuhan, did not receive the rent from Eggshell Apartments as usual, but on February 4 she received a call asking her to waive the rent for three months, and she was tough.
According to Ms. Liang's understanding, the three tenants in her house did not default on the rent, but until February 19, she did not receive a cent of rent.
Prior to this, she entrusted a property of her own to Eggshell Apartment and signed a five-year contract.
According to the contract, eggshells pay rent to them on a monthly basis.
Suddenly, some landlords and tenants began to worry that the eggshell might have broken the "funding chain".
On February 17th, in response to the "funding chain break" questioned by the public, the official WeChat account of Eggshell Apartments replied that this is false information and the company's operating status is stable.
In addition, for rent arrears, we will arrange payment as soon as possible after negotiating with the landlord about rent-free matters.
Eggshell Apartment also stated in its "True Words to the Masses of Landlords" that the company has indeed encountered difficulties. While renting free for one month for tenants across the country and two months for renters in Wuhan, "the payment is still normal." Landlord’s rent may be difficult to sustain for a long time."
Last month, Li Qi (a pseudonym), the landlord in Chaoyang, Beijing, also received a call from the eggshell staff.
The staff member said that eggshells did encounter difficulties this year. Can the rent be reduced?
Li Qi said that it is not easy under the epidemic, and promised to reduce the rent by 1,000 yuan.
The tenant reported to Li Qi that the water heater in the rental house was broken. Li Qi looked for eggshells seven or eight times, but nothing was resolved.
Initially, the staff said that they would solve the problem and let Li Qi go home first.
In fact, the tenant’s problem has not been resolved. One of the girls told Li Qi that she hadn’t taken a hot bath for 20 days.
Li Qi came to the eggshell apartment again and again. As of November 13, the problem has not been resolved.
According to Li Qi's understanding, the tenants paid half a year's rent, but the service of the apartment failed to keep up.
"Eggshell Apartment, are you going to run away?"
As of November 12, Ziwutong (Beijing) Asset Management Co., Ltd., an associated company of Eggshell Apartments, had added 3 pieces of information about the person to be executed within the same month, and the total amount of execution exceeded 10 million yuan.
Can the promise of "no runaway" be fulfilled
"We are not bankrupt, and we will not run away." On November 16, the staff of Eggshell Apartment told China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily that the company is indeed experiencing financial difficulties, regarding the problems of tenants and landlords. , Is actively solving and processing.
"I believe they can survive the crisis." This was Chen Chao's idea before he came. The reason why he chose to renew the lease at the beginning of the month was that on the one hand, he considered that Eggshell Apartments ranked high in the industry and would not fall; To "its counterparty house vacancy rate is too high, I dare not rent".
Chen Chao's thoughts were also shaken.
Some landlords and tenants also expressed disbelief regarding the statement of "don't run away", believing that this was just a "delay strategy."
As a representative enterprise in the field of long-term rental apartments, Eggshell Apartments has once again been pushed to the forefront.
In fact, under the epidemic situation, many long-term apartment rentals are not easy, and the problem of "rental loans" is particularly prominent.
The huge pressure on long-term rental apartments is caused by many reasons.
Economist and founder of the Blank Research Institute, Yang Xianling, told the China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily reporter that due to the epidemic at the beginning of the year, the rental income of long-term rental apartments was greatly affected. , And some tenants choose to withdraw their rent, and the vacancy rate is relatively high.
According to his observation, in mid-February, the vacancy rate of some long-term rental apartments even reached 15%-20%.
He believes that generally speaking, the vacancy rate of long-term rental apartments should be controlled at around 5%-10%.
On the other hand, long-term rental apartments often adopt the "rental mode", that is, take the house from the landlord and then carry out renovation and renovation. The renovation cost of a house in the early stage is about tens of thousands of yuan, which is a rigid expenditure, which means that it will cost a lot of money. funds.
At the same time, the epidemic has had a huge impact on the cash flow of long-term rental apartments.
In mid-February, the cash flow of some long-term rental apartments can only support 1-3 months.
Eggshell Apartments also admitted that at the beginning of the year, its housing turnover rate was almost close to zero, and the vacancy rate was getting worse.
At this time, it is difficult to bear the large-scale withdrawal of tenants.
Coupled with the large upfront costs of pre-renovation, home appliance configuration, customer acquisition, manpower, etc., it is difficult to pay the rent of the tenants.
The eggshells are still under tremendous pressure for the next few months.
"Currently, the main problem with some long-term rental apartments is rent loans." Yang Xianling believes that through rental loans, long-term rental apartments can recover half or one year's rent at a time through loans and increase leverage through financial instruments.
There is nothing wrong with this business model itself. The key problem is that some long-term rental apartments are too aggressive. Under the condition of too high leverage, they have increased their scale too quickly. They have hoarded a large number of houses in the early stage and even fell into vicious competition. Matching management capabilities.
"Try to help yourself!" This was the solution given by Eggshell Apartments at the beginning of the year when it encountered difficulties. Soon afterwards, many owners received long-arrear rents.
In the face of multiple impacts, long-term rental apartments not only need to "self-help", but also need some policy assistance.
Prior to this, Ziru CEO Xiong Lin said in an interview with the media that long-term apartment rental is a relatively low-margin industry.
Yang Xianling also said that at present, there are relatively few supporting policies that can be implemented in the field of long-term rental apartments in China, and it is recommended to set certain subsidies, such as tax exemption.
"As a tenant of Eggshell for 4 years, I hope it can survive. The hardest winter has passed. The next step is'spring blossoms.' I hope that cash back and settlement can be on time." Facing many doubts, there are tenants and The owner still chose to believe in Eggshell Apartments.
I don't know if Eggshell Apartments can continue to fulfill their promises this time.
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Zhao Limei Yang Baoguang Source: China Youth Daily