Coastal villages caught in the "vortex" of land - Part 2: Haunted by land issues

(QBĐT) - Posing as land buyers, we went to Hai Ninh commune ( Quang Ninh province) to look for land to buy. However, when we inquired with many locals, everyone expressed skepticism. It seems that for the honest and simple people of this coastal area, anything related to land has become a "sensitive" issue. The "shock" of the land crisis and its consequences still haunts the minds of many.

I'm going to buy land.

Nowadays, it's not difficult to find real estate offices in Hai Ninh commune, which used to be the center of land transactions in the area. After wandering around for a while "looking for land to buy," we stopped by "HN Land Real Estate Exchange." It's called an exchange, but the office is now just a signboard.

The homeowner said that the office was set up by her cousin before the "land fever." This cousin rented the house from her to use as a business location. However, after the fluctuations in land prices, her cousin "fled" due to bankruptcy. She doesn't know, or doesn't want to tell us, the exact amount of debt, only that it was because he "held onto land" and couldn't sell it, so he had to "abandon ship."

In times of hardship, the sea remains the eternal lifeline for the people of Hai Ninh commune.

When the homeowner learned of our intention to buy land, they immediately said they still had a few plots available. If we liked them, they would be willing to sell. The homeowner didn't forget to add the "advertisement" that she wasn't a businesswoman, but only selling plots of land her family had bought a long time ago. The price of the plot directly opposite the FLC project (over ^200m² ) was 22 million VND/ ^m² .

Seeing our hesitation about the high price, she reassured us that she was a reputable businesswoman. The land had a "red book" (certificate of land use rights) in her name. If we agreed on a price, we would receive the "red book" within a week. She bought the land when the price was high, so she couldn't sell it for less. Back in 2022, someone offered 27 million VND/ ^m² but she didn't sell. Now, although the price has dropped, she would sell if someone wanted to buy it. She mentioned another plot of land next to the DT569 road (the main road of Hai Ninh commune). This plot has an area of over ^300m² and a more affordable price, only 8 million VND/ ^m² .

On June 30, 2023, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Provincial Police executed an arrest warrant against Nguyen Thi Thuy (born in 1984, residing in Cua Thon village, Hai Ninh commune, Quang Ninh province) for the crime of fraud and appropriation of property. Initial investigations revealed that, since 2019, in order to pay off business debts, Nguyen Thi Thuy approached many local residents, claiming she needed money to repay bank loans for several households, in order to raise capital. Thuy promised high returns if they lent her money. Trusting Nguyen Thi Thuy, many people gave her money. From the end of 2022 to May 2023, Thuy defrauded approximately 25 people in Hai Ninh commune, appropriating over 23 billion VND.

To convince us, she even showed us the land use right certificate in her and her husband's names. To be even more certain, she asserted: "Anyone buying land now is getting it right, because land prices are going down. But in just a few years, when the FLC project resumes operations, land prices here will skyrocket again. It's bound to 'come back to life' eventually."

Faced with her enthusiastic offer, we had to be honest and say we wanted to buy several plots, not just a few. She explained that most families in the village who had land for sale had already sold it all. She had complete control over the land in this village. If anyone needed to sell land, their land use right certificates were all mortgaged to the bank. Many people here had long since had to abandon their land to escape debt. The remaining few are struggling with debts amounting to billions of dong because they held onto land but couldn't sell it.

The whole family became "in debt".

Mrs. B, nearly 70 years old, sat huddled in a small, dilapidated roadside convenience store. Seeing a stranger enter, she asked, "What are you buying, sir, or are you here to collect a debt?" After a brief conversation, Mrs. B confided, "She took money from others and gave it all away; she didn't keep a single penny. It's all because she trusted people too much that things turned out this way." She couldn't remember when her daughter started participating in these groups and collecting money to lend to others.

"It was probably from the time we got the three-wheeled vehicle for the disabled, because with her disabled legs, she couldn't go anywhere without it," she said. She recalled that at that time, Th. would occasionally ask her mother to look after the shop while she went out.

As for where her daughter went and what she did, the mother didn't know. Only when she saw many people coming to demand payment did she learn that her daughter had gone bankrupt with debts amounting to 10 billion VND. Not only was her disabled daughter burdened with debt, but three other children of Ms. Th. were also carrying billions of dong in debt. Two daughters owed between 4 and 5 billion dong each. One son owed 5 billion dong. Several times, she pressed them for the reason for the debt, but they said, "They said it was for business. But in life, making money isn't that easy. What you take from heaven must be returned to earth," she said, her eyes welling up with tears.

Along with the debt consequences from land speculation, the security and social order situation in Hai Ninh commune has become quite complex in recent years. Specifically, in 2021, Hai Ninh commune experienced 19 cases/23 instances of criminal offenses and administrative violations in the field of security and order; in 2022, there were 7 cases/10 instances; and in 2023, there were 10 cases/20 instances.

Now, whenever money is mentioned, she trembles. She even has nightmares at night. Currently, her son has gone abroad for work, and her two sons-in-law are also in the process of applying to go as well. She says that in the past, the whole village was poor, but life was peaceful. Even if there were debts, they were only small amounts like cassava or sweet potatoes. But now, the village has many beautiful, multi-story houses, but everyone is burdened with debt. She still owns a plot of land over 1,000 square ^meters right by the sea.

When land prices were high, someone offered 13 billion dong, but she resolutely refused to sell because it was the land where her family used to live. Now, seeing that each of her children is burdened with enormous debts, she is considering selling if the price is right. She wants to sell it to give each child a little money to pay off some of their debts. However, how can she know when the land will be valuable enough, and at what price, to cover the billions of dong in debt that her four children are currently burdened with (?!).

Duong Cong Hop

>>> Lesson 3: When will the "dream" come true?

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