From lease to keys: Buying your apartment in Japan

After you’ve lived in Japan for a long time, you will eventually start thinking about looking to buy a house or apartment. After all, it gives you something with value and allows you to finally make those renovations that you wanted.

While jumping into purchasing may seem spontaneous and, dare I say, romantic, there are a number of things that people new to the market should be aware of.

No Residency Permit No Residence

Loans that are unfortunately only available to permanent residents or naturalized immigrants. Image: PIXTA/R-DESIGN

The first problem foreign property buyers will encounter is the residency status problem. In theory, even people on holiday visas can purchase property with the right paperwork, but the reality is that unless you are very well-off financially, you will have to take out a loan. Loans that are unfortunately only available to permanent residents or naturalized immigrants.

Another option if you are married or living with a partner, is to let your significant other take on the full loan. Although asking your beau to take on the burden may not seem like a bad choice, it has a few drawbacks for tax purposes.

When the tax collector comes calling, the person on the loan can claim a special tax reimbursement called a jutaku ron kojo, or mortgage deduction, which will help to ease the pain of koteishisanzei, Japanese property taxes.

Maintenance Costs

Be wary of maintenance costs, especially for older buildings. Image: iStock/ maroke

One of the strange things about purchasing property in Japan is that Japanese people seem terrified of buying older places, even when they are being given away for free. As a Brit, I always wondered why this was, after all, many of the more desirable houses in the UK are the older ones. One of the reasons is maintenance costs, called ijihi, which increase whenever the apartment is old enough that a full reform is needed.

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• External Link
• https://gaijinpot.com/