Advice for long term residents of Japan

[Shouganai]

Anyone planning to stay in Japan long term or experiencing discrimination getting a long term lease might want to consider buying a foreclosed property here if you can afford it. You might think its expensive, but actually I bought a 5-bedroom dormitory for Y2.8mil, and my GF bought an investment house (3br, 12yo) for Y3.8mil. Mind dormitory is at Hanno (1hr from Ikebukuro, Tokyo), hers is 1.3hrs away. I prefer mine because its got better express train services, and Tokorazawa is intermediate.

The point of course is that - Why paid rent on properties when you could own one. If you are planning to stay in Japan for more than 3 years you should be looking to buy here - IF you don't need to live in the city centre, as that gets expensive. For example, my GF is earning 13% yield on her house, that's 30% yield if its an investment property, so you could pay off in 4 years. If you were renting, then you could own the house in 4 years...as opposed to paying rent. If you like Japan enough to want to spend 4 years, the chances are you will end up with a Japanese partner or sticking around. Why waste money. Search Google on 'Japan foreclosed property' - there are some useful resources available, even a 'how to' book.

English teachers get the best deal because they dont need to live in the city centre. There are so many properties up for sale, and they can be as cheap as Y1-2mil in the rural areas, though hard to resell I suspect.