Buying in Japan

2 comments

1. This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.

   —

   **Buying in Japan**

   am currently looking a houses for sale in Japan (I am currently in the U.S) and I wanted to know how long everything will take before I become the owner, I want to/am willing/planning to pay in cash if that will speed up the whole process but I want to know how long everything will take and is there a way to speed up the process any faster. I am looking at one of the “Akiya” homes that’s in rural areas (if that is important to know)

   *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/movingtojapan) if you have any questions or concerns.*

2. > I am looking at one of the “Akiya” homes that’s in rural areas (if that is important to know)

   That _is_ important to know, because it’s likely not going to happen unless you’re already a Japanese citizen. It’s also relevant to point out that property ownership does not confer any rights to live in Japan, so you’ll need to qualify for a visa regardless. Akiya houses have come up a bunch of times already on this sub ([1](https://www.reddit.com/r/movingtojapan/comments/11wwrdk/are_akiya_houses_still_a_thing/), [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/movingtojapan/comments/9ygxuy/free_housing_akiya_%E7%A9%BA%E3%81%8D%E5%AE%B6_whats_the_catch/), [3](https://www.reddit.com/r/movingtojapan/comments/ibhzno/buyingbuilding_a_vacation_home_in_japan/), for example). The long and short of it is that there are (usually multiple) very good reasons why these houses are basically being given away, and there are a number of hoops you need to jump through to even qualify for getting one of them. Unless you are already a Japanese citizen, have parents/grandparents that are Japanese citizens or have a Japanese spouse considering akiya houses is just not realistic.