Timeline

<aside> 💡 This assumes that you’ve already identified the akiya you’d like to purchase and are in contact with the owner / real estate agent representing the property. We highly recommend that you spend some time in the area. Whether or not it be through renting a place or (even better), though a mutual connection in the area, this will help you get acquainted with the local community, and gain more familiarity with rural Japan living before making the decision to purchase a home.

While homes are cheap, rural Japan living isn’t for everyone. We’ll create a list of things for why NOT to live in rural Japan so you’re aware of the difficulties as well. Be sure to help the abandoned home problem by being a proper steward of the house - and not contribute to it further!

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1. Submit Letter of Intent (買付証明書, kaitsuke shoumeisho)

   1. Property is now “held” by you until either you or the owner decides to back out
   2. If a property is being shown to a potential buyer, its almost always not available to any other interested party until the that’s already scoping it has turned it down.
   3. This is actually a tactic to use in buying property. Even if you’re not yet sure you want it but are leaning towards yes, get a meeting about your interest scheduled because then no one else can come in on it.

2. Negotiation + agreement on price

   1. A couple things you can do to decrease the price, like having an all cash sale or keeping all the objects in the house (and doing all of the cleaning yourself — this is oftentimes the move since sometimes there’s cool artifacts and other things that the owner leaves)

3. Submit formal purchase application form

   1. Written notice to the owner / real estate agent, oftentimes requires a signature
      1. This will include the offer price, payment method, contract date, etc
   2. Review real estate contracts from owner or agent
   3. Application to farmland conversion to the Agricultural Committee
   4. Legal Affairs Bureau confirmation of documents

   Farmland Conversion Documents

4. Prepare additional documents

   1. Affidavit
      1. With translation if necessary
   2. Identification Documents
      1. Driver’s License
      2. Passport
   3. Address certificate
   4. Seal certificate
   5. Signature certificate
   6. Seal (印鑑, inkan - both personal and corporate if you are purchasing on behalf of an organization)
   7. Power of attorney with signature certificate
   8. Registration proof information with signature certificate
   9. Information from your inspection report, for example, regarding pests

5. Real estate contract initiated

   1. Both land + house contracts
   2. Meeting with the owner (sometimes they actually prefer not to meet before the contract is signed)
   3. Pay the deposit/Earnest Money (手付金, tetsukekin - usually 10% of purchase price)
   4. After this step, there will usually be a penalty fee paid if either you or the owner backs out)
   5. If purchasing as a company, need a registration certificate
   6. Confirm value of stamp duty
   7. Review the Explanation of Important Matters 重要事項説明書, juuyoujikou setsumeisho. As the legal disclosure document prepared by the seller’s agent, it is supposed to contain all of the information any buyer would need to make an informed purchase decision, for instance:
      • Any existing mortgages registered on the property
      • Other liens or encumbrances
      • Boundary disputes with neighbours
      • Broken items
      • Management fee

6. Final sale

   1. Make sure to bring gifts for the owners and whoever else was helpful (ie the judicial scrivener or real estate agents) as a token of appreciation for their assistance in this process!
      1. During the final purchase process, michelle ended up writing handwritten letters, making a handmade crochet gift, and some quality chocolates / snacks for the participants

General Observations

• vast majority of akiyas are not listed on the market
  • this is for a variety of reasons, top 3:
    • there’s still stuff in the house, and cleaning / taking the stuff out takes a lot of time
      • sometimes there are precious and sensitive objects, like shrines for deceased relatives in the home as well
    • they don’t want to have new owners / people living in the house disturb their hometown neighbors
    • no one knows the owners (either deceased, or fully moved out to urban centers)
• purchasing a home can occur in a variety of ways: there are people in our community who have purchased homes through handshake agreements with the original owner
  • from one of our community members: “we found our place on an Akiya banks website, where there was an artistic map of where it was. We didn't go through the Akiya bank, and found it by chance when driving around. Got out to check it out in person and my wife walked into an old guy who was like wtf is happening. When we told him that we were interested in the place he said he knew the owner (they are friends) and called him up. An hour later we were sat inside the house talking about it. then when speaking to him we said we could pay a small % now and then so much over a year and a half. he said ok, he gave us the keys like the next week before we even moved in”
• land transaction is different from house transaction
  • usually, you’ll have to apply to the agricultural department of whatever town you’re in to approve the transfer, especially as it comes to farmland
• many documents required for purchase are oftentimes specific to Japan (ie seal certificate, address certificate, etc.)
  • additionally, if you are not a japanese citizen, you may have to make an appointment at your embassy, or obtain a notarization under your country’s law
    • for the US embassy, appointments were often booked out 1-2 months in advance, so make sure you schedule your visit ahead of time

[PDF] How to Buy a House in Japan — Guide Notes

Purchasing as a Foreigner

City Hall Grants