Foreign homeowner’s advice

By on April 29, 2010

Photo © Elena Derevstova

 

Foreign homeowner’s advice

Father of 3, homeowner of a detached house in Tokyo. 

 

What is your overall advice in choosing the lot to build a house?

Although foreigners will want to live in west and southwest Tokyo, there are more attractive deals in the east and northeastern districts unexplored where, by comparison, prices of commodities  are far cheaper, private Japanese schools are affordable, there are good public facilities, and it is a decent and quiet neighborhood.  The ’80s and 90s saw a boom in housing outside Metropolitan Tokyo like Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba, but due to the economic slowdown, the price of land and condos experienced a dramatic slump, making it more affordable than ever.  My key consideration in building a house in east Tokyo was pretty much the price of land, accessibility to schools and place of work.

 

What was your experience like in looking for architects, building contractors, estimates, etc?

You will be swamped with offers of lots for sale and architectural options to building contractors as you signal an interest to buy.  I found it safer to deal with housing developers such as Daikyo and other reputable companies, assured that they will not inflate profits and commissions because they do bulk business.  Smaller companies tend to be more profit-driven.  I tried to negotiate for value-added terms and I was successful.

 

How was your experience in obtaining a loan from the bank?

As a customary rule for banks to demand not just one but two guarantors, understandably due to the inevitable lending risks of high value properties, I’ve had my share of difficulty.  The good news is there are insurance companies  providing guarantee services for a fee.  It’s not very expensive but rates vary according to the total price of the real estate property.  I decided to engage the services of one and the deal went through.  In the long run, there is an advantage to using professional services instead of asking a close friend.

 

How was your overall experience in building a house?

I did not had any major problems, even with miscommunication.  I was pretty much hands-on with the job I asked my contractors to do so I visited the site almost every day when it was being built.   Building a house requires attention to detail and asking questions when something does not look right.  Rule #1:  It is of utmost importance that you pay attention to how a foundation is made, keeping a constant eye on how much cement was actually used in it.  I’ve heard enough stories on how some would save on cement and omit steel frames in the foundation.  A savvy homeowner will want to know each and every column of the house layout and ensure that what should be there is actually implemented.  You may want to bring in an independent professional architect to do the job for you,  keeping in mind that the resilience of your property in an earthquake-prone country such as Japan is important to your family’s security.

 

Any further comment, buyer’s remorse, satisfaction to tell us?

I’m very much satisfied with my house and the decision I made.  The only regret that I have is having realized that it costs a lot more time and money to maintain a house than keeping a condominium.  With a detached house, however, you enjoy the isolation and a little freedom to make occasional TV noise yet not annoy the neighbours.

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