Hello, I’m a foreign student living in Japan and I’m looking for an apartment. I tried googling for answers but nothing came up on the service.
https://wagaya-japan.com/en/
Everything looks good on the website to my eyes, but I’ve only been in Japan for 2 weeks! and I’ve never lived on my own. Is anyone familiar with the service and if its legit?
My impression is they’ll help me find an apartment online for free and help me contact the owners and help me through the process hopefully for no extra cost on my end?
3 comments
Yeah
If a company is offering to find you an apartment but not charging you for that service, then they are only showing you those apartments and houses that pay them a commission. Usually the good places do not pay a commission so the real estate agent will charge you for their services when helping you apply for such a good place.
When owners or landlords are desperate and cannot find a tenant, then reach out to companies with an English webpage to find a foreign tenant. The property is probably in a less desirable location, or has few windows, or is damp and old, or near a railway. Or it is a very overpriced but brand new
apartment, and the owner wants to set a high rent precedent for the value of their apartments. Those are the properties that offer commission so that you won’t have to be charged.
I don’t know anything about Wagaya, but any kind of service catering to foreigners usually means you pay well over market price for worse quality
A quick glance at apartments in Meguro (I lived there so I understand the prices), everything is about 20% higher than market
130,000 for a 1R, 20 sqm in Jiyuugaoka? Please
135,000 for 22 sqm in Daikanyama
280,000 for 40 sqm, 10 minute walk from station in Nakameguro? The walls better be painted with gold