what is the process for buying a home here

9 comments

1. The background check will be pretty serious for it. Not just the money in the Bank but general income source. I am not sure there is a way to buy without going through the agent because the house owner does not want the hassle in dealing with buyers or renters directly. Bank loan interest is non-existent though.

2. You get a rough idea of where you want to live and you go to the bank and apply for approval. They will check your income (as indicated by your tax return), the max price of a house you want, down payment, residence status etc. If pre approved, then you can go shop officially shop for the house you like.

   I don’t know if there is any way to undercut the agent since they are scriveners (with a scrivener’s certification) to handle and certify the deed transfer which ensures your ownership. It’s not just, fill out this paper and sign/stamp here like getting internet service.

3. In addition to what’s been mentioned, keep in mind that while it’s possible without, PR and a firm understanding of Japanese is good to have. Many banks will require you to understand the terms and require you to fill out many forms yourself. The agent cannot fill out those forms.

4. Two things that you should have lined up before you start:

   1) At least two years of verified income that you can show with a gensenshuucho from your employer (depending on the bank how many years might vary);

   2) Permanent Residence status (not a requirement with all banks, but it is with most and if you have it they’ll treat you the same as a Japanese national).

   In my case we looked at several houses through agents, found one we wanted and then the contacted the bank and got approved for the loan (with the above two things it went pretty easy).

   There isn’t an easy way to cut out the middle men here, at least not without putting yourself at some risk. There can be legal claims on a piece of property that won’t necessarily be extinguished just because you bought it. Part of the services that Shiho Shoshi provide is ensuring that you will get clean title to the property and not have to worry about that kind of thing.

5. Technically either way works, but you’ll usually find it harder to get a pre-approved loan before you go house hunting as the banks want to look at the property and judge its value/risk in relation to the loan, so if you try to get a pre-approval with no info on the property they’ll usually just reject you as the default action. Also yes you being a foreigner will make the process even harder especially if you don’t have PR. Most banks do have loan calculators so you can get a rough ballpark of how much you can borrow, it’s not the same thing for sure but it’s better than nothing.

   Real estate agents here usually does some elbow-greasing to make the loan application process smoother. A lot of the agents has contacts at one or several banks. Private sales of property between individuals is very rare in Japan so you’ll very likely be dealing with an agent either way so you might as well mentally prepare yourself for that.

6. We went to look round at different ハウスメーカー’s and when we found the one we wanted to build a house with we gave them a rough idea of what we wanted the house to be like. They made a floor plan of everything then once that was settled we started to do the paperwork for the loan amount. I don’t have PR so the loan is in my wife’s name, took a few days to check whether we were eligible then once the loan is granted we started to talk more into detail about the design of the house. We were declined at one so went with ろうきん for the loan.

7. So many people turn to Reddit for advice when buying a house because they don’t want to hire a buyer agent. You are basically shooting yourself in the foot. A buyer agent will usually save you money and will also help you buy a better property.

   1. Buyer agents negotiate the price on your behalf. If you don’t have one, you usually will pay the seller agent the exact same fees, but without the help and support. The seller will either charge you the fees, or the fees will be added to the price to look like there are no fees.
   People are doing more work than you think they are doing. So of course you will pay for that labor one way or other. Why not hire someone you like and trust?

   2. Buyer agents also do due diligence with the legal and material aspects of the property, to make sure you are not falling into a trap. It is better to hire a specialist in real estate law now (realtors must study the law) so you don’t have to hire a lawyer later to salvage your finances in a bad deal.

   3. Buyer agents have relationships with banks. We are familiar with the ever changing loan conditions and can find you the right loan without a lot of searching. Also, banks look at people without a buyer agent with a bit of suspicion. People who know nothing about a process and yet want to take everything into their own hands are likely to screw up a deal or freak out and cancel a contract at the last minute. It is not fun to do business with this kind of person.

8. One day, my wife and I walked into a realtor’s office. We explained what kind of property we were looking for and he took us around. Once we saw a place we liked, we had to sign something which stated out intention to buy so no one else could buy the property. After that, I had to do a bunch of bank stuff. Everything went smoothly. A few weeks later I got the keys to the property.

   No PR, Japanese spouse, contract university teaching job.

9. When I applied for a new “mansion” apartment the developer had a relationship with the bank that pre approved our loan based on our employment and salary. However, it seemed to be a bit too much so we started looking at pre-owned places in Tokyo.

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   I bought a “mansion” apartment roughly over a year and a half ago. We had an agent on our (buyer) side that was a family friend (on my SO side) and has lower rates than a typical agent because she works under her husband. She talks a lot which can get a bit excessive but she was quick to action in finding places that are not listed on normal real estate sites. However she will give you a large list of addresses to search within your criteria that can take some time to narrow down (and can contain properties you’ve seen online as well). Overall we looked at properties over four months and found a place we are happy with and saved closing cost enough to do basic reform that really made the place our own. ( I sound preachy. Sure, but that’s what happened. )

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   She also talks to banks. As long as you have consistent employment for over three years; this becomes almost a non-issue. We ended up going with Shinsei bank flat 20 year rate plan if curious.

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   If you DM me I’ll forward her information if she agrees.