Wanna buy a house in Japan for less than 1 million yen?

[Taro Toporific]

Why so much farmland is idle
The Asahi Shimbun /IHT August 25, 2004Underscoring the declining interest in agricultural jobs, nearly 40 percent of farmers who quit farming in 2003 were unable to find tenants or buyers for their now-idle land, according to a farm ministry survey.
Most retired because of age, fueling the drop both in the number of farmers and the area of active farmlands.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries polled 662 of the nation's 47,000 farming households that gave up farming in 2003. ....
... 37.9 percent of the former farmers said their lots remained vacant because no one would lease or buy them....

[Captain Japan]

Taro, I got 1 million yen going no place. What you got?

[Taro Toporific]

Taro, I got 1 million yen going no place. What you got?

Farmland or forest?
House or just land?
Within 2 hours of Tokyo or devils island?

For examples:
Next door to me in Shikoku, 30-40 minutes from downtown Matsuyama is prime flat farmland with water rights are being sold 1 million.
In the mountains nearby, houses unused in years go for less than 1 million.
Mountain tambo in Gumma are free if you have a young family to raise in the community.

You REALLY, REALLY have to want these places and you MUST have the free time to visit and use them. Over the years, I have owned cabins that only got used once or twice a year. ...TOTAL WASTE...without any resale value.

[kansaiboy]

can gaijins get a mortgage if married to a local...?

[Taro Toporific]

can gaijins get a mortgage if married to a local...?

Without a Perm. Visa, it's tough for even a married gaijin to get a mortgage loan. although a few remote farm villages will help ya. Basically, only the Japanese spouse's income counts when qualifying for a Japanese mortgage. With a Perm. Visa, an FG can qualify for a Japanese mortgage on their own merit.

Ok, ok, stop whining out there---yes, fat-cat, high-roller expats can qualify through their gaijin banks' offices in Japan. If you are that farkquing rich, WTF are you doing reading this on F'd Gaijin Forum?

There WERE J-govn't mortgage programs that made it easier for a non-Perm. Visa gaijin family get loans but those ended last April. Single, gay, or married-to-another-gaijin folks might as well just get a cardboard box rather than bother with looking for a Japanese mortgage.

[kansaiboy]

a bit off topic, but if u marry a local, dont u qualify for a perm visa...?

[Taro Toporific]

[dingosatemybaby]

Taro, I got 1 million yen going no place. What you got?

Farmland or forest?
House or just land?
Within 2 hours of Tokyo or devils island?

For examples:
Next door to me in Shikoku, 30-40 minutes from downtown Matsuyama is prime flat farmland with water rights are being sold 1 million.
In the mountains nearby, houses unused in years go for less than 1 million.
Mountain tambo in Gumma are free if you have a young family to raise in the community.

You REALLY, REALLY have to want these places and you MUST have the free time to visit and use them. Over the years, I have owned cabins that only got used once or twice a year. ...TOTAL WASTE...without any resale value.

Kids, pay attention to Taro sensei, for his advice will save you a lot of yen and a lot of suffering. Want to get away from the city and enjoy mukade-infested life in the inaka? Express the Alex Kerr in you and buy an old farmhouse and some land for a few million yen. For God's sake, don't make the mistake of buying a cabin in a place like Karuizawa. I'm stuck with one, and I'm wondering if I'll ever be able to sell it. Complete monetary black hole. FG can enjoy all the hassles of country life for a fraction of the cost by buying the kind of cheap-o lot Taro speaks of. And you don't even need a mortgage when the cost is only a few million yen (unless you're like the guy who writes that Tokyo Damage Report blog and you've spent all your yen on clubs and Kitty-chan taxi rides).

[Taro Toporific]

You REALLY, REALLY have to want these places and you MUST have the free time to visit and use them. Over the years, I have owned cabins that only got used once or twice a year. ...TOTAL WASTE...without any resale value.

For God's sake, don't make the mistake of buying a cabin in a place like Karuizawa. I'm stuck with one, and I'm wondering if I'll ever be able to sell it. Complete monetary black hole.

Ohhhhh, I feel your pain, Dingo.
Over the year, I've been GIVEN cabins and "boltholes" by ex-pats who are fed up with the micro-taxes and upkeep. Most of the time, it has taken me YEARS to unload these properties. I don't have any at the moment in Japan, but a quick lookie-loo around the American Club, Embassy circuit, ad nausum and you can find semi-abandoned FG "villas" for nothing.

[Mulboyne]

There are a heap of sites available in Japan for the kind of price tag that Taro cites. But, as others point out, it isn't just the lack of a resale value that hurts. It is the ongoing upkeep. In many cases, this actually translates in Japan to a negative value for some sites so, to make the deal worthwhile, the owner should be paying you to take it off his hands.
Even if you are optimistic on Japan, asset values are unlikely to rise across the board. They didn't in the bubble. If you believe there will be a new wave of regional development and a major population redistribution then you'll have a better investment case.

[Bongo]