Tokyo Property Purchase
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75)
Tue 2006/05/30 21:27
I wrote an article on buying a house in Tokyo a while ago and have been getting mail re the subject ever since. Rather can continue to copy and paste my replies, I thought I would write up something with more beef answering many of the frequently asked questions...
After living in Japan for six years, I decided to buy a house because I just got fedup with renting.
This is us taking a look at something that the estate agent thought fitted our needs. What usually happens is that s/he will find about 6 - 10 places that fit your needs/budget and then try to convince you that the graveyard in front of the property is a sign of good luck.
After living in Japan for six years, I decided to buy a house because I just got fedup with renting.
Why I decided to buy?
- Apartments for rent are generally of poor quality - the walls are thin and materials used in general are dirt cheap - this is so that the landlord can make as much money profit as possible. The most rent I have payed is 220,000 yen per month and the walls in that place were so thin, you could hear the people next door sneeze. This is the main reason why I decided to buy - I just cant stand other people making noise for me to listen too - especially when its people running, jumping and sneezing!
We tried different types of rented apartments - mansions, apartments and terrace houses - all literally made of paper and noisy as hell. - As long as you continue to rent, you will eventually have to move to another place whether its for work reasons or whatever. Looking for somewhere to rent in Japan as a foreigner is an unpleasant experience. Many landlords dont want to rent out to foreigners. When you go into an estate agent, you will be given a book of property leaflets to go through and occasionally see the "No Foreigners" checkbox ticked off. Some leaflets may have "No foreigners or pets"...
The worst experiences are the ones where you are taken to look at a place and after you decide that you like it, the estate agent will call up the landlord in front of you and ask whether they are keen on renting to a foreigner. Some landlords just dont know how to say "no" and say "oh, if they want the place, they have to pay an extra 25,000 yen per month for a parking space" and they say this after being told that you dont have a car. Once, I said that I'll take the parking space to see what the reaction of the landlord would be and surprise surprise, they said no in the end. This is one of the most humiliating experiences you will have living in Japan and it sucks.
After going through this experience a few times, what I did was to make the estate agent call the landlord *before* we went to look at the apartments - this will save you a lot of time - but you still get the humiliation as the estate agent calls the landlord in front of you. - Another thing you cant do when renting is make any form of hole in the walls - you cant put up shelves and if you want to put up a satellite dish or install an optic fiber connection, you have to go and beg the landlord.
- The best thing (not) about renting in Japan is that you have to pay something called "key money" - in Japanese this is called "Reikin" (礼金(れいきん)) which means "gratuity money". This sum of money which can cost anything from twice to three times the monthly rent, is paid to the landlord as a form of gratuity thanking the bastard. And why should *I* pay the landlord - should it not be them paying me to stay in their place? GRRRRRR! Did I forget to mention that you dont get your key money back?
Apart from the key money, you usually have to pay anywhere from two to three times the monthly rent as a deposit. This deposit is used to clean up the apartment after you leave and the landlord usually makes any excuse to keep a good amount of it. I had 60,000 yen charged for a small scratch on the wallpaper near the bathroom when I moved out an apartment once. Wankers! GRRRR, ARGGHHHH! Sorry, I can feel my blood start to boil as I write this.
Oh, I nearly forgot to mention that you have to pay the parasite estate agent a months rent for introducing you to the apartment - in Japan, you have to thank the estate agent AND the landlord!
Now to add insult to injury, you have to pay another one months rent in advance too! so when I moved into that lousy apartment where I was paying 220,000 yen per month, I had to pay 1,540,000 yen upfront!
Why not to buy?
- The average life span of a house in Japan is 25 years which is just one of the reasons why folks dont make these sort of purchases as an investment. Generally speaking, when people buy property in Japan, they usually plan to live there until their time is up.
- The price of land in Tokyo varies and you could find yourself paying 1,417,000 yen per square meter in Chiyoda-ku or as little as 291,000 yen in Edogawa-ku (Prices as of 2004. stats from Tokyo Metropolitan Government). Given the high price of land, its no wonder that most folks in Tokyo prefer to rent - most dont even think about buying a house. If you want a decent amount of land in decent area with good commuting routes, you are looking to dish out at least 45,000,000 yen for the land alone.
- A "mansion" is a term used in Japan to refer to an apartment in a cement building. You can pick up a room in a mansion for cheap and I've seen prices starting at 15,000,000 yen. But be knowist that in general the value of the mansions drop by 10,000,000 yen the day you receive the keys! I do not recommend buying a mansion at all - once you have made the purchase thats it - the end. You cant do anything drastic in terms of layout (if you have your own land you can just knock down the house and rebuild) and you have to join the mansion committee where all owners of each apartment in the mansion have to get together to make decisions on common areas and crap. If you end up with a noisy neighbor then you are really finished.
- I didnt buy for an investment and just wanted a place of our own. The price of land in our area has been increasing steadily since we moved in though which is nice ^^. The current plan is to move out within 5 years to a bigger place - need more space for all the toys n figures ^^. My goal is to get to my destination within 5 years form now meaning that we would be able to afford a bigger place. Nothing wrong with this house but we kinda want more space...
Where to buy?
- This really depends on what you are looking for - somewhere close to work, somewhere near a park, somewhere with good transportation connections, somewhere near a Gundam store, somewhere cheap etc. Lets say you have a budget of about 70,000,000 yen and you are looking for a new decent sized house and dont mind traveling up to 45 mins to work (1 hour is the acceptable norm ) - I would suggest the west side of Tokyo. During the time I have stayed in Japan, I have always lived in the west and find that it is generally cleaner and safer on this side. Its also easy to get about as its well connected. I did go looking in the east as the price of land is way cheaper but some areas in the east can be quite rough - a bit like the east end of London. If you know anything about Hackney you will know what I am talking about - its where I grew up and is in the book "Crap Towns: The 50 worst places to live in the UK" !
- Areas I personally recommend are Setagaya-ku and Meguro-ku - nice areas with good commutation. Price of land in these areas average from 488,000 yen to 600,000 yen per square meter.
Where to look?
- These are an example of the types of property on sale and you can find more sites like this by doing a search.
- You can also get yourself along to your local convenience store to find magazines filled with information on new properties.
- Alternatively, you can just get yourself along to an estate agent and tell them what you are looking for. If you arrived at a decent estate agent, they will have access to a national database called REINS (Real Estate Information Network System). Most properties for sale are registered in REINS and it is likely to have what you are looking for. The only people who can access REINS are evil estate agents so most people end up having to pay the estate agent fees - in our case it was bloody 3,000,000 yen.
What to buy?
- Well I've mentioned a bit about buying a mansion - dont do it! So you basically have a few choices....
- Buy a new house with some land attached. This is the quickest option if you are in a rush and want to start off with something new. This type of purchase is called Tateuri (建て売り(たてうり)) where you purchase a bit of land that comes with a new house built on top. The seller obviously wants to make as much of a profit as possible so you will find that some of the materials used for a Tateuri house can be a bit cheap. The seller will add useless features like floor heating (Yuka Danbou (床暖房(ゆかだんぼう)) - just like what we have in our house. My fart can warm up the room to a temperature higher than the the lousy floor heating.
- Buy a second hand house. When you are buying one of these - you are essentially paying for the land and getting the house for free as it will generally be worth next to nothing. Do your research to make sure that you are paying just for the land and a few yen on top for the house - the previous link to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government page is a good place to start. A few people I know buy second hand houses, live there for a while then knock down the old place and build a made to order house - Chumon Jutaku (see below).
- Buy some land then build a house to order. This is the best option if you are not rushed for time and is called Uri Tate (売り建て(うりたて)). What you do is to buy a bit of land then work with an architect to build your house to your needs. Chumon Jutaku (注文住宅(ちゅうもんじゅうたく)) is the word to describe a built to order house. The only "drawback" is that you are already repaying the loan while you wait for your house to be built - so every month, you will be paying rent at the place you are staying and the monthly loan installment.
The process of designing a house is fairly straight forward - tell your architect how much money you have to spend and she then goes away to come up with a plan which makes you go "Wooo!" But then you find out that she went above your budget and that its going to cost you an extra 5,000,000 yen which then makes you go "You crazy #$&$!" What happens next is that you start to remove bits from the plan like the glass walls or underground nuclear bunker to bring the costs within your original budget. Typically, houses are made of wood and for a 3 story house with 60 square meters on each floor, you are looking at anything from 10,000,000 yen upwards.
Building regulations
There are rules and regulations restricting you to the type of design you want. Here are some of them...
- Kitagawa Shasen (北側斜線(きたがわしゃせん)) - is a restriction put in place to prevent buildings blocking out the sun for smaller dwellings. This means that depending on the location of your house - you may be imposed to have a diagonal roof. This is one of the reasons why you may have noticed that many buildings in Japan look like they have had a diagonal slice taken out of them
- Kenpei Ritsu (建ぺい率(けんぺいりつ)) - is a restriction to prevent one from using up 100% of their land to build something. Without this restriction, given the lack of space in Tokyo, folks would use up 100% of their land meaning that there wouldnt be any open space! (no spaces between houses). We actually own half of the road in front of our house - without this restriction in place, if I wanted to be a right wanker, I could use up my bit of the road so no traffic could pass. The Kenpei Ritsu for our property is 60% meaning that I can only use up 60 square meters of our 100 square meters to build something. Kenpei Ritsu varies by location - you learn this value when you are looking at land to purchase.
- Youseki Ritsu (容積率(ようせきりつ)) - is a restriction to prevent you from building the tallest building in Tokyo or a Gundam shaped house. The Youseki Ritsu for our land is 200% meaning that we can build something that amounts to 120 square meters (we can only use 60% of our land because of the Kenpei Ritsu - amounting to 60 square meters. 60 X 200% = 120 square meters). We have 3 floors that roughly add up to 40 square meters each but we could build a 4 story house but the total floor space has to still amount to 120 square meters and given the Kitagawa Shasen (diagonal roof restriction), we'd end up with a pretty strange shaped impractical house.
- Zettai Takasa no Seigen(絶対高さの制限(ぜったいたかさのせいげん)) - is a restriction in place to prevent one from building anything over 10 or 12 meters high.
- Nichiei Kisei (日影規制(にちえいきせい)) - is a restriction to ensure that the surrounding buildings get a certain number of sunlight hours. For example, A building within X meters has to receive X number of sunlight hours per day during the winter season. This restriction also affects the height and shape of the sort of house you can build.
How big/small?
- I've mentioned it a few times but the land of price is on the expensive side - 60,000,000 yen (for example ;-) for 60 square meters of land is not exactly a bargain. The building restrictions could mean that you end up with a property smaller than you initially hoped for. If you are willing to travel further out of Tokyo - you could obviously get a bigger place compared to Tokyo.
I guess you will have to get used to the idea that the more land you want, the more limbs you are going to have to part with.
Loan and stuff
- Applying for a loan and the zillion documents involved in the whole house buying process is just overwhelming.
If you are a foreigner in Japan - on a working permit and don't have a Japanese spouse, then you will be glad to know that you can get a mortgage with Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ Bank (MUFJ). At the time, Mitsubishi Bank was the only bank I knew of that loaned to foreigners in Japan who didnt have permanent residency. Mitsubishi UFJ do have some hefty conditions though - you can see all the documents you need to apply for a loan at MUFJ's site which include yearly income statement, seal registration certificate (this sort of seal), passport, health card etc. And you also need docs regarding the property you want to buy including certificate of purchase, schematic layout of property and a ton of other crap.
Our estate agent offered to apply for the loan for us but we decided to apply ourselves - always better to try to go through these type of experiences yourself - no matter how painful. It doesn't cost extra to have the estate agent apply for you - they just probably get a kick back for introducing your application to the bank. - If you are deciding on getting a second hand house, bear in mind that the interest rate will be higher - banks are interested in property they can sell at a high price incase they have to evict you when you cant make the monthly payments. The interest rate in Japan is very low - we got our mortgage at 0.95% for the first 3 years and then 2.75% for the remaining 17 years. We took out a 20 year loan but aim to pay that back within the next 7 years - within 7 years we plan to move to somewhere bigger - at least 3 times as big judging by the rate of this place getting filled with toys n figures ^^;
Other hints and stuff
- You can knock off a few million yen from the original price of the property and a certain amount from the estate agent fee. Make sure you dont forget to do this!
- If you are going for a new house, the chances are that the net windows (allows you to open the windows without letting in pesky insects) are not included. Make sure these are included in the price or you will be charged extra for them - they are not cheap either. Our net windows cost a poxy 160,000 yen. Laundry pole racks are not included either (they should be) so make sure they include these too before you decide to buy
- Ari san are the folks you should choose to help move in your stuff - have a look at the video clip to see why.
- If possible, talk to some of the people living nearby to get a sense of what the area is like - are their any Bousou Zoku (暴走族(ぼうそうぞく)) - folks who go around in packs on motorbikes and generally like to make as much noise as possible at 4AM (many in Yokohama).
- check up to see if the house is in an area where you can get decent internet connection. Most central places in Tokyo can be set up with an optic fiber connection by NTT (the phone company) - some places in the sticks could only be ADSL or cable - make sure your place will get a decent speed.
This is us taking a look at something that the estate agent thought fitted our needs. What usually happens is that s/he will find about 6 - 10 places that fit your needs/budget and then try to convince you that the graveyard in front of the property is a sign of good luck.
These are the floor plans that the estate agent will fax you. If you dont have a fax handy, insist that they mail them to you. One of the things I still find quite surprising in Japan is how many industries still rely on faxes.
The estate agent is your friend for the next few weeks and you will find yourself calling him everyday about the 101 pages of documentation that you need to sign and write your address on.
After the ordeal is over, you can put the agent on your hate list.
After the ordeal is over, you can put the agent on your hate list.
Some of the places that you may be taken to look at are unfinished places like this one. I really dont recommend deciding on something when its looking like this and the chances are that many others wont either. If you like the area, wait a bit more when the building is ready to enter and go back for another visit.
Here are some pics of our place a year on after moving in.
Starting off with the spare room which is also the stormtrooper-armor-modding room and guest room.
Starting off with the spare room which is also the stormtrooper-armor-modding room and guest room.
Third floor by night. Added a ton of shelves for the toys n figures recently. And yes - thats Strike dangling from the ceiling.
Third floor by day. I just love a sunny Saturday afternoon - there's nothing that can beat it.
In most cases, the steps are going to be really small! Most stair cases in Japan are not wide enough to fit stuff like sofas or refrigerators which is why they are brought into your house through the windows.
Natsumi looking cute on the dining table.
Dining area of our house. Much anime watching goes on in this room.
More dining. The kitchen area in the back comes with whats known as a "system kitchen" which is basically "kitchen appliances which fit together nicely." Our one comes with a dish washer which is 3 times smaller than the one we had in Seattle. Sometimes it can be quicker to wash by hand than spending time cramming everything into it!
Entertainment area. Need to make space for an XBox-360 soon.
Our plasma has survived two international moves and has been alive for about 5 years now - who said that the plasma life span is short?
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Wed 09/20 21:07 comments (26)
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Fri 05/12 21:28 comments (24)
Demacrez in Konoha
I hate to say this Danny but I had to skip some of the lecture. It was very informative and I like it, after awhile my eyes started to hurt from reading so I skipped to the pictures with captioning. :P I envy your place and I hope that one day when I live in Japan I will follow your guide so I don't end up being money raped. Thanks for the guide Danny and take care.
(ID #37300) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
martin Irizarry in boston, ma
Danny, I love Japan for it's culture and Gundams of course pluse the best damn cartoon (Anime ). The only way I would move to Japan if I hit the lottery here in the USA.Damn that is expensive and I live in Boston. How much is for a gallon of milk in Japan or the equilvelant. I wonder !!!!
(ID #37301) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
Leo in San Francisco
Excellent write up. I appreciate the time and detail in this post. My checkbook and atm card ran and hid themselves just from reading all of the descriptions about who gets money. Sheesh. It sounds like buying land and homes in order to lease them out probably could be a good way to go, but probably isn't a good way to go. Though I have to admit, that "gratuity" payola sounds nice. I look forward to more of these posts
(ID #37302) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
Jason in New York
thanks for your time writing this mini guide. I enjoy reading these type of things and it's very informative. By the way your house is my dream home!! Y
(ID #37304) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
Kibbitz in Singapore
This has been pretty educational, though it is incredibly intimidating... I really have to take my hat off to you. Not sure if I could really live there... already having headaches thinking about owning my own place here in the future...
(ID #37305) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
kc8wzm (amature radio operator) in Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Loved your artical as usual. Question though. I know those houses (at least the stairs) tend to be small. It is possable for a very heavy guy to walk in a house like that? (By heavy like around 400lbs)? And on an unrelated note, do you ever collect any Transformer related stuff? -kc8wZm
(ID #37306) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
Chopper Dave in Medford, Oregon
This will actually come in handy if I ever get stationed in Japan! (Dear Lord I can only hope!) On an unrelated note, Danny when did you pick up the MG GM Ground Type? ^_^
(ID #37307) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
Busterbeam in Nagoya, Japan
Wow what a pain in the butt that seems to be. I didnt know about all those details. Ive been living in company provided apartments for the past 3 years so it's never been something I had to deal with. I think Im going to try and keep it that way if i can. Unbelievable! I think if im going to settle down, I'll go back to Canada. It seems like such a hassle! You must have really good reasons for wanting to stay in Japan. It seems that the only person that loses is the person buying the house. No offense. I mean just comparing it to other countries, it doesnt seem like a good deal at all. Maybe a lot of Japanese folks think, well... thats just how it is.
(ID #37308) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
Computer Technician
Can I ask, what company are you working for in Japan. I would like to work for a company that offers housing in Japan.
(ID #192635) Posted on 2008/05/21 04:52
Matfei in Australia
Oh god...
I'm beginning to worry about living in Japan now... 'Specially when I cannot even speak it yet.
('O.O)
(ID #37309) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
Kirby in Yelm, WA
This was a fun and informative piece - thank you :) I personally have no plans of moving to Japan, but comparing some of the 'hurdles' to the local things were surprising. I was impressed by how much the concept of building 'up' instead of 'out' is emphasized. Even with restrictions on land use, it is clear that urban sprawl would look very different over there.
(ID #37310) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
Arrot Zang in USA
While appealing as the sound of being surrounded my japanese culture and anime figures would be... >_< the pricing for land, housing, labor, agents, and service is a total turn off... If i was rich and had money to throw around.. maybe. Information was insightful, and makes me appreciate competitive prices in the USA, however service compared to Japan has much left to be desired.
(ID #37311) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
sandrum in Japan
Thanks so much! I'm so glad that I'm not the only one with an apartment with paper-thin walls. I can hear the neighbors do just about everything (which makes me stay pretty quiet). I'm also ticked about the key-money concept as that seems to be an annual payoff of cash where I live. Funny how I never see the landlord till then.
(ID #37312) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
Arthur in Paris, France (near Azeroth)
Woah ! Thanks so much ! I already know two people who would be very interested by your article and me I'll enjoy printing it and classing it to be sure that one day, maybe, it could be very usefull ;) Nice job as usual !
(ID #37313) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
KCA in Hanoi
Hi Danny, Your post does not help the Japan reputation over world! "No foreigner and pets!" :O)
(ID #37314) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
Public Relations / Marketing Manager
KCA, he is only speaking the truth. If Japanese people were more accepting of foreigners to live in their homes, then there wouldn't be an issue. In America, we are not allowed to do that. We can rent to anyone as long as they have a good credit score and seem like a decent person.
(ID #223918) Posted on 2008/06/28 01:11
Andy H in Birmingham, UK
Nice article! (shakes fist in jealousy) Ill keep it bookmarked for that time in the far, far, far future when im gonna want to live in tokyo with 8 wives and a bazillion yen income!
(ID #37316) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
Sheri in Maine, USA
wow - this was an incredible read! I had no idea things were so interesting in Japan. I treasure my land I own in Maine and the home we built here. Bookmarking your site for more reading!
(ID #37318) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
S.D. in New York
And I thought buying a house in NYC was complicated... ;)
(ID #37319) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
ninjascience in Konpeitoh Arsenal
I recommend this as a read, not only for prospective buyers in Japan but renters too, and this includes the bulk of foreigners you see in Japan, ESL Teachers! If you're with JET or a big outfit like NOVA, all that may be taken care of for you, but if you work for a smaller school, maybe not. My wife and I worked for seperate small private eikaiwa schools and luckily my wife's boss was the one who helped us out with that stuff. My own boss turned out to be completely evil in that respect. I saw all the crap my co-workers went through and many left their contracts early over housing disputes with her. On top of the obligatory key money (bribe) and deposits, my boss was requiring extra deposits of various kinds, "security deposits", "fire insurance" etc. which she just pocketed. So watch out if you are planning on teaching in Japan.
(ID #37323) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
TIE_Defender2nd in Vancouver, Canada
simply marvellous and very handy article indeed.
(ID #37325) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
Boris in Maryland, USA
wow, i don't envy you, that is really harsh, even harsher then the area i live in. lots of rules, regulations, lots and lots of money. not sure if i want to live in tokyo area for a few years now. hahahahah :-)
(ID #37326) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
Boris in Maryland, USA
oh i just told my family about your article. i was wondering, why landlords do not like foreigners?
(ID #37328) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
Daimaou in TYO
There is nothing really to ad to the work of Danny here, the only thing that I want to mention is that there is 2 kind of house to buy, the Pre-made one (90% of the case) where everything is so new and cheap, actually you should see how they make house, you just have Iron Beam getting out of the ground, and them they just screw on it the Wall (with Window on it)... Or well like me you are a very lucky guy and your house is build in a more westerme style, with some very luxuous things like ISOLATION FOAM and double windows. Actually which amaze me the most here in Japan it that in Winter it could be easily under 0 and in summer above 40... and guess what, they never heard about the word ISOLATION, so in winter you are frozen, in summer you are cooking. There is not eater plugged on the wall (like in any European houses) for winter or any other stuff to help you to cool things down in Summer, they just give U AirCon, which dry the air in Winter and make you seek and in Summer will kill you with the bill. Japan is not a country of "House Builder" and it will never be.
(ID #37329) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
edwin david in quezon city, Philippines
hi danny, nice and very useful info on japan real estate. oooohhh, too much though but your place looks great :)
(ID #37330) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
aznbuddy in SF Bay Area
Hi Danny, My fiancee and I think of living in Japan everyday. Just the other day we were watching My Neighbor Totoro and I was waxing sentimental about residency. Your article really opened my eyes...what with the dislike for foreigners and all the kickbacks. Reminds me of the Philippines where I was born. I'd certainly like to discuss more...since I certainly intend on at least visiting your adopted city in the near future. Rey
(ID #37331) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
nobody special in texas
crazy, friend just built a 2,500 sq ft house (with 6 acres of land) for about 16,000,000 yen.
(ID #37332) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
kaito kunn in Hong Kong
hi danny nice house btw how do u make the strike pg dangling from the ceiling
(ID #37333) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
Antony Chow in NYC
wow. what an informative article about buying real estate in Japan. The bias against foreigners in Japan is no different than discrimination that goes on in the states (the owner may decide not to sell or rent to a party b/c of race, religious, family (i.e. kids/pets) considerations). Unfortunate, but true. The real estate broker fee (2 months rent), the key fee, and the security deposit are all common requirements in NYC. And people tend to move a lot too. The main positive in buying a house in Japan, as I see it, is the ultra low interest rate. In NY, a 30 year mortgage fixed rate is in the 7% range, more if your credit score is bad. but you're living the Otaku dream, and inspiring many to follow your footstep. So keep moving forward, DC!
(ID #37356) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
eddie in Tokyo
I think I will buy here in 3 years time, if I decide not to do so in London. I'm definitely gonna pick a Japanese spouse so she can take care of it all... hahahahahaha...
(ID #37361) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
Leo in San Francisco
I was rereading this article again and started wondering if buying a car is any easier?
(ID #37376) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
Si in UK
Hi Danny, Love the site, keep coming back for the updates. I'm a stormtrooper too & part of 501st. I hoping to visit Tokyo later this month. What do you recommend? Take care, keep blasting si
(ID #37398) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
cloneofsnake in NYC
Good info, thanks so much for posting it! Love your house, I've been to my friend's "mansion" and I thought "mansions" were pretty nice. From what u said, sounds like it's not a good idea to buy. (So there isn't any 2nd hand market for mansions? Can I get a 2nd hand one for cheap?) I've lived in big houses in Seattle for too long, I quite like my apt here in NYC now. I'll be moving to London soon to work at the UK branch of my company, but eventually I want to move to Tokyo too. I think I'll still buy a place in London though, since realty will most likely hold its value. BTW, have you seen the ads on Metropolis' website? - http://metropolis.japantoday.com/specials/630/housing_3.htm Land investing? Are these buying a share of land & houses to be used for "Gaijin House"? Are these scams? Or legit investments?
(ID #37405) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
Ryan in Winnipeg, Canada
oh my god, i read all your info on the topic of buying a house and renting in tokyo, my god to me it sounds the most ridiculas thing ever. but i have to admit that i looked at pics of your house and well i have to say its a nice home, thats what i would like back here in canada. but i once thought about the idea of living in japan, i dont think so now after your blog, i think i will just stick with goin there for a year study then come back and then go again hahaha, anyways bye for now. ciao.
(ID #37895) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
ah, the cost of moving permanently to japan is great. this post is very anti-inspirational for me. perhaps i should just settle for the US.
(ID #40677) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
Gordon Pekeur in south africa -cape town-
way cool house Danny, I hope my wife lets me have so much anime goodies in Our home.....
(ID #40686) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
Tofu-san in Palos Verdes, CA
Arigato, Danny-san. That was extremely helpful to me- if I want to move to Japan.
(ID #40952) Posted on 2007/01/02 01:23
Kurt in London
Hi, Congrats on your article -this is great and very useful. My Japanese wife and me are thinking of moving to Tokyo (again) and then probably aiming to buy something. Any more updates since you completed your article? Good stuff. Thanks Kurt
(ID #42977) Posted on 2007/01/13 09:53
Forever_Gaijin in Gifu
Dear Danny, thank you very much for finding time & nrg to share your stories, tips etc. I just need to contribute what I found regarding Youseki Ritsu. It seems the Youseki is calculated by Youseki% X Area of Land and not Youseki% X (Kenpei% x Total Area) E.g. 100m2 land with Kenpei of 60% & 200% Youseki would mean allowable volume of living space in the building = 200m2. NOT 120m2. The difference is crucial here if you are building. Since you have bought a place, this may have missed your research. My Japanese wife and I found conflicting info regarding this that made us did more research. I googled 容積率 and found info supporting the above formula. Thank you for your articles though, it helped us start our research. You have a good day.
(ID #45392) Posted on 2007/03/14 04:54
Harboe in Nagoya, Aichi
I read your article and it had excellent technical and legal information that i have been looking for. I thought i would write and add my experience from Aichi since the prices discussed here are for Tokyo and are out of range for any single income English language instructors. The information i'll mention next is based on information i have picked up from Aichi area and inparticular looking at Nagoya prices compared with local "countryside" (they still seem like towns to me) areas. Mansions In Nagoya new mansions can vary from 25,000,000 to 70,000,000 but generally you will get the smaller 1 or 2 LDKs for the cheaper prices naturally. And it depends how near it is to central nagoya or sakae. In the countryside new mansions are in a similar band of 20,000,000 upwards but you'll find that 25,000,000 in the countryside will get you a medium 3LDK while in Nagoya it will be a 1 or small 2 LDK. Prices also depend on the maker, for example, Lions mansions are famous for their good quality and earthquake "resistance". Second hand mansions in Nagoya start at 2,500,000 yen, no kidding, there are 30 year olf 1Ks that can be bought for this price. When thinking about used mansion prices, just imagine car values rather than house values. The older a car is and the lower quality brand, then the lower price it will be. A 20-30 year old 3LDK can be bought in Nagoya from 7,000,000 if you look around but i wouldn't be confident of it's condition. Then you also need to look at the size of the place you get. You may see a 1980s 4LDK for 15,000,000 and a 2LDK for 15,000,000 but the size would likely both be around 75m for that price. So you have to think if you want a lot of small rooms or a few big rooms. If you go out into the countryside then you can get reasonable 20-30 year old 3LDK mansions of 80m odd size for 8,000,000. So generally, with mansions, think Car prices. Once you buy it, it will lose a lot of its value quickly and then will slowly lose value depending on its condition. Another very important thing to consider with mansions is the monthly fee. This is a communal fee that is connected to the building maintenance. In general it starts low and gradually gets higher as the building gets older and if any decision is made to renwew communcal areas or the outside of the building (which can be forced on the mansion by the local government) then the monthly fee could jump significantly. As an example i have seen int he aichi area monthly fees atarting around 10,000yen, then rising to about 20,000yen after 10-20 years and when there had been a recent renewall then i have seen fees as much as 30,000yen. that will be on top of your monthly loan repayments. So it is worth considering those factors too. Then of course there is your parking space, which could cost between 5,000-20,000 a month. So i would go with the advice steering away from buying used mansions, but for some people, the cheaper prices of some mansions in convenient areas may be worth the trade off. When looking at mansions, it is never an investment, but compare it to the rent you would be paying otherwise, in which case a used mansion could save you half your rent money. (i.e. you are paying 100,000 in nagoya centre for a 1980s 2LDK, but you could buy a mansion of the smae age for 10,000,000 with a 3.5% 35year loan costing you 60,000 a month. Then it is a good deal. but it isn't going to retain that value or have much sell on value. In fact, i worry, after the loan finishes in 35 years, this 1980s apartment will be 60 years old! will it be pulled down before then? I have no idea what happens in that situation. someone suggested you would have to pay for the building to be pulled down, but i haven't had that information corroborated yet. Moving on, I thought prices for new houses in Nagoya were crazy, but the tokyo prices just make me thank my lucky stars i ended up here rather than there. New houses in Nagoya can cost from 35,000,000 for a small 3LDK to silly money. Older houses can be got for 25,000,000 but as mentioned before that will be the land price with the house as a bonus. But any houses that are over 40 years old you have to be worried about earthquakes and so on. In the coutryside new houses are available from 20,000,000 upwards (again that's a 3LDK) but a standard value is 30,000,000 upwards. there are houses for 20,000,000 but they are generally far from stations or next to railway crossings with those alrm bells ringing each time a train crosses. Second hand houses in the countryside are available from as little as 4,000,000 but of course that would be just paying for land an old house. a decent 15-20 year old 3LDK would be around 10,000,000 or 15,000,000. 10 year old houses might be nearer 20,000,000 to 25,000,000. The best place to get an idea for prices is yahoo realestate site. It is in japanese but if you know the kanji for your area you can quickly find guide prices for new/old houses, mansions or just land. http://realestate.yahoo.co.jp/?shiku=%25c4%25c5%25c5%25e7%25bb%25d4&place=%25b0%25a6%25c3%25ce&ken_id=23&shiku_id=23208&code_b=13&no=005200039050052 So my trouble was that my salary for the past 2 years was an eikaiwa salary. 3,000,000yen. I went to the banks with this scenario 3,000,000 annually 5 years in Japan 2 years in current company 3 year marriage visa at tim