Buying/Building a house/Imported Houses

[Nobody]

A book I have here says, "to save on costs, build your house without a tatami space/room" regardless of the type of construction.
To cut costs, the book also suggest to use beautiful or average flooring in the LDK space and cheaper material in the other rooms (so your friends won't know you're on a budget:p )

Hope it helps.

[ttjereth]

A book I have here says, "to save on costs, build your house without a tatami space/room" regardless of the type of construction.
To cut costs, the book also suggest to use beautiful or average flooring in the LDK space and cheaper material in the other rooms (so your friends won't know you're on a budget:p )

Hope it helps.

We're going to have carpet in most of the common rooms so everything under that will be cheap but sturdy flooring, blemishes and such, no problem!

Good to hear about the skipping on tatami though, just wanted better confirmation since every answer I get from the actual builders on anything always begings "it depends..."

[amdg]

Don't ever let her go to one of their model houses then, because they are gorgeous. Wish I had 600,000 per tsubo to build one

Well, she already ordered the catalogue, so I'm already fucked. The spooky thing was, when it arrived, 2 minutes after we opened up the envelope we got a call from them thanking us for our interest.

[ttjereth]

Well, she already ordered the catalogue, so I'm already fucked. The spooky thing was, when it arrived, 2 minutes after we opened up the envelope we got a call from them thanking us for our interest.

That's not spooky, that's slow... some of these damn companies called us two minutes after sending the catalog request on their website...

Not a day goes by that I don't get at least one phone call asking me if I'd like to go to some event, or see a house being built somewhere, or better yet where some sales agent drops by unannounced and unwanted to talk with us about "what we want out of a house"....

But hey, if you can build with them, they are nice houses. Word is you can get them to throw in free yuka danbo (heated floors) without too much trouble if you build with them, so if the wife wins at least try to get as much as you can out of them

[ttjereth]

Just the latest on the home buying fiasco.

Our current plans have moved to a different prefecture, dropped 60 tsubos of land and 30 tsubos of floor space, but yet, somehow increased in price!

Anyway, although we unfortunately won't be able to use them (the piece of land we've ended up going with required us to use a specific contractor) just wanted to drop some information for other people here about the PMHI (http://www.pmhi.com/) company that Bucky posted about earlier in the thread.

I had these guys work up a plan and an estimate for me (all for free and with only vague information from me), and they have been really great.

The plan was for a 70 tsubo (2 floors, 35 tsubo each) floor space house without skimping on anything (it had 3 bedrooms, a half room worth of walk in closet, exercise room, office, study, big ass kitchen, 2 full Japanese style baths, etc. etc.) and for their entire kit (shipping to nearest port in Japan included) they only wanted $160,000 (that's pretty much everything for the house, only other costs would be foundation and shipping to the build site, and of course construction, which can often be the most expensive thing here in Japan, one guy quoted me 20,000,000 yen, or round about $200,000, just for construction of the 70 tsubo kit). So if you are interested in having an import house done I'd say they'd be a great place to go with (and way less expensive, not to mention more enjoyable to work with, than most of the Japan-based import housing companies I've dealt with).

[Bucky]

just wanted to drop some information for other people here about the PMHI (http://www.pmhi.com/) company that Bucky posted about earlier in the thread.

:p

Glad to be of help. We belong to the same building products association wth PMHI in the U.S. (http://www.ep.org).

[Bucky]

If you are near Tokyo you may want to go out the the Big Site and attend the ARCHITECTURE + CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS 2008 show -- March 4 to 7, 2008 at TOKYO BIG SIGHT
show. I understand that PMHI will be exhibiting there as well as many other foreign suppliers.


http://www.shopbiz.jp/top/index_AC_e.html?PID=0004&TCD=AC

[ttjereth]

:p

Glad to be of help. We belong to the same building products association wth PMHI in the U.S. (www.ep.org).

They seem like a really great company, and their prices are miles better than any of the local import housing places, I wish we could use them, but the only bloody piece of land we can find requires we use the construction company whose agent is selling it.

So, unless something spectacular turns up in the next week or so, we'll probably end up going with that plot...

[ttjereth]

If you are near Tokyo you may want to go out the the Big Site and attend the ARCHITECTURE + CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS 2008 show -- March 4 to 7, 2008 at TOKYO BIG SIGHT
show. I understand that PMHI will be exhibiting there as well as many other foreign suppliers.


http://www.shopbiz.jp/top/index_AC_e.html?PID=0004&TCD=AC

Thanks for the info, doubt I'll be able to make it in the next two days, but will see if I can sneak away for a few hours.

[dimwit]

The new house.

[james]

congratulations!

[dimwit]

yes we are thinking of keeping the porto-potty in case Greji decides to visit.

[Greji]

yes we are thinking of keeping the porto-potty in case Greji decides to visit.

Well, I got Depends, but I can't gaurantee the goats...

[Bucky]

The new house.

Not much need for a lawn mower to cut the back yard.

[dimwit]

Not much need for a lawn mower to cut the back yard.

Hey, that's where I'm going to pen the goats.

[ttjereth]

The new house.

Nice. How about some info, price, size, contractor and whether or not you were happy with them/had any problems.

[ttjereth]

We just signed the contract and paid out a 10man deposit for a chunk of land in the wonderful prefecture of Chiba.

We ended up going with a piece of land that was being sold by a contractor with the extra obligation that we have to use them to build the house.

80+ tsubo's of land, 9 minute walk from the train station (keisei honsen) roughly in the middle of Narita Airport and Tokyo. The land alone is a bit under 25,000,000yen, the contractor says they can build us a 2 story, 70 tsubo (35 tsubo each floor, huge kitchen+pantry and utility mudroom, 2 full bathrooms and toilets - 1 on each floor, 2 bedrooms/dayrooms for the parent's in law on the first floor, huge master bedroom for and the wife on the second floor, offices for both me and the wife, exercise room and another spare bedroom the same size as the master) house for under 28,000,000yen so long as we don't go wild on options like a tv in both bathrooms and such. We went to see some of their model homes and talked with the contractor, they work mainly in 2x4 panel framed houses, and the company is actually based out of Kobe and one of their big bragging rights is that not a single building they constructed was damaged in the big quake (being as they have a fairly large share of the Kobe market, this actually holds some weight).

Not too bad, I'd still rather have my 160 tsubo plot that's 3 minutes from the train station in Tochigi for 14,000,000, but the wife and inlaws wish to remain near Tokyo for some unfathomable reason.

[GomiGirl]

Congrats...

Splurge on some optional extras like insulation and central heating and save a bundle over the years in heating/cooling. Also storage and electrical outlets... can never have too much of either.

[kusai Jijii]

Congrats TT,
I know its a fairly stressful experience building a house in Japan, so strap yourself in, because the fun is only just begining!
Well done in any case,
KJ

[dimwit]

Nice. How about some info, price, size, contractor and whether or not you were happy with them/had any problems.

We have 55 tsubos but being essentially in the centre of the city it is pretty difficult to get anything much bigger in our price range. (Since I will be using it as a school, it is important to be close to city centre.) The house size is a 5LDK with a lot of attic space.

As for the contructor, that is a fun story. The land was owned by a condo developer who found that it was impossible to build condos on the land (apparently there is some zoning in Matsuyama) so they sold the area off for private dwellings. We went to a local company and they showed us some model home which I very frankly told them looked like eyesores. I think a hurt the architect feelings, but it did yield results and I think he actually made an effort to come up with a decent design.

The cost for the house was slightly under 20 million.

As for working with the contractor, they have been good. They listen, they have made changes when we have asked for. We haven't had any complaints yet.

[Greji]

As for working with the contractor, they have been good. They listen, they have made changes when we have asked for. We haven't had any complaints yet.

When they're done, throw another party like the tatemae get all the daiku-santachi and contractor reps shit-faced.

You don't know if, or when you will need any follow-up work/repairs, but nothing like a good drunk for a little giri.....

Cost me about 50,000 for an small informal party after a apartment complex was built and along with me getting pissed with them, a good time was had by all. I was calling them over to do little touch-ups and make repairs for about two years after that at no extra cost. Worth the little extra-expenditure....

[ttjereth]

Congrats...

Splurge on some optional extras like insulation and central heating and save a bundle over the years in heating/cooling. Also storage and electrical outlets... can never have too much of either.

Insulation is basic in this companies buildings so we're good there, but central heating isn't doable for us.

One reason is that our house will be (by Japanese standards) huge, and there's no reason to heat/cool rooms that aren't being used at the moment and the other is because my wife and I prefer vastly different temperatures. I sleep with the ac on all summer (I practically can't sleep without it) and she can't stand having it on, so we sleep in separate rooms during the summer

Central heating/ac would just be the root of arguements, with her cranking up the heat so high in the winter that I am sweating, and me cranking the ac so much that she needs to wear a jacket indoors in the summer

[ttjereth]

[Greji]

Insulation is basic in this companies buildings so we're good there, but central heating isn't doable for us.

It maybe basic, but I would stay on top of that! Japanese insulation is not what we would think of as basic. You might want to check out their blueprints and the actually installation to see if you need more. It may cost a bit more to get an acceptable amount of insulation, but it's tough to do it later.

They tend to leave a lot of areas open that would normally be installed in a western home. This is not a scam with a good company, but just what they would do for the normal Japanese owner to save money and expedite the building.

Not saying that your people would do that, but it's worth keeping an eye on especially where you are, because the hawk does comes creeping on those winter evenings and a bit more insulation might mean a lot, plus be a bit cheaper on your heating costs!

[GomiGirl]

Also make sure the design takes in the best of the land positions so you can really ensure you have good light (reduces electical bills), and catches the sun in Winter so you can try to have the elements work to your advantage. Also ventilation that can help with the summer cooling costs.

[amdg]

Also make sure the design takes in the best of the land positions so you can really ensure you have good light (reduces electical bills), and catches the sun in Winter so you can try to have the elements work to your advantage. Also ventilation that can help with the summer cooling costs.

And don't build near a noisy nightclub. Saves on the cost of gettin' killed.

[ttjereth]

It maybe basic, but I would stay on top of that! Japanese insulation is not what we would think of as basic. You might want to check out their blueprints and the actually installation to see if you need more. It may cost a bit more to get an acceptable amount of insulation, but it's tough to do it later.

They tend to leave a lot of areas open that would normally be installed in a western home. This is not a scam with a good company, but just what they would do for the normal Japanese owner to save money and expedite the building.

Not saying that your people would do that, but it's worth keeping an eye on especially where you are, because the hawk does comes creeping on those winter evenings and a bit more insulation might mean a lot, plus be a bit cheaper on your heating costs!

Yeah, there's actually a post on here somewhere where someone (I think it may have been Charles for some reason) actually recommended the type of insulation and everything, which I have noted.

They do 2x4 construction and insulate between all the inner and outer walls, so there's shouldn't be a problem with placement, but I plan on keeping on top of what type of insulation they use.

[ttjereth]

Also make sure the design takes in the best of the land positions so you can really ensure you have good light (reduces electical bills), and catches the sun in Winter so you can try to have the elements work to your advantage. Also ventilation that can help with the summer cooling costs.

We're on top of a hill and on a corner lot so we have plenty of sunshine and ventilation since 3 sides of the house are open air (back of the hill, side of the hill and wide road in front) and the neighbors, if anyone ever decides to buy the lot next to us, are a good minimum of 4-5 meters away even if they build to the maximum size allowed on the lot, so we should be good there

If I could manage an extra 20,000,000yen I'd buy the lot next to us as well

[ttjereth]

QUESTION!

Anybody here have a western-style oven in their Japanese home? Or have any information on places that sell them, whether they have to use a specific type of gas or such?

[james]

QUESTION!

Anybody here have a western-style oven in their Japanese home? Or have any information on places that sell them, whether they have to use a specific type of gas or such?

i had looked into this before completely giving up on this whole house-building shenanigan. many of the higher-end gas ovens can be purchased for use with either natural gas or lp (liquid petroleum) gas. from what i can ascertain, there is an adaptor to use when using lp gas which adjusts the air-mix ratio so that you get a vapour with qualities and heats of combustion comparable to natural gas.

sears has them, a good bet to get it over here is through fbc though in my dealings with them, i have to admit it was hard to get solid answers about hookup etc and their response time to my inquiries was a bit slow. be prepared to part with a minimum of 30-40 man though if you're serious about getting one.