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Just wondering as we are in the process of deciding whether continue renting or actually buy somewhere.

I can see the "sticker" price on a new or old home, but what about taxes and all the other stuff that inevitably involved and extra?

Can some of your home owners give me an idea of what might expect? In real terms, not just theory!

 

:)

 

Thanks

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Plenty of flat roofs in Kutchan. It's generally so you can build closer to your boundary. If you have a roof that sheds the snow you need room for it to shed and not encroach on your neighbours land (

Though its news is not new, you do get some good stuff in the Japan Times. I hope it can keep going in years to come.   Since most Japanese old houses sell at deep discounts to when they were new, i

By the common understanding, I don't think 2 by 4 is a "frame" house. 2 by 4 are used as studs that are sandwiched by plywood which acts as bracing to make structural, i.e, load bearing walls. Remove

Well first of all, scout out a place where you would like to live, and focus on finding some houses, or plots of land, in and around that area.

 

Stuff like house taxes are all affected by the land value the local authorities have set on that land, which can go up or down. Moreover, pay attention to how the restrictions on how much you can build on. Sometimes you might only be able to use 60% of the available land for building.

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I kind of want to take the step too, but it just seems so involved.

So I suppose I don't want it enough.

 

Ideally, I'd walk into one of those lovely brand new ready-made places. And sign a few papers. Would need to win the lottery first I think.........

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Even when buying in Japan you will generally have to pay 3% of the price of the property as commission to the real estate agent. This is quite different to Australia where only the seller pays anything to the agent.

There's the property aquisition tax which is somwhere between 1-3%. There's also registration lisence tax and stamp duty and some other legal fees. All up you'll need to add between another 5-9% on top of the purchase price to cover all the other costs.

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Question is, is it worth it.

 

It really wasn't that hard for us. In fact compared to buying a house in Australia we found the whole process to be very quick and easy. We didn't require a loan though which certainly made everything a lot easier. We lived for 7 years in Japan and I think we would have spent a bit more than if we had have rented the entire time but we now have an ongoing rental income from the place and if we ever sell we would definitely come out on top. Few areas in Japan though have capital growth but rental returns are pretty good.

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All up you'll need to add between another 5-9% on top of the purchase price to cover all the other costs.

That sounds about right.

 

Suggest buying a book on how to buy a home, which will give some idea of the processes involved, and help you learn some of the special legal and financial terminology involved. Take your time to figure out what you really want -- visit lots of open houses, etc.

 

When you know what and where you want to buy, go introduce yourself to some of the local realtors and let them know you are looking, so that you will be on their fax list when new properties become available. Be patient, but ready to pounce.

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Question is, is it worth it.

 

When you can sit back and watch your kid, and/or dog, happily digging holes all over the yard, or bolt your custom-made ski rack directly to the genkan wall or wherever else you like, yes, it is worth it.

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This is a big question that needs about 10 ippy sized answers.

You can find out how big a mortgage you could pay off with your current rent here. They give mortgages to gaijin married to Japanese now pretty easily, so that's not a big issue if that's you.

http://www.eloan.co.jp/sim/homeAmount.php

 

Abe says they'll print and spend to try and hit 2% inflation. I doubt they'll succeed to that extent, but if they can at least end deflation, interest rates will go up. Locking in below 3% up to thirty-five years is a great anti-inflation play. Variable rates are currently about 1%. It changes every year, but if you have a mortgage, you'll get mortage tax relief off your income tax. If you're a high rate payer, it might be quite tasty.

 

I wouldn't buy a "tate-uri" pre-built new house myself in Japan unless it was on a really great plot. I rather build a new house to our design (jiyu sekkei), even from one low cost builders. Tama Home, Leo House and the like.

 

Like Metabo says, its great having your own place and being free to do what you want.

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Question is, is it worth it.

 

When you can sit back and watch your kid, and/or dog, happily digging holes all over the yard, or bolt your custom-made ski rack directly to the genkan wall or wherever else you like, yes, it is worth it.

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Thanks, all interesting.

 

If I have the chunk of cash needed and available, am I always better off paying in cash than having a loan?

Or are there 'issues' I'm not aware of that make it less clear cut?

 

With interest rates so low in Japan I'd be getting a loan rather than continue for more years paying rent and attempting to save. I have always had the attitude though that I'd rather be paying to own something than paying someone else so they can own something. Rent is an absolute waste of money. You never get any of it back! Still renting can make sense economically if your rent is relatively low and like in Japan housing is not really an appreciating asset. So instead of putting your money into a house in Japan put it somewhere else that makes you money. You need to do some sums to see if you can find any investments currently that could make you returns that more than cover your rent. If not then I'd say you're probably better off paying money to own your own place if the loan is relatively small. Even if it depreciates a bit over time you still have an asset. Your rent only goes to paying off someone else's asset. I'm not sure where you are but if you're not looking at being in one of the major cities then house prices in Japan are really low so your loan would be small and interest repayments minimal. Repayments would likely be less than your rent currently. This would mean you could pay in more to get the loan paid off quicker without any detriment to lifestyle. And who knows? Maybe the economy will turn around over the next few years and housing prices may actually start appreciating again! Yeah, well maybe not....

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Renting vs. owning is another big issue, and can vary drastically depending on the country you're in. On the whole, I wouldn't say Japan is very renter friendly, simply due to the silly reikin money and low standard of many places that get rented. To rent somewhere good without silly reikin and estate agent fees, you've got to rent through word of mouth. Its not that uncommon in inaka. If you have reikin in the system, you are destroying one of the main benefits of renting, which is flexibility. I rented in Japan for over fifteen years but the only money I resent was the key money and bollocksy contract renewal fee commission I had to pay one time to the estate agent even though the landlord didn't want a contract renewal fee. I don't resent any of the rent itself.

 

With bank deposits paying bugger all, the stock market doing nothing and looking increasingly like it's rigged, and unit trusts and pension funds etc. taking big commissions just to play and not beat the very same stock market, putting your savings into a nice house will at least give you a return on your money, a big boost in quality of life.

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We went with a 変動、or floating rate in the end, and our interest rate is set at 0.85% or something crazy like that. We are told 6months in advanced if the rate is going to go up, and how much it will go to with also monthly payment costs. It really is cheaper to buy a house than rent; however, the land is the important part of the purchase. Choose a decent plot somewhere and you can expect it to go up in value, or at least hold.

 

Moreover, be prepared to negotiate the price, as most , if not all, agents fees and costs can be brought down. We managed to get about 1.6mil yen off, simply by arguing that the house lacked this or that, and we waited to buy it, about 3 months or so, risky but we were in no rush, and also we were prepared to use the estate agent's preferred bank to get a loan, rather than our own.

 

When you do apply for a mortgage, make sure you have documentation of your working for the previous year, especially if you or your partner has taken time off work, as this will affect the process. Paying off cash is MUCH better, but if you do get a loan, get one that does not penalise you for paying off lumps sums. We pay about 1.5mil extra a year, which is not too difficult to do at the moment, but it means later on during the mortgage period, we can relax a bit more with repayments.

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The JapanTimes has a couple of writers who seem to specialize in articles about the real estate and housing markets in Japan. Various articles I have read cover things like real estate fees, renting vs buying. Worth checking out if you are interested in buying a house. Authors are Philip Brasor & Masako Tsubuku.

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I've just googled their names and read their blog. It's pretty interesting and has lots of good information about housing in general. I would warn however that they sound like kind of bohemian people who are looking for something 10 million max but won't be too inconvenient for them (read: out of the way) as a couple who are reluctant to own a car. Lots of houses in that price range within striking distance of Tokyo are going to have lots of the issues they talk about in the places they see in their blog. Looking for a cheap house in the exurbs but being anti-car, esp. given minimal kei car ownership costs, strikes me as making things difficult for yourself. In inaka, you drive to the increasingly big and on cheap land increasingly far from the station supermarket that has outcompeted the shotengai by the station and any other smaller inaka shops dotted about here and there. That's just the way it is.

 

Anyone who can afford to ski can probably avoid a lot of the issues they talk about with old houses by spending a bit more money on a better one.

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Hey SJ Family

 

I was wondering if anyone knows if your are able to buy property in Japan being an Australian? An if so is it a pain staking process?

 

Are you in Japan? If not, then you could do it, but it would not be easy.

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