Orient ties up with banks on service to help purchases of empty houses

@Wallace

This was what I was recalling. Only a couple of paragraphs are visible. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2017/10/01/how-tos/re-registering-property-lie-land/

Were you informed of the need to make such wall demolitions prior to purchase?

I found a nice lot near the Tone river with over 1000m2 of land for 6 million yen. It has an old house on it. Its not worth renovating. The realtor said that the wall surrounding the house needs to be torn down because it doesn't match the property line correctly. It will cost 2.4 million yen for the house and wall to be demolished. So, I was quite disappointed that 6 million yen is now 8.5 million yen. Oh, plus need to build a new wall eventually. Anyways, I don't have residency yet so I'm just dreaming as I can't get a loan and build a new house. Probably lots of nice lots will become available in the next few years.

Where where where? I would probably only consider a real house if it had a good view of the ocean and was near a surf break for visiting on the weekend and surfing. I think you can find such places in Chiba but then again you’re always gonna have the tsunami risk.

There is a beautiful empty house near me fairly new. There is also an older one in fair condition. And also a few in the forest, one is all right, one is a shack and the other an ancient ruin. And probably more I don't even know about. Its utter madness.

And its not the job of the bank and plus, there is only so much they can do. Legal reform is badly needed, but the politicians don't work for the people. They work for business interests, such as the real estate profiteers making bank off insanely inflated prices, and landlords who steal a third of people's incomes with excessive rent.

I wonder if the slave masters will regret it if and when they realize they have no more cows to milk because they made it impossible for people to raise families?

If it's empty its because, there's nothing left worth to do economically in that area.

there is one big empty house sitting for years just next to Tokyo TV in Akasaka, heart of Tokyo.

https://goo.gl/maps/EJPC6caDhjiEvRrd9

There is also one empty house sitting just in front of Kameari station, one of the major JR stations in east/north Tokyo.

https://goo.gl/maps/9nSAd2ru6gpkJrSm9

Big mistake. Orico is the most xenophobic credit company in Japan. This is only a scheme to keep foreigners out of the buyers market. Japanese don’t like used anything. Foreigners see value in these properties and are buying them up scaring the hell out of the Japanese government.

Orico will probably buy them up, inflate the prices then give Japanese people loans on these sub par properties.

All I hear about are rural train and bus lines closing, schools closing and I assume hospitals will be consolidating. It is a tough sell except for a small market of persons wanting to live in isolation. Also when I lived in a small community in Oita for a year it can be suffocating socially and don’t expect them to change long-standing habits for you such as shotgun blasts at 4 am to scare away crows. May be better to start new communities for families with affordable housing in places like Shonan area near Yokohama.

This is a real good initiative.

If it gets hundreds of thousands or millions of citizens out of Tokyo and into rural and regional areas that are becoming ghost towns, the standard of living will be better for all. Win-win. (Of course there are many old empty houses that are only good for demolition).

Life for so many in tiny city apartments is awful and claustrophobic.

> The average price of Hyogo Kobe-Shi Land, in 2023 was 215,522 JPY/sq.m. The market value represents an increase of 22,235 JPY (+11.5%) compared to 1 year ago and a transition to a bull market.

¥ 1 billion land would be 4651 sq meters. I doubt that personally.

Where I live is not the ‘average place’

SAME#

Traditionally in Japan, inheritance always went to the eldest son—the one burdened with taking care of elderly parents until their deaths. However, since the end of the war, very specific laws have been implemented which dictate how, in the absence of Will, an estate should be distributed.

You are correct.

"Concerning the spouse who survives the decedent, there is a specific distribution of inheritance. When there are children, they will receive ½ of the inheritance while the spouse receives the other ½. When there are no children but the decedent has surviving parents, the spouse will receive ⅔ of the inheritance while the parents receive ⅓. Lastly, if the decedent has no children or parents surviving but has siblings, then the spouse will receive ¾ of the inheritance while the siblings receive the remaining ¼. "

https://englishlawyersjapan.com/how-is-inheritance-divided-between-co-heirs-in-japan/

Wallace

No. If there is no will then the estate goes to the eldest male. Usually, if there is a will the estate is divided someway between the heirs.

That is not correct. It is divided equally between all children (or grandchildren if children are dead) and if their is a living spouse, the living spouse gets half and children get the other half divided equally between them.

Foreigners are buying them for holiday homes or AirBnB.

kurisupisu

The land price is something ridiculous and will be bought for around a billion yen and developed into multiple housing units

The average price of Hyogo Kobe-Shi Land, in 2023 was 215,522 JPY/sq.m. The market value represents an increase of 22,235 JPY (+11.5%) compared to 1 year ago and a transition to a bull market.

¥ 1 billion land would be 4651 sq meters. I doubt that personally.

I would love to hear that Chinese banks are doing the same. There is only about 2+million empty homes in China due to the property collapse. But Chinese banks cannot do the same because most of them are going bust too.

Living in a high demand suburb, close to train lines and in a quiet traffic free road, you’d think that there would be 100% home occupancy.

Sadly the answer is no.

There are several houses in a 1-2 minute walk of me.Next door a large Showa era house with garage is empty and has been for several years

The house demolition will be around 2-3 million

Sometimes the problem with the heir, even they inherit some lands in high demand suburb, there many things they need to handle and those things needs cash, that if their heir willing to accept inheritance in the first place.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/07/10/national/inheritance-abandoned-houses/

I think you are only half correct there.

There is a subtle but important difference between asking "Why do people leave houses?" and "Why are houses left empty?"

its true that there are many different reasons why people up and leave houses (the first question) as you cite. But that doesn't explain why those houses are left empty (the second). In most other countries when people die and their heirs don't want their house there is usually a market for the property so they can simply sell it and someone else moves in, so properties are rarely left abandoned.

Exactly, compared that to people who inherit a set of land in Kanto area which includes house with decent garden, not necessarily Tokyo. It's easy to just sell it, just wait several weeks to get buyer with good price. Some of them even can be easily convert to decent apartment for single salaryman that willing to commute.

Compared that land in rural area which includes house and field, acres of it, in the middle of nowhere, the only good things can be done is for farmland purpose. With declining population that struck rural area, less and less people willing to take over farmland. Less farmers that means less demand for farmland.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/07/30/national/japans-farming-population-falls-below-2-million-for-first-time-survey/

Living in a high demand suburb, close to train lines and in a quiet traffic free road, you’d think that there would be 100% home occupancy.

Sadly the answer is no.

There are several houses in a 1-2 minute walk of me.Next door a large Showa era house with garage is empty and has been for several years

The house demolition will be around 2-3 million

The land price is something ridiculous and will be bought for around a billion yen and developed into multiple housing units

Meanwhile all those empty houses just fester and rot…

Aye yo guys you have to understand it's a deep INAKA and there is nothing around. If you work remotely and want to isolate from others then it's fine, but don't count on well paid job there. Unless you work for the government.

Exactly, even closest shops that rural could have, combinis, home center and supermarkets it can takes almost an hour to drive, it won't just straight and smooth road. Need to consider medical center, doctor, dentist, hospital etc.

Need ambulance? How long does it take for emergency service to arrive to those remote location

All of that assuming that those people who willing to buy and stay there, survive living without night live, izakaya and restaurant. Also assuming that they don't have children to go to school at all and their spouse agree to live that kind of lifestyle.

Not exactly correct. There are many reasons why there are many empty houses. The parents were moved to a senior home after the kids moved away and the upkeep of the house was too much, the parents died, no children/family to leave the house to and most recently during corona, many people lost their jobs which made it hard for mone co come in to continue making payments for the houses. A new family 3 houses away from me moved into a brand new built house in late 2021. I heard the husband's company went under, so he was out of a job. They had 2 kids younger than 4 years. They moved out.

I think you are only half correct there.

There is a subtle but important difference between asking "Why do people leave houses?" and "Why are houses left empty?"

its true that there are many different reasons why people up and leave houses (the first question) as you cite. But that doesn't explain why those houses are left empty (the second). In most other countries when people die and their heirs don't want their house there is usually a market for the property so they can simply sell it and someone else moves in, so properties are rarely left abandoned.

In Japan a variety of factors (its demographic decline, the hollowing out of the countryside, the way the property market depreciates the value of homes, etc) mean that for a lot of these houses there is no market for them, or at least not enough of a market to make it economically worthwhile for heirs to step in and try to sell the house. So when older people, particularly those living in rural locations that younger generations have basically fled from, die their homes tend to get abandoned here at much higher rates than in countries whose property markets don't have the same problems Japan's does.

There are lots of akiya (empty, not necessarily "abandoned" houses), which are empty for various reasons.

It is already possible to get a renovation loan in Japan, so perhaps this credit product is not as revolutionary as it the promotional blurb on it may suggest. Due to "free houses in Japan!" type clickbait reporting, akiya have gained a lot of attention overseas, but this does not mean you can just rock up to Japan and buy a free house and get a low interest loan to do it up from Orico. The bods will Orico will still want you to be stably employed in Japan itself, and may well sit on your application for weeks before giving you the inevitable "sorry, no gaijin just off the plane" verdict.

The problem is that most of these houses are uninsulated shacks that aren’t worth trying to fix up. The value is the land, but the house needs to be demolished and a new one built. There is the odd 120+ year old post and beam farmhouse with the irori hearth in the middle, and those are certainly worth renovating, but they are few and far in between.

According to government data, there were 3.49 million empty houses nationwide with no plans for their use as of 2018. The number is projected to rise to 4.7 million in 2030 if no measures are taken.

That is completely inaccurate.

I googled number of Akiya in Japan and here is what I got:

According to official statistics, there are about 8.5 million abandoned homes – known as akiya – in Japan, but estimates suggest the true number could be closer to 11 million.Jul 14, 2023

borscht

Aside from all of the above, when the grandparents die off all the children inherit the house.

> If the children die off all the grandchildren inherit it. In order to rent, renovate, or sell the property, all the grandchildren have to agree. If one objects, nothing can be done. So the house sits empty.

> Secondly, who wants to go into debt to a loan shark to finance a 50-year loan?

No. If there is no will then the estate goes to the eldest male. Usually, if there is a will the estate is divided someway between the heirs.

You don't need a 50-year loan. Good properties can be found for ¥3-¥10 million. People pay cash.

GBR48

Most of your comment is not correct. You can visit the local authority office in the area of the house which you want to buy. For a small fee, you can obtain printed details of the property and ownership. The address of the owner is supplied. Then you can contact the owner. I have done this many times.

I know one foreign couple who enquired about a house and the owner was happy to give it to them for free and to be rid of it.

I recall reading that many of these properties have unknown owners or multiple owners, each owning a share in them, through inheritance, and there being no central land registry for them. So it is difficult to get permission to do anything with them. Not sure if that is correct or not. The JP property industry seems to differ from many. The value seems to be in the land, with often poor quality buildings intended to last short periods being built on them, depreciating rapidly and becoming liabilities rather than remaining assets. Maybe the expectation that the quakes and the weather will take their toll on anything causes this. The biggest problem may be depopulation and the decline of services and employment that comes with it.

It's odd. The Jgov wants people to move to less urban areas. In the UK, the government are spending serious money trying to get people to move into town and city centres. ie, below.

Manchester city centre plan for 4,800 new homes approved. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-66670414

Aside from all of the above, when the grandparents die off all the children inherit the house.

If the children die off all the grandchildren inherit it. In order to rent, renovate, or sell the property, all the grandchildren have to agree. If one objects, nothing can be done. So the house sits empty.

Secondly, who wants to go into debt to a loan shark to finance a 50-year loan?

Foreigners are buying up empty properties.

I know someone who recently bought an empty property. Not falling down. Stripped it right back to the basics and upgraded the reform to a high Western standard. They will have a house built to high standards with insulation, windows, etc. but costing less than buying a new home with lower standards.

If the buyer can do the work themselves then the reform price is lower. If using a contractor reforming a traditional house to good standards would be ¥20 million plus.

The problem with old homes is they are barley standing and will cost an arm and a leg to fix them, better just start fresh and build a new home for the same cost or even less!!?

I can understand banks being iffy on rural empty housing with almost zero prospects of recovering value, but there’s many in suburban areas too. I know it’s partly a cultural thing too about buying a new house as opposed to a used one but seems like a waste to just let them sit there and become disrepaired or hazards.

You would think the government would work in their own interest here and bite the bullet for clearing them after x number of years of disuse and make them I dunno, parks, purchasable land or public housing.

sakurasuk

If it's empty its because, there's nothing left worth to do economically in that area. The nearest shops can kilometers away. Just check the picture that being used used for this article, less people even know where exact location without really look up in google.

Not exactly correct. There are many reasons why there are many empty houses. The parents were moved to a senior home after the kids moved away and the upkeep of the house was too much, the parents died, no children/family to leave the house to and most recently during corona, many people lost their jobs which made it hard for mone co come in to continue making payments for the houses. A new family 3 houses away from me moved into a brand new built house in late 2021. I heard the husband's company went under, so he was out of a job. They had 2 kids younger than 4 years. They moved out.

If it's empty its because, there's nothing left worth to do economically in that area. The nearest shops can kilometers away. Just check the picture that being used used for this article, less people even know where exact location without really look up in google.