Buying Your First House in Japan
Japan has always fascinated people from across the world as a place to live their rest of lives. Through its culture, rich history and modern and contemporary outlook on technology, it has established itself on the world map as an emerging power other than the west. But before anyone decides to live in Japan, there are certain precautions to be taken care of. Basic things like; what’s out there, who can sell it and who can lend the capital, whether or not investment is good for the place as well as the all-important list of must-haves to help through the paperwork are important. The answer to these questions will influence the decision on what type of property one wants to purchase.
If the purchase is done to live in for a while rather than staying in a luxury apartment, then there are more options than available. If one intends to live in the property for a long time, then the rent to be paid in case of a rental property is saved, thus making the decision to buy in many respects is a lot easier. If one intends to live in Japan for more than 5 years then it is advisable to purchase a property than renting one. There are personal and market considerations in it. Choosing the right place to live in should be made on seeing the surrounding areas of the location. Other factors include change in job location. Many people sell up their property in such cases. Thus, making buying of property beneficial in Japan. There is no law or legal restriction against foreigners buying a property in Japan, either as a non-resident or resident. The biggest problem for foreigners buying property in Japan is getting the loan. If one has been a resident of Japan for some time (at least 2-3 years) it helps with the loan application.
With a stable income and a good job in some reputed firm improves the chances of getting a loan. Other case being, getting married to a Japanese national. Getting a good and honest realtor is another issue. There are no hard and fast rules in finding a good realtor, as dedicated professionals can be found in both large and small businesses. Traditionally realtors earn 6 percent commission on sales, i.e, 3 percent each from the buyer and seller. Recently there has been a changing in the scenario, mainly due to aggressive developing companies buying up as much property in Tokyo as they can, and as they are reluctant to pay the seller’s commission, become the sole seller. This has impacted upon the industry, with realtors wanting to sell the more upmarket properties to make their traditional income. So, in order to get a cheaper property, one has to deal with the local dealers and agents.
If someone wants to avoid dealing with local agents, there are other options too. One of them is bidding on a keibai bukken. The whole process of keibai bukken is little known and little used by regular people looking to buy a house. There is an office in every local court that deals with the auctioning of keibai bukken, and this office produces a comprehensive file on every property. The types of properties often available range from car parks to shops, in fact, any type of property that has been used as collateral. Anyone wishing to bid on the property must pay a 10 percent deposit.
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