My father is interested in buying property in Japan. What is involved in buying a house in Japan from the United States? What is involved (ie.. taxes, fees, ect) in owning property in Japan? My father does not plan to go to Japan, would this be an issue? Where can I get some idea of what a home would cost in Japan?

AlbertSiegel wrote:My father is interested in buying property in Japan. What is involved in buying a house in Japan from the United States? What is involved (ie.. taxes, fees, ect) in owning property in Japan? My father does not plan to go to Japan, would this be an issue? Where can I get some idea of what a home would cost in Japan?

I bought a cottage last year. It was reasonably easy because I did not need a bank loan to do it.

Title transfer is a PITA and you basically are not able to do it yourself. You have to pay someone else to take care of the documents and file them with the appropriate office. Generally they charge a fraction of a percent of the sale price for this service I think.

My understanding is that land deeds state clearly if there are outstanding loans etc against the property, so you do not need to worry too much about being blindsided by something after you buy.

As for taxes, it's much the same as one would expect, you have to pay based on the assessed value of the property and house. The first year you pay a purchase tax on the *assessed* value, not the purchase price. I bought under market value so this was higher than I expected it to be. (I paid 3%, but I guess this might vary by region.)

As for the value of land etc this will vary wildly from place to place.

All the paperwork will be in Japanese, so I am not sure if your father will be able to handle that by himself. I also had to have a hanko to buy, but a fingerprint stamp would probably work too.

You're probably best talking to a real estate lawyer or at least to a real estate agent who specializes in purchases for overseas buyers.