In this video I go into more (or too much?) detail about how we found and purchased our akiya/abandoned house in Japan. It's a traditional Japanese house style a "minka" or "kominka".

In spite of there being a large number of vacant houses (akiya) in Japan, very few are on sale, so finding a suitable one can be difficult. Even if you find one you like it is not without its risks. Furthermore, though the house itself may be cheap, there are hidden costs like taxes. Renovation costs can quickly escalate, so it’s not necessarily the cheapest alternative to finding an affordable place to live. But if you’re after a certain combination of larger land size, lifestyle, country living, DIY/renovation, and yes, something perhaps cheaper than a new house, then it could be a viable option.

Values indicated in Yen/US dollars.

The video’s rather long, and there’s a lot of talking, so if you want go to certain sections here are the markers:

00:00 Intro
01:58 What is an akiya?
05:00 Why buy an akiya?
07:42 Buying an akiya
12:37 Risks
14:43 Hidden costs (taxes)
19:05 Renovation
23:40 Financing an akiya
27:45 Conclusion



In between videos I'm posting
Instagram:   / tokyo_llama  
Patreon:   / tokyollama  
Website: https://tokyollama.com


LINKS


Akiya sites

Akiya banks throughout Japan: https://www.akiyaathome.jp/
Marketplace for akiya: https://www.ieichiba.com/
Akiya listings: https://inakanoseikatsu.com
Site with a lot of kominka: http://www.inakanet.jp/
There are quite a few regional sites, for example this one in Kyushu with some nice, cheap houses:
This company buys, renovates, and sells properties including exakiya: http://katitas.jp



Public Auction (公売

To find local tax offices holding public auctions google “prefecture name” 公売 e,g. 茨城県 公売
Government public online auctions: https://www.koubai.nta.go.jp/auctionx...
https://www.pages.kankocho.jp/event21...

Some regional sites (I'll keep adding to this list):
Gunma: https://www.pref.gunma.jp/04/a4310031...
Hokkaido: http://www.pref.hokkaido.lg.jp/sm/zim...
Ibaraki: http://ibarakisozei.jp/
Kumamoto: http://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/hpkiji/pu...
Nagano: http://www.naganokikou.jp/
Saitama: https://www.pref.saitama.lg.jp/a0209/...
Shizuoka: http://www.pref.shizuoka.jp/soumu/so...


Statistics

https://www.pref.ibaraki.jp/doboku/ju...
https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/engli...


Taxes

https://resources.realestate.co.jp/bu...
https://www.legacytomodachi.com/2018/...
https://www.realestatetokyo.com/buy/...
https://sumaity.com/sell/press/232/
https://iekon.jp/koteishisanzeikeige...
https://ieul.jp/column/articles/538/


General info on akiya

https://www.rethinktokyo.com/freehou...


Websites used in video

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/05/as...
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/22/japan...
https://www.businessinsider.com/japan...
https://ijuibaraki.jp/residence/


Stock video credits

Video by Nithin Pa from Pexels https://www.pexels.com/video/variety...
TV static: https://www.vidsplay.com/tvstatic.html
Maps by FreeVectorMaps.com: http://freevectormaps.com

#akiya #abandonedhouse #japanproperty