For those who have purchased a second hand house in Japan, what things did you check out about the house before buying, or what did you not check but wish you had afterwards?
There’s a facebook group for house owners in Japan that would be a treasure trove of information for you.
Hire Sakura Jimusho to do a thorough inspection of the house. You will not regret it.
I think this is partly dependent on where you are planning to buy. Beyond general advice about getting it inspected and making sure you understanding any restrictions about what size buildings can be built on the land if you want to rebuild, etc… you might be better trying to ask people you know in your area who have gone through the process.
Have a termite inspection done.
Put a question mark on a question. I came here expecting answers.
There are links about actual inspections in r/Japanfinance wiki real estate page
Inspections in Japan have quite limited results because (1) most inspections must not damage the house in the slightest. So no pulling up carpet to see why a floor is sinking. And (2) there is often no crawl space or attic access. And roof inspections cost extra.
Finally, the results on an inspection are not as clear or reassuring as you would think. They are usually expressed as “the retaining wall is a cause of concern.” For this you pay about ¥150000.
In Japan it is more important to have a good real estate agent for effective due diligence. This takes time and persistence because the same laws are applied differently in many cases. So an agent has to call around and ask things like, “my client wants to add XYZ to a house but this law ABC says that permission must be requested first. Has anyone tried to add XYZ in this jurisdiction recently? How likely is a variance granted for ABC in this case? The answer, which could take days to obtain, will be a set of hints and clues that you must interpret carefully making a decision to buy.
An experienced real estate agent would have other clients that have applied for and received permission for XYZ in houses purchased through the agent in the same area. Those cases are the most clear cut because of the precedent.
Spend time at the house and visit/stay over at night. It’s so that you figure out if the neighbors are rotten, if there are bozoku, nightly fights, thin walls, etc. that would either break the deal or give you ammunition to negotiate the price.
Make sure the bath fills itself properly and reheats the water. Sometimes when the bath unit breaks the owner neglects it because they prefer to shower. Also, look at water pressure. If only a drizzle is coming out there are expensive piping problems.
Confirm whether you actually want gas considering natural gas prices. At least my only gas connection is hot water..
If there is tatami, lift one up near a window to check for mold or extreme staining.
Tell your scrivener you want property tax for the year (due next year Jan 1) pre-paid by the owner so that you pay the remaining amount to the owner for the months you will start living in the house. Otherwise it’s possible that the owner will just leave the entire year’s tax bill on you if the scrivener doesn’t bring it up. Also check for liens.
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There’s a facebook group for house owners in Japan that would be a treasure trove of information for you.
Hire Sakura Jimusho to do a thorough inspection of the house. You will not regret it.
I think this is partly dependent on where you are planning to buy. Beyond general advice about getting it inspected and making sure you understanding any restrictions about what size buildings can be built on the land if you want to rebuild, etc… you might be better trying to ask people you know in your area who have gone through the process.
Have a termite inspection done.
Put a question mark on a question. I came here expecting answers.
There are links about actual inspections in r/Japanfinance wiki real estate page
Inspections in Japan have quite limited results because (1) most inspections must not damage the house in the slightest. So no pulling up carpet to see why a floor is sinking. And (2) there is often no crawl space or attic access. And roof inspections cost extra.
Finally, the results on an inspection are not as clear or reassuring as you would think. They are usually expressed as “the retaining wall is a cause of concern.” For this you pay about ¥150000.
In Japan it is more important to have a good real estate agent for effective due diligence. This takes time and persistence because the same laws are applied differently in many cases. So an agent has to call around and ask things like, “my client wants to add XYZ to a house but this law ABC says that permission must be requested first. Has anyone tried to add XYZ in this jurisdiction recently? How likely is a variance granted for ABC in this case? The answer, which could take days to obtain, will be a set of hints and clues that you must interpret carefully making a decision to buy.
An experienced real estate agent would have other clients that have applied for and received permission for XYZ in houses purchased through the agent in the same area. Those cases are the most clear cut because of the precedent.
Spend time at the house and visit/stay over at night.
It’s so that you figure out if the neighbors are rotten, if there are bozoku, nightly fights, thin walls, etc. that would either break the deal or give you ammunition to negotiate the price.
Make sure the bath fills itself properly and reheats the water. Sometimes when the bath unit breaks the owner neglects it because they prefer to shower. Also, look at water pressure. If only a drizzle is coming out there are expensive piping problems.
Confirm whether you actually want gas considering natural gas prices. At least my only gas connection is hot water..
If there is tatami, lift one up near a window to check for mold or extreme staining.
Tell your scrivener you want property tax for the year (due next year Jan 1) pre-paid by the owner so that you pay the remaining amount to the owner for the months you will start living in the house. Otherwise it’s possible that the owner will just leave the entire year’s tax bill on you if the scrivener doesn’t bring it up. Also check for liens.