You can buy a normal house in Japan very easily now. I have been living in Japan for the past 16 years and finally I was able to get, actually build my own house.
The first obstacle is your resident status. In order to get a loan that big, you need to be a permanent resident. It took me about 13 years to get permanent resident status (PRS). Without it, you will not be able to get the loans you need to buy/build a house. The only other option if you did not have the PRS is if you have 100% of the cash/money to pay for the house all in one payment before you move in.
Actually, that is the only obstacle now. There was another obstacle but it disappeared a couple years ago with law changes, the shrinking housing market and the high prices of houses in Japan. Before, you had to have 10% of the total cost of the house as ';up front money'; also called ';atama kin'; in Japanese. At the time, my wife and I did not have that kind of money. But the laws changed, housing companies realized that their main market was young couples, so now, the rate of the up front money is much easier to handle. Now it depends on the company you buy from or build through. Our particular company did not require any up front money. That was a heaven sent.
I was able to get a loan, and the house went up in less than 4 months. It has been just over one year now in our new house, designed just like we wanted. Modern, and American style.
As for the lawn, YES, we do have a lawn, My kids bike around in it, I got a street b-ball hoop and we play basket ball together. The idea that Japanese homes don't have lawns is a myth. They don't have lawns only because they don't know the can have a lawn. Japanese homes that would be able to have a lawn fill it with bushes trees and a bunch of useless landscaping.
So in short, YES, to all your comments.
As for payments, the guy that said $2700/mo is crazy. He either got really suckered, or he was renting a place in a central location. For my new house, I am paying LESS than $1000/mo including utilities. Of course in Japan, after 5 years, the house itself will be worthless and only the land will be worth anything, but at least it will be my house on my land.
If you have any further questions, feel free to message me.Can a foreigner who's moving in Japan get an average Japanese house to live in?
Most Japanese live in houses very close together with no yards or in apartments. It's just because of the populations density there. The standard of living is really high.
When I lived in Japan I had an 800sq ft apartment with wall to wall carpeting in all rooms except one tatami bedroom, cable TV and Internet, dishwasher, washer, dryer, fridge, and gas stove but no oven.
That place cost me about $2,700 a month not including utilities, just the apartment. Trash was included in the rent but that was it.
My first place was a house. It cost me $800 a month. 2 bedroom, kitchen/dining room/living room, bath. It was up a hill and a ways from the station. Old and in the surrounded by woods. Not the best place to stay.
Recycling is required in Japan and it is made very easy. Ovens are really hard to come by in most houses.
Japanese bathrooms put American ones to shame. The toilet is in it's own room and the shower is a room to itself. It's great.
What kind of dwelling you will be able to live in is based on how much you can afford. I went for a 3 bedroom place so I could have an office, a bedroom, and a home gym.
A girl I was dating lived in the second floor of a 2 story house. It was only costing her about $400 a month. It was a clean place. One bed room, living/dining room, kitchen, and bath.
The closer to a train station the higher the cost and the prices get higher as the land gets more level. Live on top of a mountain with a 40 min walk to the train station and it'll be cheap as long as it's not a luxury house with a good view.
Yes, you can, as long as you have enough money and proper visa.
I'm living in Sydney in Australia. So far I've found the property in Japan (including Tokyo) is much cheaper than Sydney. And many Australian are buying houses for not only living but also investment purpose.
So I would say that selling houses to foreigners may not be special thing in Japan any more.
Maybe you need to define ';get.'; Do you mean ';buy'; or ';rent?';
I always heard that you needed a Japanese person to ';sponsor'; you (usually it is your employer) whenever you buy or rent anything. A sponsor is basically like a co-signer.
But as to what's available. . .I lived in two different apts during my stay in Japan. Both were very nice and new. The rent on the first one was about $675, it was a 2DK (one BR, one tatami room, one kitchen/dining area). The second place was what we Americans call a ';townhouse.'; Each person had their own front door and doorstep on ground level, you walk in and there's a genkan, bath, toilet, living/kitchen on the ground floor. Go up the stairs and there were 3 BRs upstairs. Each apartment also had a tiny fenced garden in back that was just gravel (but many people put potted plants back there). I think the total there was about $900-1000 including parking, trash removal, etc.
In addition to the actual rent are the extremely high costs of moving in. You could pay $2000-3000 up front to move in to a place. . .needless to say, the longer you stay in one apt the cheaper it works out.
This is not expensive for Japan, HOWEVER I lived in the countryside--which makes all the difference in the world! Live in Tokyo and you probably will live in a tiny place. There are some places that waive some of those fees up front, but they are probably not the nicest apts in the world. . . .
Your chances of living in a ';normal house'; have everything to do with where in Japan you live. Also it depends on your job. Some places provide you w a place to stay. Before accepting that kind of job you need to ask if they would allow you to find your own place. I think the right answer would be, ';Yes, you can find your own place, but it is complicated and very expensive. You may change your mind once you get here.'; I would be wary of an unequivocal ';no!';
Bottom line, go to a rental agent and see what their company has. Be picky. There are plenty of nice places to live if you are willing to pay for it.
Japan is the most expensive country in the world. There are plenty of modern houses, etc - they'll just be much more expensive than they would be in any other country.
I suppose it depends on what city you're thinking about, and where in the city you want to live. Just be prepared to get nothing for your money.
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