An Introduction

In any country, city or region, "real estate" mirrors  the cultural background, social context and economical situations. Thus making it interesting for bystanders but painful to the concerned. In this article,  I would like to introduce the enjoyable way to acquire and/or renovate your home(s) in the greater Tokyo area.

My intention is to briefly go through  the market status and technical terms, and concentrate more on random pieces of trivia and details, aiming towards a better understanding of the "weird" aspects of the Japanese Housing customs and regulations.

I will be focusing mainly on pre-owned homes and renovated homes, which has only gained positive recognition  in recent years.

Advantages of pre-owned homes include: "more reasonable than new houses", "wider range of property options", "smaller loss of asset value (compared to new houses)". The disadvantage are old seismic standards, sometimes affecting loan interest rates.  The deterioration of mechanical/electrical services is also a concern, but this can be upgraded .

The acquisition  process of pre-owned houses involve various stages such as property purchase, design, construction, etc., and the flow of money is a little more complicated than newly built housings, which simply is a "buy and go" process. However, in recent years, one-stop services that provide comprehensive support from property search to design and construction, have become common practice, providing not only simplicity, but an enjoyable experience.

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Next issue to come 2024 October 25