Am I getting scammed?

I am looking for a new apartment to move into and found a real estate agent on the real japan homes site. We toured 4 apartments together in person. However, I got a sketchy feeling after he asked me to send him my work contract for evidence of my job and requested that I pay the initial move in cost strictly in cash and not a bank transfer. I’ve never gotten an apartment by myself in Japan before. Are these unusual requests or am I being paranoid? I really hope I’m not getting scammed.

23 comments
  1. I had to submit payslips which revealed my work place. I guess it is normal?

    As long as they give you proper receipts for payment, then I see no issue paying the initial fees with cash. I did that for leopalace like 12 years ago.

  2. Yeah, cash is still very normal. Just had to fork over my kid’s kindergarten admission fees in cash only. It’s likely easier to do when all the direct debit stuff hasn’t been set up.

  3. Living here since 2016 and move at least 3 time, I’ve never been asked to pay cash… Always transfer.

  4. Seems normal but to confirm that you’re not being scammed, request to meet at his office and look at the realtors certificate which is required by law.

  5. Cash payment is common in Japan, when I bought my house the seller requested down payment in CASH!! Which is a few million JPY, and the agent told me they’ve seen one seller asked for cash payment and the price of house was 99 million….

    Make sure you get official receipt from relevant parties then you’ll be fine.

  6. When we were looking for a place I had to submit picture of my resident card and the work checks are routine. From what I know it’s hard to get a place in Japan because it’s hard to kick you out I believe

  7. Easiest way to know whether they are legit or not is provide the name of the agency. There may be people here who have dealt with them before

  8. Asking for a work contract is very normal. Not a Japan exclusive thing either, people want to know you’re earning enough to pay the rent before renting to you.

    Asking for the move in cost in cash is a bit weird. But Japan is still pretty cash focused, so that doesn’t automatically make it look like a scam.

  9. I doubt you’re being scammed. If the guy opened the apartment and showed you around that means he has the keys.

    Of course, this all depends entirely on the on the company. The reason he asks for your work contract is so he knows you’re actually being paid and can handle the rent. Most places I know will handle the initial payments via bank transfer and while it’s not necessarily a red flag, if your gut says no, then you should just refuse. Most properties are handled by multiple real estate agencies anyway depending on the type of contract the property owner chooses to rent out their property by, you could probably go to a more reputable agent and ask them to rent it out to you. They’ll happily poach the property.

  10. If you’re really worried, check their license.

    Sample format from Able:
    国土交通大臣免許番号(7)第5338号

    Pay attention to the number inside the brackets.
    This number starts from 1 and indicates the number of times the company had its license.
    The license itself is renewed every 5 years, so 7 means that at least it’s been in business for 30years+.

    Basically, higher number = less likely to scam you.

    You can use their own websites (if they have a website) and even if they don’t, you can usually find the info inside the homes.co.jp website.

    ​

    In any case, please always ask for receipt.

  11. Sounds normal. You need to prove yourself as an earner. They want to make sure you won’t run back home because it happens a lot.

  12. I guess it’s normal. I had to give them ( village house) an official letter confirming my employment from my work.

  13. what is it with people asking if businesses are trying to scam them lately? if they’re a legitimate business and have an office or a storefront, it’s very unlikely that they will try to scam you in such a lazy way. besides, renting apartments in Japan is a fucking racket anyway. they are going to pull so many fees out of their ass, you will wish they would’ve just tried to scam you for some initial moving fee. if you are really worried, you can always just go somewhere else. but they’ll probably still ask you about a work contract or other proof that you have funds/an income. unsurprisingly, they actually wanna know if you will be able to pay rent in the future.

  14. Is it straight cash directly to him, or is cash via conbini pay slip? I have always been asked to pay via conbini in cash. Definitely odd, and I would probably ask him a few more questions if I wasn’t feeling great on it, but it certainly doesn’t seem like a blatantly obvious scam. But do tread carefully if your gut tells you this seems fishy.

  15. Why is every second post about something being a scam all of a sudden? I swear they’ve overtaken divorce threads recently.

  16. I have had to pay in cash before. Like others say. They have to, or should present their real estate license and provide a receipt, contract, etc.

  17. Strange for the cash money. Never happened to me. Bank transfer were always ok (I changed house 3 times)
    For the contract, yes they asked me, also with visa and resident card

  18. I was also requested the same thing. I could send them proof of employment, but since my previous place was a few prefectures away and not on the mainland, I was able to transfer.

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