Thanks to all those people who have offered feedback on my eBooks. One recent buyer suggested he intended to build a house in Japan.
Actually I don't recommend this; though I strongly recommend refurbishing a place if you have the skills, time and/or courage. The reason for not building is that you are likely going to pay too much for services in a foreign country, and Japanese labour costs are already too high. The more critical reason though is that foreclosed properties are so cheap, and older (over 12 year old) houses are even cheaper, trading at substantial discounts to the market price. You will find properties (depending on how close you need to be from Tokyo or other cities) where you are essentially buying a property for substantially less than just the land value.
Take for instance one of the places I bought, which I have yet to fix up because I use it as a holiday house. It has an 18yo dormitory on it. The land value was around Y22,000/m2 last time I looked, but I got it for Y10,000/m2, and the 18yo 2-story dorm essentially free. I dare say all buyers were looking for a house. You will need to read the book to find out the other reasons why it was cheap. If I internalised the 2nd storey stairs, it would look like a house. This is indeed what a Japanese developer did with the 2nd dormitory behind. He beat me in the next bid for a 2nd dorm by $1,000. He converted his lower quality dorm into a holiday house for some old Japanese man living in Tokorazawa. The retiree wants to live in the city close to services and family, but he uses his holiday house as a weekender for the family. I wish I got there that often.
The other attraction of this property is that it lies outside the designed urban zone, yet the valley in which my place is located, is crammed full of houses. The implication is that the government will eventually rezone the area and add services. This will increase my land value of course significantly. New houses in the area are selling for as much as Y30mil - resort type. I paid Y2.8 million, and I probably have more land than them.
There is of course a trade off between buying a place that requires a lot of expenditure and effort, and buying a place for a discount that won't attract too many buyers, versus a place convenient for Japanese people. Japan is a great place for DIY refurbishments and repairs. I recommend buying near a Cainz Home branch. :)
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com
Actually I don't recommend this; though I strongly recommend refurbishing a place if you have the skills, time and/or courage. The reason for not building is that you are likely going to pay too much for services in a foreign country, and Japanese labour costs are already too high. The more critical reason though is that foreclosed properties are so cheap, and older (over 12 year old) houses are even cheaper, trading at substantial discounts to the market price. You will find properties (depending on how close you need to be from Tokyo or other cities) where you are essentially buying a property for substantially less than just the land value.
Take for instance one of the places I bought, which I have yet to fix up because I use it as a holiday house. It has an 18yo dormitory on it. The land value was around Y22,000/m2 last time I looked, but I got it for Y10,000/m2, and the 18yo 2-story dorm essentially free. I dare say all buyers were looking for a house. You will need to read the book to find out the other reasons why it was cheap. If I internalised the 2nd storey stairs, it would look like a house. This is indeed what a Japanese developer did with the 2nd dormitory behind. He beat me in the next bid for a 2nd dorm by $1,000. He converted his lower quality dorm into a holiday house for some old Japanese man living in Tokorazawa. The retiree wants to live in the city close to services and family, but he uses his holiday house as a weekender for the family. I wish I got there that often.
The other attraction of this property is that it lies outside the designed urban zone, yet the valley in which my place is located, is crammed full of houses. The implication is that the government will eventually rezone the area and add services. This will increase my land value of course significantly. New houses in the area are selling for as much as Y30mil - resort type. I paid Y2.8 million, and I probably have more land than them.
There is of course a trade off between buying a place that requires a lot of expenditure and effort, and buying a place for a discount that won't attract too many buyers, versus a place convenient for Japanese people. Japan is a great place for DIY refurbishments and repairs. I recommend buying near a Cainz Home branch. :)
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com
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