I’m in the middle of searching for a new place to live and working with a Japanese real estate agent to find a place to live.
The real estate agent assigned to us did a really good job with taking me to properties and finding a place that fit my requirements. He seemed like a good guy at first when I spoke with him.
I finished getting approved by the landlord. I’m currently at the bank transfer stage and preparing to pay the startup fee (deposit, key money, etc) and the real estate fee (仲介手数料) but recently the real estate agent is being quite rude to me:
1. In email exchanges, removes me from CC despite me telling him to add me ( I already told him 3 times already…)
2. Will only answer emails from my girlfriend and not me (Before anyone asks: Yes, the apartment is in my name)
3. When extra information about me is required, he only contacts my girlfriend instead of asking me
The emal exchanges are in Japanese, but here’s an example exchange:
– **Me:** Hey, this is someGuyyya. I have a question about ________.
– **Real Estate Agent:** Dear [My Girlfriend’s name], what you need to do is ______.
– **Me:** Hey, this is someGuyyya. Thank you for sharing the information.
– **Real Estate Agent:** Dear [My Girlfriend’s name], You’re welcome. Be sure to ask anymore questions you may have.
This is a very popular real estate agent with many locations and I don’t want him to credit him with the real estate fee. I may use this as leverage to get the real estate fee reduced but can I just switch to another real estate agent and have that person work with us instead, even at last minute during the bank transfer stage?
**Edit:**
In case you’re wondering:
– Yes, I speak Japanese fine
– I work in a Japanese company
– In Japan for 10 years
– “why is your GF even involved if it’s all in your name?” → I was extremely busy with work and she wanted to help so she made 1st contact for me by signing up on their home page and CC’d me in everything. Now that work is calm this time around, I’m very much more involved.
– After me and my girlfriend visited the real estate agent office, speaking to the real estate agent in person is fine. He is very efficient at his main work but communicating over email is a huge pain.
**Edit 2:**
Thank you everyone for your comments. The emails are annoying but I’m totally overreacting.
14 comments
That would drive me insane. I’m guessing he has a boss, ask to talk to him/her and see if you can’t explain how rude the guy is being
I get called “Suzuki-san” sometimes by tradespeople because it’s my wife’s surname, even though they may have seen my full name printed out.
Maybe it’s something like that?
(name changed for privacy etc)
Sounds irritating but why is your GF even involved if it’s all in your name?
Some Japanese people act that way but the best way to avoid it is to not give them a choice.
You can also presumably ask your GF to tell him to directly contact you. Maybe you’ve tried that already?
I don’t know about the possibility of getting a change at this timing, but if it’s a big company you can probably submit an official complaint.
Talk to his manager?
① If it’s a reply then he’s probably pressing the “reply” button instead of the “reply all” button. You should check if that’s the case.
② That’s pretty annoying. But at the same time you said he’s replying and calling you your gf’s name?
③ That’s annoying too. However, that could be because of response time, her japanese is polite, or because they’re assuming you’re busy. I’d tell them that your gf is no longer available and to speak to you regarding all matters.
④ I get called by my wife’s name and my wife gets called by my name so I wouldn’t be too hung up on that.
You’re almost there so if you really like this apartment you probably can only continue this process and be done soon.
But if I was you, I just would go with another company (and need to find another apartment). I don’t have time for this kind of bullshit.
How about asking him to contact you with all information about the apartment instead of your girlfriend? I’ve had similar situations with the company contacting my wife and I asked them to contact me since I was paying for their service and they did …
Just email the company and ask to change the agent. They should do it without question.
The last agent I worked with just kept repeatedly fucking up. She had to remake multiple documents for me to sign which she kept fucking up, forgot to mail out the contract, forgot to mail out the contract yet again after being reminded, explained some payment forms incorrectly which caused trouble for me, the landlord, and the building management. The list goes on.
Eventually I just asked that all communication from the company be done over email/text to keep a written record since she couldn’t remember fuck all and I didn’t want to be liable for her fucking things up, and I also asked the company to switch my agent because it was such a mess. I got a new contact person and I never heard from the incompetent lady again.
Why can’t you just call him up directly and confront him on it?
「大変失礼ですが、部屋を借りているのは私であって彼女ではありません。これからのいかなるやり取りは私宛にお送りください。彼女宛の連絡などは一切受け付けません。よろしくお願いします。」
Dude the guy has already done all the work and now you want to pull the rug out from him last minute and give his commission to someone else? It sucks that he’s being rude but I would just continue as is, you are almost done.
Also, I’m sure it would be more of a headache than it’s worth at this point.
Why not verbally tell him that he is corrosponding with you?
Also is he referring to just her last name? Does he think both of you have the same last name?
Idk if you had no problems and your only issue is e-mail correspondence then I would just be and adult and be like “hey you’re talking to x and not y, y is no longer involved can we change the file over to my name completely” even if you do put your name in the email.
You had your GF with you, your GF WAS the one talking to him at first and you were just a CC. It’s honestly sounding like a simple mistake. It doesn’t sound l ike he’s being rude at all. He’s corresponding timely and with all necessary info so… Idk just bring it up to him or let it go.
Email is not the standard form of communication in the Japanese real estate industry. Real estate agents are too busy and the work is too fast paced to sit down and craft careful email messages, so they usually do everything by telephone.
You are making a rental contract, not buying a house, so the overall time the agent spends with you is too short for him to learn, unlearn and then relearn your preferred way of being addressed. The agent probably has 20 or 30 customers at one time.
Let me make a comparison. Suppose you go to an emergency room for a heart attack, and the doctor there competently saves your life, but in the process the doctor mispronounces your name. Your wife, panicking, had written your name incorrectly on the intake form, and somehow that wrong name got copied on all of the documents. You corrected the doctor a few times but he continues to say your name the wrong way. Are you going to get a discount on your medical bills for this?
So ultimately your complaint will fall on deaf ears, and any attempt to negotiate the real estate fees down will probably result in the cancellation of the contract and starting your search over from square one.
Send him a fax
Nope. Get rid of him. Shouldn’t have had your GF do the leg work in the first place. I would not pay someone who is deliberately ignoring me.