is buying a house such a bad thing?

[GomiGirl]

GG, I may be a lurker on this board but I am not a newbie. And while I may be guilty of dissing on your Hunk of Burning Love, rest assured that I have nothing but the highest and undying esteem for you as the One True Goddess of Fucked Gaijin everywhere.

Yeah yeah - bite me!!

Too much seseme street rots the brain apparantly. Perhaps if you play nicely you will not look like such a dick. Manners are free.

[canman]

Man did you get up on the wrong side of the bed or what? I'm not sure what the attack on Taro was about, but cool it man, a lot of us appreciate his expertise and advice.
It's too bad because you started off well good info about housing etc. But then to come in and make a failry personal attack that is not cool.
It amazes me how these threads can quickly morph into something totally not related to the topic, in less than ten posts.

[Big Booger]

[Taro Toporific]

[talkingdog]

Man did you get up on the wrong side of the bed or what? I'm not sure what the attack on Taro was about, but cool it man, a lot of us appreciate his expertise and advice.

Yeah, yeah, right, whatever.

[talkingdog]

[Taro Toporific]

[talkingdog]

[Lifer]

Normally in detached house construction by major players the customer is contractually barred from the jobsite until turnover. This is an unacceptable condition, IMO.

Yep, they hinted for me to stay away from the job site as well - yaah right!

I was there every day after work and over lunch, chatting with the carpenters, taking pictures and video, and keeping an eye out for screw-ups and possible improvements. Once they got used to the idea of a customer who knew what he was talking about and didn't get in the way, the carpenters were pretty cool with it.

[talkingdog]

Normally in detached house construction by major players the customer is contractually barred from the jobsite until turnover. This is an unacceptable condition, IMO.

Yep, they hinted for me to stay away from the job site as well - yaah right!

I was there every day after work and over lunch, chatting with the carpenters, taking pictures and video, and keeping an eye out for screw-ups and possible improvements. Once they got used to the idea of a customer who knew what he was talking about and didn't get in the way, the carpenters were pretty cool with it.

A very sharp friend, who has already built two houses here, told me recently that his contractor would give him the yes-man routine then do whatever the fuck he wanted. So, my friend would bribe the workmen to ensure that certain taske were done his way, such as putting down the plactic vapor barrier under the foundation.

I had a similar experience with some work I had done recently. The boss said "yes, yes" to everything I specified, then did absolutely nothing. I got the feeling that I should have been there to supervise every damned little thing.

[Lifer]

...his contractor would give him the yes-man routine...

They tried that with me which was why I took video. Then, when I noticed that they had put the bathroom window in the toilet and visa-versa , they kinda started to pay attention. (Luckily I caught it in time so they reversed them)

[CLOWNPUNCHER]

My wife and I built our house in Ibaraki (Tsukuba shi ) ten years ago. With the new line opening in a year, we will be just over a half hour to Tokyo.

The only trouble we had was changing our land 150 tsubo zoned for agriculture to residental. Luckly her uncle was good friends with the then Japanese construction minister .One phone call from him and the bafoons at the prefectural level soon changed their minds.

So a house of 40 tsubo and land of 150 tsubo within easy reach of Tokyo.I kind of think it's the best of both worlds I can raise my kids in a semi rural area and still have the benfits of Tokyo on my door step.

When the house was being built my wife and I checked the construction everyday and raised any problems that we found with the builder right away.

We had a 20 year governent loan ( KoKo ) set at a next to nothing intrest rate over. We have since paid it off in full.

It sure beats having to pay rent and I have so much more room.

Do I care if the value goes up or down ? Not really as I'm here for the long term.

[Buraku]

you would be a dumbfuck to buy a house/mansion/apartment in Japan.

biggest pieces of shit I have ever seen.

if its not imported, its fucked.

As for imported vs. Japanese made, what is fucked is the price rather than the quality. You can probably get
more for your money with imported. But there is no question
that houses built by Japanese firms such as Sekisui or Hebel in 2004 are very good indeed. .

the J construction is f*cked

try here
http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11093&highlight=
Developer Using Yakuza to Intimidate Residents

[Mulboyne]

PlanetArk: Quake Fears Rattle Japanese Property Investors
Despite a long history of devastating tremors in earthquake-prone Japan, property investors are only starting to seek protection from the risks of volatility in the earth's crust... Some insurers cover around half a building's value in Tokyo, up from only 15 percent before deregulation in the late 1990s. But many landlords think it is too expensive -- as much as 40 times the cost of coverage in some high-risk areas in the United States, where such insurance is required by law in certain cases. Without similar legal requirements to spread the insurance costs widely, any single earthquake insurance policy will cost more... Some say there is no point fretting over "an act of god", such as an earthquake. "If we have an eight magnitude right in Tokyo Bay it would be very difficult to escape," said Chuck Larson, head of property in Japan for Australia's Macquarie Bank, which is buying new apartment blocks. "But it's not a huge thing hanging over everyone's head. Maybe it should be, but it isn't."

[Mulboyne]

Reuters via Yahoo: Foreigners seek niches in crowded Japanese property
Foreign property funds are getting inventive in Japan, building homes for an ageing population and becoming involved in running businesses after having taken a more hands-off approach to their investments over the past few years. Tokyo office prices are recovering on a resurgence in domestic interest in property, driving foreign pension and insurance funds that had snapped up top-notch office buildings with yields as high as 6 percent to take creative approaches to boost earnings...Foreign funds are being jostled out of Tokyo's office market by Japanese institutional investors and 17 new real estate investment trusts (REITs), which have few high-yielding alternatives and do not need to worry about currency risk. They are driving up prices...Average Japanese land values slid for the 14th straight year in 2004, a national survey last month showed. But central Tokyo prices edged up 0.9 percent, their first rise in 17 years. Anecdotes abound of buildings in hot spots changing hands at double the price of 5 years ago..."The office market is so rich now, it's not as attractive as other sectors," said Chuck Larson, head for Japan property at Macquarie Bank , which is buying apartment blocks to package into a property trust. "One of the most exciting opportunities in Japan at the moment is elderly housing." With the Japanese population slated to dwindle from 2007 because of a low birth rate, Larson said he was interested in "assisted living" apartments for the elderly, who traditionally would have lived with their children.

[FG Lurker]

[Blah Pete]

...onto which I will build a house.

What is on the land now?

[FG Lurker]

...onto which I will build a house.

What is on the land now?

A "house" of sorts... Apparently someone used to rent it but I could never imagine living in it. Mostly made of patched together tin so it must sound like a drum inside when it rains...

[Blah Pete]

Are you going to knock it down right away or do you have to live in it for a while to save money for construction?

[FG Lurker]

Are you going to knock it down right away or do you have to live in it for a while to save money for construction?

Definitely won't be living there... I'll stay in my rented place.

Assuming everything goes smoothly (and assuming the bank decides it's okay to lend me an absurd amount of money) I will move into my new house sometime this autumn...

[ichigo partygirl]

goodluck !!!!!!!! I cant think of anything more stressful than building a house. Geting one built by autumn seems awfully quick!!!! Do you have contacts??
Here in NZ you are looking 1-2+ to get the building started!!!!(shortage of tradespeople due to academic orientated education and property boom)

Are you building western style or japanese style???
Good luck !!!!

[oyajikun]

goodluck !!!!!!!! I cant think of anything more stressful than building a house. Geting one built by autumn seems awfully quick!!!! Do you have contacts??
Here in NZ you are looking 1-2+ to get the building started!!!!(shortage of tradespeople due to academic orientated education and property boom)

Are you building western style or japanese style???
Good luck !!!!

Are you kidding? In the time it takes me to type this, a japanese house has been erected and moved into. mmm nabe ..

[ichigo partygirl]

yeah nope im not kidding. my folks are getting the bathroom and kitchen re built/modernised. Just doing these two rooms in an already exsisting house will take about 6 months. Its a nightmare trying to get a plumber,builder, designer and electrician timed right. I think 6months is pretty quick for the way things are at the moment here

[FG Lurker]

goodluck !!!!!!!! I cant think of anything more stressful than building a house. Geting one built by autumn seems awfully quick!!!! Do you have contacts??
Here in NZ you are looking 1-2+ to get the building started!!!!(shortage of tradespeople due to academic orientated education and property boom)

Here there are a lot of tradesmen without a lot of work... And generally they do a lot of overtime. 3 months from ground-break seems to be common.

Are you building western style or japanese style???
Good luck !!!!

So much has yet to be decided... Basically the room layouts will be fairly standard for Japan (17jo LDK + four 6jo rooms), but I want proper insulation and thermal pane glass!

[oyajikun]

yeah nope im not kidding. my folks are getting the bathroom and kitchen re built/modernised. Just doing these two rooms in an already exsisting house will take about 6 months. Its a nightmare trying to get a plumber,builder, designer and electrician timed right. I think 6months is pretty quick for the way things are at the moment here

I'm an impatiant man, but I would rather have someone take their time and do a good quality job when it comes to work on my home.

[FG Lurker]

I'm an impatiant man, but I would rather have someone take their time and do a good quality job when it comes to work on my home.

Couldn't agree more! Since the house site is quite close to where I live now I will be checking often as it goes up. I've already made this very clear to the real estate office...

[oyajikun]

I'm an impatiant man, but I would rather have someone take their time and do a good quality job when it comes to work on my home.

Couldn't agree more! Since the house site is quite close to where I live now I will be checking often as it goes up. I've already made this very clear to the real estate office...

Totally! Id be at the job site everyday with beers for the guys at the end of the day.

[FG Lurker]

I'm an impatiant man, but I would rather have someone take their time and do a good quality job when it comes to work on my home.

Couldn't agree more! Since the house site is quite close to where I live now I will be checking often as it goes up. I've already made this very clear to the real estate office...

Totally! Id be at the job site everyday with beers for the guys at the end of the day.

Not sure if I'll be taking beer along, but I plan to be there several times a week at least (I can go by on my way home without trouble). Heh, it'll probably end up being every day though!

I've just started looking into things like windows... Who the hell woulda thought there were so many different options?? It's a window dammit! I just want one that does its job! This is going to be interesting...

[ichigo partygirl]

ohh you are in for soooooooo much fun. It took my parents 3 weeks to pick the lino for the floor. who knew there are so many different textures, thicknesses, colours etc!!!!
Have fun

[FG Lurker]

ohh you are in for soooooooo much fun. It took my parents 3 weeks to pick the lino for the floor. who knew there are so many different textures, thicknesses, colours etc!!!!
Have fun

Shite...Oh what a can of worms I have opened!