Jump to content

Getting money within Japan to earn


Recommended Posts

OK, sort of had something like this before I think but a refresh is due.

 

I have quite a large amount of cash that I have had in a bond for a number of years.

It matures next year and I have been asking around in the UK what I can invest in.

The answer seems to be....living in Japan, you can't.

A few advisors have said they can't help apart from advising to try and get advice in Japan.Y

You could before so something seems to have changed.

Japan apparently seems keen on keeping cash within Japan.

Looks like I'm going to have to bring it over here.

 

So, anyone got any good tips?

I'm thinking low-medium 'risk'.

Just want this cash to earn a bit.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I have money invested in post office bonds in the UK which are earning me some decent intetest each yeat. I just leave it to carry over at the end of each term.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes, and you may well be able to keep those going, but the point is that you apparently cannot do that any more. ie. create a new one.

I'd be glad to be wrong, but that seems to be what I am being told. If I am wrong please show me what you are in so I can look it up.

What I see on the Post Office website is that you need to be UK registered for tax purposes.

Link to post
Share on other sites

You maybe right.

I have had these bonds running since before I left the UK so possibly it has changed.

Did you ask the post office.

Another possibility that may or may nott be doable is using ypur parents address to set up a bond account if your folks are happy with that.

Then later on you can change the address to Japan that is what I did.

But again that may no longer be possible but worth trying.

 

I beleive last year when I got my intetest sheet to show my earnings on my investments it was 4 poimt something percent. Sorry dont remember of the top of my head.

Used to be 6% per annum when I first took them out.

Again because I have had them for many years actually around 18 years is maybe why I still get a good rate of return well compared to anything else.

I have no idea what a new bond woulf give you though.

 

Buying property can be another good investment if you get your timing right and buy when cheap/rock bottom.

In twenty years it will be worth more than now for sure but you need to buy when property prices are low.

Not in Japn though they only ever go down.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I've bought real estate...

 

 

 

 

 

 

In....Canada. And upon maturation that money is never ever coming back here. Despite a tax treaty I don't trust the J birds not to come along with their hands out.

 

I would like to do some investing here, too .. but I wouldn't know where to start or who to trust.

Link to post
Share on other sites

How is the real estate market going in the UK? Has it recovered much since the recession? If prices are still significantly lower than pre GFC prices I'd think it would be a good time to get in.

We did co-invest in a property development in Niseko pre GFC which did very well and somehow we managed to get away with not ever having to pay any capital gains tax on that. Didn't try and avoid it. Just never received a tax bill from the gov in either Japan or Australia.The bar we bought in Hakodate never made us any money but it was fun.

I do know many foreigners who've invested in property in Sapporo. Obviously they are not expecting any capital gains but the rental returns on their investment are quite high. Between 10-15%. Such investments can provide quite a nice monthly income.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Second hand bunjo mansions bought to let in regional cities can make quite a bit of money, as GN says. There is less risk buying in Tokyo, but you won't get 10 to 15%.

 

Given the bleak state of most of Hokkaido's economy, Sapporo may be an especially good buy because many Hokkaido locals wanting to get on will end up there.

Inaka thinking means some of them can't settle there for good because they'll be expected to head back and look after oldies and take over whatever remains of the family business.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm in the same boat. Canada doesn't want my money anymore since I don't have an address in Canada. This sounds kind of lame, but in the meantime I'm holding US dollars, within Japan. I'm thinking the dollar could appreciate another 5-10 percent over the next year or two on top of the miniscule interest that I'm getting.... It's hard to say though. People are talking about gold and silver again but it seems like there's a lot of downside risk there...

Link to post
Share on other sites

To all the expats here what interest rate are you paying on your mortgages(assuming you have one) ? In Australia and NZ it's about 5 %.

 

not that I have a mortgage, but we've been looking into costs etc and the calculator programs to give you a rough idea of monthly costs are 2.5-3%

Link to post
Share on other sites

People on a floating rate will be under 1%. They call it floating but with some lenders its a six month fix.

 

We got ours adjusted and refixed last year so we're on 1.6% fixed for ten years. The loan has another three and half years to run after that. Over the entire twenty years of the loan, we pay just over 20% of the principal in interest. Compared to other countries, it's very low.

Link to post
Share on other sites

1.2% fixed for us. If we had it floating or varible it would be lower still at the start but could and almost ceetainly would go up as well as down so we opted for a fixed rate.

It is very low anyway compared to other countries.

 

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

This maybe a silly question, but what happens after that 3 years?

Don't know. But this is the second three year term and it was better this time around than the first. .85% is the actually rate. Kind of unbelievable.

Link to post
Share on other sites
This maybe a silly question, but what happens after that 3 years?

 

In most UK mortgages you will revert to the banks standard variable rate. At the moment those are really low, so coming off a fixed rate onto the SVR will reduce monthly payments significantly. The risk is that interest rates are likely to rise soon, so payments will increase. The gamble is choosing when to lock into a fixed rate, and for how long!

 

Link to post
Share on other sites
×
×
  • Create New...