Should YOU rent or buy your home in Japan?

Deciding to rent or buy a home in Japan can be tricky. It mostly comes down to one factor.

In this video we go through the pros and cons of renting and buying, and explain who should consider buying a home in Japan.
___________________________________________________

00:00 - Should you buy or rent your home in Japan?
00:15 - Buildings depreciate in Japan
00:46 - Buying a home is not a financial decision
01:26 - Pros and cons of renting in Japan
03:23 - Pros and cons of buying in Japan
07:00 - How to decide to buy or rent in Japan
07:47 - My experience buying a home
08:27 - How about you?

Gear:

#Japan #investing #personalfinance #FIRE #retirement #lifeinjapan #investinginJapa #mutualfunds #buyorrent #buyahomeinjapan #rentingvsbuying #rentahomeinjapan

[lnfinitesimaI]

Lots of good points.
I built a home in Japan and don't regret it. While the house itself loses value, good property definitely has resell value in many parts of the country. But the biggest advantage is better QoL, not finances. Fully insulated, heated flooring, higher ceilings, solar panels (with energy prices the last few years, especially glad I have them) and being able to freely renovate both interior and exterior, as well as not having to worry about noise issues below, above or next to us. From a financial perspective, fully owning your own place seems much better once you are a pensioner/retired and on a fixed income as you have more control over costs.

[frass-vdgl]

Would love a video talking about the taxes and fees /annual taxes fees that needs to be paid with owning a house

[Yuji_in_Azumino]

Great video, thanks Ben. Just wanted to mention that if you have pets and want to rent, it can be challenging. Specifically for dog owners - if you're looking to rent an apartment/mansion, they may allow you to have a small dog (under 10Kg). If you have a "big" dog (big dog in Japan would be considered a medium size dog in North America), over 10Kg, then you'll probably have to find a house. And even with a house, most rentals will only allow the dog to stay outside.

[abiesca]

This English help guide rare and even the Japanese guide doesn’t explain the Mortgage change if I decide to rent the place! thanks alot!!😊

[ovwryur]

If you had 3 psychotic neighbours, unusually bad luck, but I feel like you should tell us the addresses so we don't buy your former homes which are no doubt deeply discounted.

[omargarcia]

Thank you for your insight, it was very helpful

[RussellJLed]

Lots of great information on your channel as well as in the comments section. I’m American, my wife’s Japanese, and we’re considering moving to Japan after I retire. My wife is about 10 years younger and will keep working a while. I’ve always preferred buying a home instead of renting in America. On the fence about buying or renting in Japan given the differences there. So this gives me food for thought.

[shizuokaBLUES]

Another considerable cost in buying a house is the cost of renovation and maintenance that is often “built in” with system kitchens and system bathrooms. Our house was six years old when we bought and had already depreciated 50%, however now—15 years after our purchase—we have to spend 4.5 million to 5 million yen on the system bathroom (can’t just repair a few things —the entire unit MUST be replaced) and the paint on the house.

But we will never see that money back because by the time we try to sell—if we can sell—the house will be worth nearly nothing.

In my opinion this is a ridiculous situation.

[doghouse]

I'm curious what happens if you buy a mansion in a building, and then that building gets sold to be demolished? Does the developer approach every individual owner and then about what percent of the original or current value does each owner recover?

[jonathanpretre]

I bought an apartment in japan, and for me it is the best of the two world. You can save up the rent and the depreciation is not so fast like a house. If you are planing to stay few years in japan but not all your life, buy an apartment can be a good choice. And buy an new apartment is better as well because you save up some tax and some fee.

[Heizekel]

I think another advantage of renting is that especially if you have kids, you can adapt the size of your housing when they leave. However it is very hard to rent when you reach 65-70 years old, most landlord will fear you could die in the rented property which would make it almost impossible to rent again.

[igoralex]

Am 65, currently rent is covered by company, planning to take over the rent next year when retire. Landlord might not accept, offered them to buy, since like the place, but ownership is in multiple persons. In short, after 65 in Japan without owning the place is a worry. Although I heard if I have enough means, I can secure the guarantor, all then comes to landlord willingness … great video!

[doktorcito]

Thanks for the video!
I would add that it also depends on the location. Some popular places in Tokyo are overpriced in my opinion. So renting in those areas would be a good option and use that money for something else like investing.

[victoriaoyama]

Thanks for posting this.
Lots of pros and cons for both situations.
We own our house but we don't own the land, which is a situation peculiar to Japan I suppose.
In our case, our landlord is a fantastic family, (we have known them for more than 40 years) so we are very lucky.
My daughter and son-in-law did a major renovation on the main house when they decided to come back and live here, when my daughter wanted to go back to full-time work after time off for having two children. I now live in the hanare, a separate building. So for me, this is a good situation although there are pros and cons. All in all, I enjoy living with the grandchildren and helping out when I can, which is actually quite a lot. And we can also have a large dog without any issues. Luckily we didn't have any major damage in the 2011 earthquake.

[danieldroukis]

My wife wanted to live in her hometown. We rented for years but finally bought a condo in 1995. I thought it would be good protection for my wife if something happened to me. I paid it off early because I didn't want to be paying when I was retired. Only thing I didn't plan for is my wife passing away earlier this year. I have added earthquake insurance recently.

[Hiking-guide-and-scenery]

Also thinking about buying vs renting. One thing that is bothering me for buying an apartment in a condominium when looking around prices is the "kanri fee" and "repair provision fee". These together can sometimes be like half the rent fee you would pay or ask for the place... It is like renting your own apart for half the fee... Houses do not have this problem... But some day a big repair might show up...

[studiotosu]

11 years lives at apartment - Not a single yen rent have been increased. Except some personal repair. Two parking lot with 2LDK less than 50, 000yen near FUKUOKA. Can you imagine? Though, i can able to buy house but still feel comfortable with renting.

[birdman]

Earthquakes are a big reason for me not to buy. In most countries the only thing that might cause catastrophic damaget is a fire. And they're also a lot more prevalent here, due to all the wood, tatami, fusuma, kerosene stoves, etc.

A friend of mine had to sell his house in a hurry and go back home. He'd had it built only three years before, and got back about a third of what he'd paid for it. That's also stayed with me as a good reason not to buy in Japan.

[JJ-zgtf]

Great video as always! Currently in process for buying apartment in Fukuoka after renting for 7 years. Apart from the mandatory fire insurance, are you using/recommending other house insurances?

[inquisitvem]

So I see vids that houses built from 1981 are under earthquake #5, but it’s best to be under earthquake #6 and #7. How much would it cost if you renovate a home that you just purchased?