Firstly, full disclosure, I have the great luck of being a temporarily subsidized expat in Tokyo, as well as being married to a 日本人. Recently I qualified for a PRESTIA home mortgage of ~2億円 with 0% down with spouse as guarantor/cosigner. We plan to buy what many would consider a luxury freehold, detached home with a large land sq. m. footprint in a nice suburb of Tokyo (Komazawa, Jiyugaoka, Toritsudai, Denenchofu areas are the targets). We do not have the budget to buy the home all-cash. Running the numbers, even after my benis expire, and if spouse takes up a job once the kid gets older, we will be able to comfortably afford the mortgage. Long term, as painful as it would be on family, another overseas posting is within the realm of possibility – mainly because of higher earning power overseas and concerns about net worth. In a way, this would be our “forever home” no matter where we live temporarily around the globe.
Japan loan terms are irresistible when comparing to what we qualify for in our previous country of residence. Our long term plans are: potentially take a temporary overseas posting to replenish/fast track our savings, and retire back to Tokyo in perhaps 6-8 years.
QUESTION: I’m scared to ask the bank as it could disqualify us, but what happens to our mortgage if we move overseas temporarily after 3 years and decide to rent it out for the time away (let’s say 3-5 years)? Do we need to change our loan terms? Could they cancel the loan? Or is this one of those “don’t ask don’t tell” things and just keep servicing the loan as normal?
To compare, we do have a mortgage balance overseas and the bank hasn’t modified anything despite now renting it out.
We can ask our Japanese expat friends posted overseas how they manage their Japan mortgage, but presumably this could be a tricky topic to disclose if there are concerns of gaming the mortgage system.
Looking for advice from people doing something similar or from actual Japan home loan experts, not theorists. Thanks!!!
by Huskeranien