I am starting a new job in April, having 250,000 and 300,000 available to use while moving.
I am single, with two suitcases of clothes and about two medium-sized moving boxes of personal items. The costs of moving into some apartments confuse me, as the fees seem to often add up to being anywhere from 2x rent to 5x rent. With this budget, will I have to make some serious sacrifices in moving? Are there any things I haven’t accounted for, and what has been your experience moving on a budget in Japan?
7 comments
* Do you include the initial cost of signing a lease for a new room? (This will usually be about 3-6 months’ rent.)
* Do I need to bring any appliances from my current room? If not, do you include the cost of purchasing them for the new room?
Common fees you will see when moving into/out of an apartment.
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* Guarantor fee: 50–100% of the rent.
* Insurance fee: Covers water or fire damage; starts at 20,000 JPY (190 USD) and goes up depending on the apartment.
* Realtor fee: Usually 100% of the rent.
* Cleaning fee: Typically starts at 20,000 JPY and goes up depending on the apartment, but it can also be 100% of the rent.
* Key money: Usually costs 100% of the rent. Originally started in the 1920s housing shortage as a “present” to the landlord. While no longer seen as a “present,” it is still required by many landlords.
* Changing lock fee: Starts at 12,000 JPY (100 USD) and goes up depending on the property.
* Other deposits: Required if you have pets or if a landlord has particularly nice furniture they want to insure.
Deposit, key money etc. can really add up, but will be specific to the apartment in question.
If you send your boxes via takuhaibin and take your suitcases you should be able to move pretty cheaply with that little stuff.
If you are moving for a job then the company should be arranging this and paying in advance.
If not then it is probably a black company.
You can find a place to stay in that budget. It may be shitty. I would even suggest some place like a sharehouse until you can save up enough money for a real place.
Are you trying to calculate the cost of *literally moving your belongings*, or also paying key money, security deposit, etc?
It’s doable. But tight budget. And you probably have to live somewhere cheap first. Realtors might also want proof of your employment to approve you.