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"When I think about it, I cry," says Mrs Guo about the home she had bought. "It's hard, and I feel sorry for my son and myself."
In 2021, just months before the Chinese property giant Evergrande showed the first signs of crisis, Guo Tianran (whose name has been changed on request) and her husband bought an apartment off-plan for their only child from the top-selling developer.
The couple, nearing their 60s, had scrimped to afford the $30,000 (£24,500) down payment on the yet-to-be-built flat. They bit the bullet in pledging to use 75% of their income to pay for the mortgage.
"We wanted to help our son, to give him a place to start out on once he graduates from college," Mrs Guo told the BBC earlier this month. But just months after their purchase, Evergrande's facade began to crack.
In Henan, the central Chinese province where they had bought the home, building work ground to a halt.
"We saw the main frame being built, and suddenly we heard that Evergrande was falling. Then construction stopped last year," she says.
www.bbc.com
In 2021, just months before the Chinese property giant Evergrande showed the first signs of crisis, Guo Tianran (whose name has been changed on request) and her husband bought an apartment off-plan for their only child from the top-selling developer.
The couple, nearing their 60s, had scrimped to afford the $30,000 (£24,500) down payment on the yet-to-be-built flat. They bit the bullet in pledging to use 75% of their income to pay for the mortgage.
"We wanted to help our son, to give him a place to start out on once he graduates from college," Mrs Guo told the BBC earlier this month. But just months after their purchase, Evergrande's facade began to crack.
In Henan, the central Chinese province where they had bought the home, building work ground to a halt.
"We saw the main frame being built, and suddenly we heard that Evergrande was falling. Then construction stopped last year," she says.
Evergrande: Anxious Chinese home buyers reel from crisis
As China's housing crisis grows, so have fears that dreams of home ownership have been bulldozed.
www.bbc.com
