I’ll be moving to Japan soon under a student visa and want to rent an apartment before I arrive. I saw many people post gajinpot, Wagaya, realestate, etc. and I messaged some of them. I recently even had a video call with an agent from Aonissin from gajinpot. The agent showed me some apartments and said that he will call to confirm if they are available for overseas applications. He mentioned that the process if i select a place would be screening, payment, sign contract, and move in after getting keys. Which was fine until I realized I’d pay first and then sign. Is this normal or is this a scam? I’m not sure how to tell if this is a legit agent or not and I don’t want to be scammed. Is there any way I can make sure they’re legit or does anyone have experience with this company? I just want to make sure I arrive and have the place ready for me/not loose money.
1 comment
I’ve never used them before but the domain registration for them ([https://sg.godaddy.com/whois/results.aspx?checkAvail=1&tmskey=&domain=aonissin.com](https://sg.godaddy.com/whois/results.aspx?checkAvail=1&tmskey=&domain=aonissin.com)) seems to match the foundation date of the company on their website – [http://www.aonissin.com/basic/profile.html](http://www.aonissin.com/basic/profile.html). The address they list as well seems to be a commercial building so its not like its a random house or field.
Are they asking you to pay first because they’re waiting for you to sign when you’re in the country? In Japan a ‘verbal’ contract is legally binding, so if you’ve been communicating over email and have come to an agreement then sending them the money (and them accepting it) is a pretty unambiguous agreement to terms. So it would be somewhat reasonable for them to send you a digital copy of the proposed contract, have you pay, and then wait until you’re physically present to sign hard copies.
You’ll want to make very clear with them what the process would be (and penalties) if you change your mind and want to back out before moving in though.