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Ok, I'm curious, so I'll ask the dumb question. If I were to buy one of these homes, how much of a bureaucratic nightmare would it be? For the record I don't l

Ok, I'm curious, so I'll ask the dumb question. If I were to buy one of these homes, how much of a bureaucratic nightmare would it be? For the record I don't live in Japan and have no viable immigration basis. Nor do I have a clue if they have a "no foreign property ownership" law like the one Canada just got. I do speak rudimentary Japanese and could probably bumble my way through the paperwork.

rgmerk 3y ago
I’ve seen stories in the Australian media about foreigners (Australians and Americans) buying these and restoring them. The story was set up by a couple of Americans who’ve set up a business assisting people to do it. Even taking into account the fact that they were trying to promote their business, it was clear that it’s not easy, but with patience it’s possible to end up with a pretty amazing house incredibly cheap - at least by, say, Californian standards. The thing I found strangest is that some of the houses featured were in beach towns not that far from Tokyo. If I were a middle-class Japanese family, I’d be buying one of these as a weekender.
- lmm 3y ago
  > The thing I found strangest is that some of the houses featured were in beach towns not that far from Tokyo. If I were a middle-class Japanese family, I’d be buying one of these as a weekender. You can buy it, but what would you do with it? There are plenty of cheap hotels in those towns. It's like buying a boat - it seems like such a fun idea, but ultimately it becomes just another thing tying you down while you pay to maintain it.
  - rgmerk 3y ago
    Yes, there are costs involved, but for some people, at some stages in one's life, owning a weekender is great if you can afford it. Taking a toddler to a hotel is a major PITA; taking a toddler to a holiday home, while I wouldn't call it "easy", is considerably less stressful.
lovemenot 3y ago
By coincidence, I visited an Akiya in Nagano yesterday. It's not free, but it's very cheap. I will probably buy it (+60% likelihood). If so, I will spend additional 200% asking price on repairs. Technically, I am resident in Tokyo but own and live in a house in Nagano. It had been empty for 6 years, but not abandoned when I bought it 2 years ago. Here is what I know: - There is no residence requirement to own property in Japan. You can be domiciled anywhere. - Even for a government-sold Akiya, you will pay some reasonable fees to realtor and scrivener. - You probably will not be able to get a loan if domiciled overseas. - Legal is not particularly difficult (compared to other countries). I have only done it in person, and cannot imagine doing it remotely. - There is no option to do legal in English. You will need a Japanese speaker. Or at least let them explain the documents at your level. They will do so sincerely. - If your akiya includes farmland, you will need to demonstrate a plan to farm it. If the plan is not accepted by local govt, or you don't fulfill the plan, the sale may be voided. - It is generally not a scammy environment. ymmv. Anyone thinking to buy property in Iida, Nagano please look me up.
- esdf 3y ago
  I'm not looking to buy property but I wanted to let you know that it seems hard to look you up. You don't have an email or name on your profile and the username isn't very unique online.
  - lovemenot 3y ago
    Thanks.
KennyBlanken 3y ago
If you're not Japanese, a lot of things will be a nightmare. Japan is incredibly racist and xenophobic. It also has a criminal justice system that convicts everyone who ends up in court (being a Japanese judge seems to be easy street redefined) and prison conditions are terrible. Oh, and if you're black, expect to be constantly followed/stopped by plainclothes police who will demand your identity card, while not identifying themselves.
- kmeisthax 3y ago
  Your sentence needs a lot of qualifiers. i.e. Older Japanese are incredibly racist to Koreans and Chinese, and also mildly xenophobic. Even then, the racism and xenophobia get played up a lot in western media (or at least anime fandom). It'd be like insisting every American is like Old Man Jonathan Joestar swinging his arm in the airport about how he hates Japanese people so much[0]. Were there a lot of Americans who hated the Japanese exactly in that way? Yes. Is that an accurate depiction of Americans? Not really. Japanese criminal judges have a high conviction rate because of two reasons: - Japanese prosecutors are extremely selective about what charges they bring forward and often drop cases for lack of evidence. - Falsely accused Japanese will often confess to a crime they didn't commit due to social pressure. To be clear, the latter is an active social problem. But it's not the one most westerners think of when they think of the Japanese criminal justice system. I can't speak to the Black experience in Japan, so I'll keep my mouth shut about that. [0] Keep in mind this character was last seen fighting a bunch of super-vampires alongside a bunch of literal Nazis during WWII
minebreaker 3y ago
I recently bought a house, so I assure you there was a lot of paperwork. I had to use hanko maybe more than 40 times. Given I'm Japanese, it would be much harder for immigrants...
freetime2 3y ago
I bought a couple pieces of real estate in Japan as a foriegner, and I don't think it's too much of a bureaucratic nightmare. There is a lot of paperwork, yes, and there are a lot of different taxes and fees involved. But your real estate agent would prepare all the paperwork for you and should be able to give a fairly precise estimate of fees in advance. All you really need to do is provide your signature/stamp of approval a bunch of times, and transfer the money. You would also need to pay real-estate taxes, as well as any income/capital gains taxes you made on the property. Japan also has "neighborhood associations" [1] that coordinate/provide services like trash pickup and snow removal that you probably should join, although I'm not sure if its's legally required. There are real-estate agents in Japan that specialize in working with international clients. Presumably they could streamline a lot of the process for you. There are also property management companies that could provide a lot of different services, such as basic maintanence, finding renters, etc. As someone who would be absent from Japan for long stretches of time, I think realistically you would need to pay for some of these services (unless you know someone who could look after the property for you). [1] https://mailmate.jp/blog/neighborhood-associations-japan https://mailmate.jp/blog/neighborhood-associations-japan

rgmerk 3y ago

I’ve seen stories in the Australian media about foreigners (Australians and Americans) buying these and restoring them. The story was set up by a couple of Americans who’ve set up a business assisting people to do it. Even taking into account the fact that they were trying to promote their business, it was clear that it’s not easy, but with patience it’s possible to end up with a pretty amazing house incredibly cheap - at least by, say, Californian standards. The thing I found strangest is that some of the houses featured were in beach towns not that far from Tokyo. If I were a middle-class Japanese family, I’d be buying one of these as a weekender.

lmm 3y ago
> The thing I found strangest is that some of the houses featured were in beach towns not that far from Tokyo. If I were a middle-class Japanese family, I’d be buying one of these as a weekender. You can buy it, but what would you do with it? There are plenty of cheap hotels in those towns. It's like buying a boat - it seems like such a fun idea, but ultimately it becomes just another thing tying you down while you pay to maintain it.
- rgmerk 3y ago
  Yes, there are costs involved, but for some people, at some stages in one's life, owning a weekender is great if you can afford it. Taking a toddler to a hotel is a major PITA; taking a toddler to a holiday home, while I wouldn't call it "easy", is considerably less stressful.

lovemenot 3y ago

By coincidence, I visited an Akiya in Nagano yesterday. It's not free, but it's very cheap. I will probably buy it (+60% likelihood). If so, I will spend additional 200% asking price on repairs. Technically, I am resident in Tokyo but own and live in a house in Nagano. It had been empty for 6 years, but not abandoned when I bought it 2 years ago. Here is what I know: - There is no residence requirement to own property in Japan. You can be domiciled anywhere. - Even for a government-sold Akiya, you will pay some reasonable fees to realtor and scrivener. - You probably will not be able to get a loan if domiciled overseas. - Legal is not particularly difficult (compared to other countries). I have only done it in person, and cannot imagine doing it remotely. - There is no option to do legal in English. You will need a Japanese speaker. Or at least let them explain the documents at your level. They will do so sincerely. - If your akiya includes farmland, you will need to demonstrate a plan to farm it. If the plan is not accepted by local govt, or you don't fulfill the plan, the sale may be voided. - It is generally not a scammy environment. ymmv. Anyone thinking to buy property in Iida, Nagano please look me up.

esdf 3y ago
I'm not looking to buy property but I wanted to let you know that it seems hard to look you up. You don't have an email or name on your profile and the username isn't very unique online.
- lovemenot 3y ago
  Thanks.

KennyBlanken 3y ago

If you're not Japanese, a lot of things will be a nightmare. Japan is incredibly racist and xenophobic. It also has a criminal justice system that convicts everyone who ends up in court (being a Japanese judge seems to be easy street redefined) and prison conditions are terrible. Oh, and if you're black, expect to be constantly followed/stopped by plainclothes police who will demand your identity card, while not identifying themselves.

kmeisthax 3y ago
Your sentence needs a lot of qualifiers. i.e. Older Japanese are incredibly racist to Koreans and Chinese, and also mildly xenophobic. Even then, the racism and xenophobia get played up a lot in western media (or at least anime fandom). It'd be like insisting every American is like Old Man Jonathan Joestar swinging his arm in the airport about how he hates Japanese people so much[0]. Were there a lot of Americans who hated the Japanese exactly in that way? Yes. Is that an accurate depiction of Americans? Not really. Japanese criminal judges have a high conviction rate because of two reasons: - Japanese prosecutors are extremely selective about what charges they bring forward and often drop cases for lack of evidence. - Falsely accused Japanese will often confess to a crime they didn't commit due to social pressure. To be clear, the latter is an active social problem. But it's not the one most westerners think of when they think of the Japanese criminal justice system. I can't speak to the Black experience in Japan, so I'll keep my mouth shut about that. [0] Keep in mind this character was last seen fighting a bunch of super-vampires alongside a bunch of literal Nazis during WWII

minebreaker 3y ago

I recently bought a house, so I assure you there was a lot of paperwork. I had to use hanko maybe more than 40 times. Given I'm Japanese, it would be much harder for immigrants...

freetime2 3y ago

I bought a couple pieces of real estate in Japan as a foriegner, and I don't think it's too much of a bureaucratic nightmare. There is a lot of paperwork, yes, and there are a lot of different taxes and fees involved. But your real estate agent would prepare all the paperwork for you and should be able to give a fairly precise estimate of fees in advance. All you really need to do is provide your signature/stamp of approval a bunch of times, and transfer the money. You would also need to pay real-estate taxes, as well as any income/capital gains taxes you made on the property. Japan also has "neighborhood associations" [1] that coordinate/provide services like trash pickup and snow removal that you probably should join, although I'm not sure if its's legally required. There are real-estate agents in Japan that specialize in working with international clients. Presumably they could streamline a lot of the process for you. There are also property management companies that could provide a lot of different services, such as basic maintanence, finding renters, etc. As someone who would be absent from Japan for long stretches of time, I think realistically you would need to pay for some of these services (unless you know someone who could look after the property for you). [1] https://mailmate.jp/blog/neighborhood-associations-japan https://mailmate.jp/blog/neighborhood-associations-japan