Each person dreams to own a house or have a personal space such as an apartment or a condo unit. Some families save money for decades to pay for mortgages that last as long. For an individual who is purchasing their very first unit, paying for the downpayment ensures that one can gain a firm foothold of ownership.
For an individual who supports themselves, a house is not enough to meet their needs of “clothing, food, and transportation”. In this modern world, cities have been congested with people living near their offices and striving for their dreams every day. As a car that is convenient for people to travel, facing the difficulty to park their vehicle has increased the demand for the purchase of empty parking lots.
The situation has caused building administrations to limit the ratio of parking spaces to homeowners due to the size of the building site, which prompted the prices of parking spaces to increase. Due to the price increase, many homeowners are saddened and are complaining that the parking spaces are more expensive than their cars! Additionally, disputes caused by the homeowner’s empty parking spaces being occupied by either their neighbor or otherwise, are endless.
Some time ago, a man with the pseudonym Mr. Zhang, shared his dispute on the internet. Before he purchased a parking space in his condo building, he and his neighbors were acquaintances. Now that he has acquired a parking space but still had no car to fill it, he and a certain neighbor triggered a misunderstanding.
Family and friends knew Mr. Zhang as a hard-working man. While he receives an ample salary from his company, his parents still provide him with financial support. Mr. Zhang bought a condo unit not far from his office. Although he has not yet purchased a car, he has acquired a parking space in his unit’s building and paid for it in full. He bought the parking space for US$43,570.00 (about CN¥300,000)! Since Mr. Zhang does not own a car still, his neighbor took advantage of parking his own car in Mr. Zhang’s empty parking space. He found it difficult to grab a parking space in their underground parking lot since each condo owner only has limited designated spots.
Mr. Zhang was successful in purchasing the condo unit and the title has been handed to him. He has also purchased a spot in their parking lot. However, since traveling to and from his office need not require a car, he hesitated to buy one in the meantime. It resulted in his parking spot being empty for quite some time.
What angered Mr. Zhang is that he is the owner of the parking space, but he often sees another car parked in his space. When he asked the building administration who the vehicle belonged to, he discovered that it is owned by his neighbor who lives one level higher from his unit.
Confronting the owner of the car parked in his space, Mr. Zhang expressed anger, saying that every homeowner should only park in their designated parking space. Although Mr. Zhang does not yet own a vehicle, the money he spent for the spot is not for the convenience of others.
The situation further escalated when his neighbor called Mr. Zhang stingy. The parking space has been empty for a long time and parking his car will not cause any damage to the space. The neighbor was wondering why Mr. Zhang is complaining about the situation.
Although the neighbor knew he was on the losing side, he still stood his ground. Mr. Zhang always got annoyed every time he comes home and sees the neighbor’s car parked in his parking spot. This prompted Mr. Zhang with an idea. He bought a pop car big enough for a child to drive and parked it on his spot so the neighbor can no longer park his car in his space.
When the neighbor arrived and was about to park his car in Mr. Zhang’s empty spot, he was surprised to see a child’s pop car in the parking space. He felt annoyed that he could not park his vehicle that he cursed loudly in front of Mr. Zhang’s parking spot. The neighbor bluntly said that Mr. Zhang is wasting resources and leaving the parking space unused for a long time. Additionally, he felt angered that Mr. Zhang placed a pop car on his spot and not on the other parking spaces available on the underground lot. Angry words between Mr. Zhang and his neighbor echoed in the underground parking lot for quite a long time.
Legally, a paid parking space belongs to the owner. So, does the building administration agrees. Unfortunately, all parking space developers take advantage of making each space merchandise for sale. Even if some parking spaces do not have property rights, most of them are controlled by developers.
Since many unit owners have complied with the terms and agreement when they purchased a parking spot, if they choose to leave it unused for a short or long time, it is still their property. No one other than the owner has the right to interfere!
Images credits: Stuff NZ
