It's been about a month now that I've been living in my very own apartment in Japan, and I'd like to check in to tell you how the experience has been thus far.
First off, the good news is: the search process here is far more structured than what I'm used to in the States. I've lived in a lot of places in the US (admittedly most of them shared with others), and I've never experienced a process like this.
The Searching Process
Craigslist does exist here, but it's by no means as popular. Even share houses (living spaces you share with others) don't appear here so much (Gaijin Pot, for example, is a better resource for this). For the most part, you go into a real estate agency. They'll have ads posted outside with prices, floor plans, photos, etc. for many of their available units, so you can already shop a bit without having to go in. First off, every apartment advertisement you'll see anywhere has a floor plan with measurements. Amazing. Very helpful and makes it a lot easier to compare. Most other pertinent information tends to be standard, like what year the building was built, how many minutes to the nearest bus or train station, what amenities/utilities are included, what fees there are, etc.
Side note for women here: though many of us from the Western hemisphere tend to balk at Japan's distinct differences from our own places of origin in regards to gender equality, one advantage in Japan's favor is that they have buildings just for women (this will be stated in the ad), and it's also perfectly acceptable to ask the real estate agent/whomever if men/women are living in the building if that makes you feel more comfortable.Fees
Japan has a ton of fees we just don't have anything like in the States. There are "key fees," fees I imagine are to change the locks after a tenant leaves, fees for the management staff, for keeping the building clean, for fire inspection, for insurance, for moving out before a certain amount of time has elapsed, and some just have no explanation. The pro tip here is to read the entire ad very carefully and always do the math when you're in your search. Some places will appear so cheap, but once you add it all up, they can be much more expensive than the places you thought you could do better than. Of course, agents are very helpful in this way.
What happens when you enter a real estate office?
Once inside the real estate office, an agent will sit down with you and you get hot tea, usually. I went to three or four different companies, and they were all like this. They'll ask you a variety of standard questions like your preferred price range, neighborhoods, etc., and then bring out a few or several information sheets on apartments they have available to see what you think. Directly from this information session, usually (or else they'll schedule you for another time), the agent will take you out in the company car to each place, where they'll show you around.
Foreigners as tenants: will you be rejected?
If they don't take the initiative, please make sure that they ask landlords if it's okay for a foreigner to be a tenant. I don't know how things are in Tokyo or other places where there are many more foreigners than here in Osaka (particularly compared to my city within the prefecture), but many landlords simply do not want foreigners to stay in their building. I'll take a brief break from concrete information here to provide an opinion. Perhaps, coming from a country like the US, where there are foreigners all around us and many of us don't have to trace too far back to get to when our families came to the country, it's easy to write this off as discrimination. And don't get me wrong, it is discrimination! But gosh, the cultural history is quite different here, and for now, I believe we just need to accept it for what it is. There are so many different cultural practices in Japan that I can see where Japanese landlords may have gotten burned in the past--for instance, people wearing shoes in the apartments, and the language barrier must make things so difficult. I am sure that when foreigners first started coming to live here, there were so many unspoken practices that seem so obvious a Japanese landlord may never have thought to tell their tenant, since it seems like common sense. So I choose not to feel offended by this denial. Change starts small, so I'll be the best tenant I can be, and change will gradually occur along with others doing the same. Now back to the real estate office.
Visiting apartments with the agent
Be upfront with them about questions and don't be afraid to ask. "Is it loud here?" for instance. And also be upfront if you don't like a place or something about it. There is a whole "politeness" culture here, but being direct helps not to waste anyone's time, it helps them to get to know what you like, and there's a possibility that they can address or fix what you have an issue with. This might just be Osaka, but we were also able to reduce the price of my apartment by talking to the agent (my host mom came with me to see apartments).
How's the quality of service?
The service is just incredible. Maybe it's because I was only looking at cheap places, but I found that the agents from the agencies I didn't end up going with didn't hound me. Refreshing. And yet, even though I was only looking at cheap places, I found that they were pretty attentive to me.
So let's say you've narrowed it down to one apartment you want.
Here's what you need
In many or most cases, I found that I needed my own Japanese phone number, though I imagine they would have accepted a close friend or host mother, someone with whom you're in frequent contact. With some companies, you need a Japanese bank account. The other thing real estate agencies often need is a guarantor. Depending on the company and the landlord or management company, you may not need a guarantor. I don't need one for mine. It will often say on the apartment ad. Please keep in mind that Japan is quite strict on this--if I'd needed a guarantor, my school would have signed for me, but if I had continued to live in Japan beyond finishing my classes, I would have needed to find another guarantor from that time. There was also discussion during my search of the fact that there are two types of guarantors. There's the one, like my school, who will sign for me, but it's basically just a signature--if something goes wrong and the landlord calls my school, they'd probably go, "Morgan who?" The other guarantor is the one who will pay for your ass if you screw something up, and is of course the more desirable option. Which one is accepted depends on the situation.
Once you decide on a place
I ended up using Century 21, which is pretty funny because I think it's an American company. After settling on a place, the agent will make some phone calls to make sure everything was in order--there is fire safety inspection, for instance--and then let you know when they have the go-ahead. I went into the office twice for paperwork. One day, I signed a bunch of things (be ready for paperwork. You may be asked for your hanko, a personalized stamp that acts as your signature here, but I was able to just sign--please ask if you'll need one before you begin the process), he made phone calls to set up my electricity and water to be ready when I moved in and made an appointment with the gas company to come in a convenient time for me on move-in day. A couple days later, I went in and paid the fee in cash (they do have some change, but exact change is better), and I received the key. That was it! I later received the finalized copy of the lease, which he had the management company, etc. sign, as well, in the mail. The agent is there to help you if you have any questions, of course; they are definitely sympathetic to foreigners not having any idea what the hell is going on.
Do not be afraid to ask questions to the agent, to your landlord, or to your management company. As I said above, a lot of things are simply common sense to the Japanese so you won't know until you ask. For instance, when I paid my first month's rent, no one explained to me what to do. I was given an account number, the name of the bank, and a location in unclear handwriting. I thought I'd be able to pay it at a convenience store like I paid my utilities. After hurriedly texting with my (Japanese) friend on the last day of the month (a Sunday no less) I found out that the bank is actually related to the post office, so I can pay it at the post office (which was closed) or at one of their ATMs. She searched to find where one is, but once we tried depositing the cash, it turns out I needed an account with them. No one thought to explain any of this to me! Don't let it make you feel alienated.
How to search for apartments
I recommend just Googling (in Japanese) "[name of city/neighborhood/area/landmark you want to live in] mansion," and browsing what comes up. Do know that multiple real estate agencies will be advertising the same apartment so they will be in competition for you. When you find someone you like, stick with them and don't let yourself be poached. I also recommend against submitting too many applications at one time for this reason--you will get overloaded.
I noted at the start of this post that I wrote it almost a month ago. In the next post, safety concerns when living alone in Japan!
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