Hello all,
I keep considering buying real estate here (and yes, I understand the rent/buy tradeoffs in Japan market). Found a land in Tokyo perfect location-wise, quiet, good sun exposure, price looks quite nice. There are two buts though. First, the shape is irregular, including barely meeting the 2-meter road access rule. While the rule seems technically met, a car is not an option, (which we don’t mind). Second, the land is on top of the hill and it borders the steep downslope, the realtor mentioned vaguely the need to ensure the foundation is sound when building, with equally vague cost estimate. Feels quite likely these are related to the price being nice :).
How do you work around these to ensure it is, in fact, reasonably doable to build on this land? Ideally I guess you could get someone knowledgeable in construction for an independent opinion, but A) how could this fit in the process (would you do this after the letter of intent?) and B) how would you find such someone?
Any other advice of course welcome as well.
Thank you so much!
2 comments
We built a house on an old rice field. The housing company that dealt with converting the land zoning also sorted out the geological survey we needed. Presumably someone dealing with you buying the land would point you in the right direction.
You should probably schedule a meeting with a builder to assess the buildability of the land. Given what you’re saying a retaining wall and difficult foundation would probably be in order.