Look for advice on buying a house.

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iamsen
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Look for advice on buying a house.

Post by iamsen »

Hey guys, it's been a while. I've recently come to the conclusion that paying upwards of 1mil yen a year in rent is basically just pouring money down the drain. However I'm still single and not ready to buy a 'permanent' home to live in yet. So I thought a nice compromise might be buying a cheap house that I could either sell or rent out when/if I return back west.

I've been house stalking on homes.co.jp for a while now and there're several houses around the 5~10mil yen range that don't seem awfully bad and could probably be fixed with a little TLC and some arm grease. Some of them are actually even within a reasonable commuting distance! Only thing is, most of them are of the 再建不可 category.

They're also old, 40~50 years, and one gem that was built during the war even :eek:

Am I possibly underestimating how terribly wrong this could all go?

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gonbechan
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Re: Look for advice on buying a house.

Post by gonbechan »

Not at all.
Says the Gonbes who are doing exactly what you are thinking about doing. La pequena casa de Gombes

You need to be careful that the house is sound in frame and roof with no leaks (roof and windows), rising damp or subsiding. That there are no plumbing or wiring problems and that the water heating system is up to snuff. These are things that will eat money.
The rest is purely cosmetic.

There are also some very respectable properties available, especially 'distressed' properties where an unattended death has occurred.
Many houses are cheap because rebuilding is not possible, but the existing structure is usable. These are great for rentals as long as they are convenient to train, bus, schools and shopping.
After convenience, allowing house share(close to universities) and pets also ups the rentability.
You should get yourself acquainted with a realtor and tell them that you are specifically looking for a house with a view to rent out. They will be very helpful as they will not only make money selling you the house, but the prospect of having your property as a rental on their books is also attractive to them.

iamsen
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Re: Look for advice on buying a house.

Post by iamsen »

That was a fascinating read. Thanks a lot, gonbe chan!

Curiously, how does one go about looking for such distressed properties? I frequent homes and suumo quite often but I don't think I've ever seen those types of comments before.

iamsen
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Re: Look for advice on buying a house.

Post by iamsen »

I'm surprised at how fast things are moving. I might be closing in on a house already.

Anyone have advice on how I could move 一千万円 into the country without being nailed for tax evasion or money laundering?

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Zasso Nouka
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Re: Look for advice on buying a house.

Post by Zasso Nouka »

I've used HiFx over the last few years, moving money into the country doesn't seem to be a problem if it comes from savings abroad. It's mainly moving money out of the country that seems to trigger curiosity.

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Re: Look for advice on buying a house.

Post by iamsen »

https://goo.gl/photos/RNBvVviuVBVLZpsi8

Image

It's no countryside but there's a huge lot of green for somewhere inside Tokyo. I don't know what's actually being grown but there was a whole row of rose trees along the road. I didn't even know roses grew on trees, I'd always thought they were bushes! They seem to be one of the major 地主 around here, lots of homes, buildings and carparks with their names
.
Image

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