Hi all, bit of a complex one here, but appreciate if anyone at all has any input.
My wife (Japanese national) and I (Brit) moved back to Japan this April. I left my job back in the UK and am now freelance here in Japan. We’ve been living out in the countryside near my wife’s family in an empty family home, and as such have not been paying rent. We’re wanting to move to the Kanto area in February as my booked freelance work starts in earnest in March time. Now of course renting a mansion is more of a pain here than it is back at home, as there are all sorts of credit and affordability checks, and you have to pay off multiple fudosan. One of our issues is that I don’t have a straightforward income since I’m freelance so the usual ‘have a job that pays three times your rent’ check doesn’t work for us. We do have a lot in savings, 100+ months worth of rent for the budget we’re looking at, but we’re told that it still might be a pain since the income isn’t guaranteed so to speak.
First of all I wondered if anyone had any hot tips on searching for rental properties anyway at all, since I’m a foreigner, we have a baby, and (probably the worst one) a cat with us, so basically the holy trinity of making it hard to find a property in Japan.
On the second count, we were wondering if it’s better to incorporate as a Kojinjugyunushi (which we need to do before my paid work starts anyway) in my wifes name rather than mine. I’m totally fine with this and from what I can see it doesn’t bother my at all or cause any issues, but if we’re applying for these properties under my wife’s Japanese name rather than my British one I wondered if it might avoid some potential ‘no gaijin’ problems.
Any input or advice is appreciated!
4 comments
I was able to negotiate a house in Minato Ward renting for over ¥500000 a month by offering two things. 1. Several months of rent per-paid, and 2. A fixed-term lease for the first six months. There is no guarantee that the lease will be renewed but both the tenant and realtor must accept some risks.
Is she working? that can be difficult. but not impossible. they might ask for a guarantor. her family if they agree can sign as your guarantor. problem you’ll have to ask for that every 2 years. Look for a corporate managed apartment especially plus if they are also a real estate. those better at dealing with foreigners and they may have a guarantor company which may still ask for an individual guarantor due to your income.
> incorporate as a Kojinjugyunushi (which we need to do before my paid work starts anyway) in my wifes name rather than mine.
Kojinjigyou is unincorporated. There is absolutely no point in doing that. There are also restrictions on what you can pay to family members. It is not much.
Many places make you go through a guarantor company these days. I remember losing an apartment once to a guy who definitely made less income than I did but he worked for a famous company and I worked for a small gaishikei. He just seemed more stable. I agree with the other posters that unless you have proof of income for a reasonable amount of time (in Japan), a newly started kojin jigyo gaijin tenant is just pure risk to a landlord or a credit card company here. Obviously offering to put down a year of rent would be a strong negotiating point for many landlords!