Ao Xi woke up early in the morning and found that James' bunk beside him was empty. He was a little puzzled but didn't pay too much attention. After all, he had an important thing to do today - to look at houses.

He made an appointment with the real estate agent. After meeting at the appointed place, he found that it was a lady. After greeting each other, the agent lady enthusiastically took Ao Xi to view the houses. Ao Xi's requirements for the house were very clear. The price should be within his budget. And because he was a reserve deputy sheriff at the Temple City Substation, the house couldn't be too far from the substation. It would be best if the appliances were complete and he could move in with his bags. This way, he wouldn't have to go through the trouble of buying all kinds of things. The agent lady smiled and said that these were all no problem. The requirements of the financial backer were the direction they strived for.

In no time, the agent lady brought Ao Xi to a yellow and red apartment building. This building had seven floors and looked very new, completely different from the style of the old buildings commonly seen in Los Angeles. The agent took Ao Xi into the building. After greeting the administrator, she got the key to Room 325 and introduced while taking him upstairs: "This apartment is located in San Gabriel. The geographical location is particularly good. It is very close to Chinese areas such as San Gabriel, Walnut City, West Los Angeles, and the city center. The transportation is very convenient and it is especially suitable for single people to live in. There are two types of apartment layouts: one-bedroom and one-living-room, and two-bedroom and two-living-room. For renting, over-occupancy is not allowed, but there is no limit for purchase. The one I'm showing you is the large layout of the two-bedroom and two-living-room. If you are not satisfied, we can also look at others. This building was built in 2002 and is very new. There is no need to worry about the problems of strange smells and water leaks like in old buildings. There is an underground parking lot. If you have a car, you can contact the administrator to arrange a parking space, but it requires an additional fee. There are also municipal paid parking spaces outside. The building is a connected U-shaped building. There is a terrace and sun chairs on the roof. When the weather is good, you can go up to enjoy the view and soak up the sun. The open space in the middle of the building has been transformed into a large swimming pool and leisure area, which can accommodate more than 50 people for leisure at the same time. It would be very convenient if you like swimming. There is also a fitness center in the building. There are both aerobic equipment and free weight equipment. There are also 6 multimedia rooms, each with a flat-panel TV wall. There are also dining and shopping areas in the apartment. Residents can enjoy a high-quality life without going out. And to ensure the experience of the residents, the apartment committee has 24-hour security guards downstairs and also provides services such as express delivery, takeaway placement, and quick repairs. Strangers simply can't get in."

While they were talking, the two arrived at the door of Room 325. The agent lady opened the door with the key and gestured for Ao Xi to enter first. Ao Xi walked into the room. The first thing that came into view was the dining room, which was equipped with a table and chairs for four people to dine. Against the wall was the open kitchen with cabinets, a refrigerator, and a microwave oven. However, the cabinets were empty, without pots, pans, knives, and forks. Further inside was the lounge area with a sofa, coffee table, and TV. Because the room was large, even with these furniture, it didn't look crowded but was very spacious. Turning left was the bedroom. The bedroom was quite large, about more than 20 square meters. There was a storage bed, a writing desk, and a horizontal wardrobe inside. To the right of the bedroom was the bathroom with dry and wet separation, where a washing machine and a dryer were also placed. The agent lady introduced: "The usable floor area of this house is 1,259 square feet, which is converted to 117 square meters. It is high-end decorated in a modern and simple livable style. These furniture are all included with the house and can be used. There are network interfaces and WIFI. After moving in, you can apply at the operator. The water and electricity bills will be sent to you and you can pay them by yourself at that time."

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Ao Xi was basically satisfied with the layout and facilities of the room and felt that there was no need to look at other houses. After all, for him as a bachelor, the difference in apartment layouts wasn't particularly important. The most concerned thing at the moment was the price. He asked: "Lady, this house is very good. How much does it cost to buy it?" When the agent lady heard this, a brilliant smile immediately bloomed on her face: "The original owner is going to develop in New York, so it's on sale at a low price. It's only $425,000. The transaction tax is 2%. The property tax is 1% per year. The property management fee is $300 per year. New owners have to pay an additional two months of property donation fees. The title insurance fee is 0.5%. The lawyer fee is $2,000 and the registration fee is $200. As for the agency fee, it is generally 3% - 8%. Considering how straightforward you are, I'll give you a discount and only charge 5%." Ao Xi quickly calculated in his heart. The house price of $425,000, plus the transaction tax of $9,040, the property tax of $4,520, the property fee of $900, the insurance fee of $2,260, the lawyer and registration fee of $2,200, and the agency fee of $22,600. All added up to a total of $466,500. This didn't include the money for buying a car and purchasing living items. If he bought a car again, all these expenses would directly approach $500,000. He only had $600,000. Calculating like this, the pressure was really not small. At this moment, he truly felt that Mark wasn't lying when he said that life in Los Angeles was difficult. The cost of living here was really too high.

But Ao Xi considered that he had already decided to stay in the United States all the time. And in the future, as a Sin Buster, going out to fight crime in the middle of the night, having his own independent house would be much more convenient. Since he had money now, he might as well own it as soon as possible. So, he gritted his teeth and said: "I'm very satisfied with this house. Now let's talk about the price." When the agent lady heard this, she was overjoyed. She didn't expect to close a deal so easily. She hurriedly went downstairs and took out the standard contract from the car. While explaining it to Ao Xi, she asked him to fill in the information. Ao Xi basically had all kinds of documents ready and it was easy to fill them out. However, regarding the price, the two still negotiated a little. The agent lady said that the ratios of items such as taxes and fees couldn't be reduced anymore. Only $15,000 could be deducted from the total house price, and the agency fee was only $20,000, with the fraction waived. She also told Ao Xi that their company was also involved in car sales. If Ao Xi bought a car under their company's brand, he could enjoy a 10% discount. Eventually, Ao Xi bought this apartment at a price of $447,500.

Next came a series of cumbersome procedures. The two returned to the agency company, found a cooperative lawyer to review and sign, then went to the bank to issue a check, and then rushed to handle various registration procedures, pay various taxes and fees, buy insurance, open water, electricity, and network accounts, etc. Ao Xi couldn't help but sigh. Who said doing things in the United States wasn't troublesome? After this trip, he was exhausted. And unlike in China where there was an administrative service hall, all these things had to be handled by driving back and forth. It was really troublesome.

After completing all the procedures, Ao Xi rushed to sign up for the driver's license test before the DMV closed and received a Chinese version of the driver's license test guide. There were many Chinese people in Los Angeles. Even the driver's license test guide had a Chinese version, which made Ao Xi feel quite considerate. When he returned to the new house, he was so tired that he lay directly on the empty mattress and fell asleep. He didn't even have the energy to feel the joy of buying a new house.

The next day, Ao Xi and the agent went to their affiliated 4S store. Ao Xi took a fancy to a newly launched Cadillac XT4. This car was of moderate size and was just right for one person to drive. The price was also within his acceptance range. The sports model was originally priced at $42,000. Because of the 10% discount, Ao Xi simply added some configurations, such as sports suspension, skylight, etc. After paying various taxes and fees and buying insurance, buying a house and a car cost exactly $500,000. Ao Xi watched his savings decrease rapidly and felt a pain in his heart. He secretly decided that he had to earn money quickly. Otherwise, he would really go bankrupt.