Hi!
I checked quite a bit of Reddit posts about buying a house in Japan and I followed most of the suggestions while checking a renovated 20yo house (kudos to the community!).
It’s the first time for me so I am super cautious, but I also go with an open mind. The seller is an agency (no real estate agent fees, quite juicy) the house is in top location in Tokyo and it comes with an inspection certificate issued 2 months ago. The inspection seems very thorough, they checked inclination, walls, roof, but they couldn’t check the underfloor and the foundations from the classic opening in the floor, which bugs me a bit.
It seems like some checks have been performed on the outer frame and concrete base from outside, but I was wondering how reliable and complete this kind of survey is without assessing rot and other possible issues directly on the underfloor frame.
Is there any solution to this other than taking chances?
Another thing I am not super sure is: piping has not being checked for the same reason, but they changed heater, bathroom entirely and all the sinks. Is it common in Japan to change pipes every 10/20 years? In my country it usually doesn’t happen and I assume for buildings in concrete is also not common, but these are just assumptions and I need some kind expert advises 🙂
Other than that the structure seems in great conditions and the interior is brand new, but I’d like to avoid regretting in 5 years or with the first strong shake.
Thanks!
by GinottoDake