We are dealing Japanese properties daily with non-Japanese, and there are cases that non- Japanese will surprise when facing some unique business habits in Japan.

Here are some examples, not to let you surprise when you decided to purchase a property in Japan in the future.

So many people at property viewing
This will happen when the property is occupied by the owner. The owner and the family is there, the agent of the owner is there, your agent is there, sometimes agent’s supervisor or new comer is there, and you and your family is there.

No greetings from agents on site
If you are a buyer, it is taboo if the seller’s agent provides you the business card directly. Because any negotiation should be done between the agent and agent, so if the seller’s agent contacts the buyer directly, it will be treated as skipping the agent to make a direct business. So no need to upset even if they didn’t greet you or give you their business card.

Fixed upper price
The property price means, the seller’s willing price to sell. If there is a buyer who submitted a purchase offer at the property price, the deal can be made. If there are two buyers who submitted purchase offers at full prices, then the seller will choose to whom to sell. The good thing in Japan is, the price will not go higher than the mentioned property price.

Dealing with no discounts
Because of above reason, property price will not go higher. If the property is attractive and the price is reasonable, the property can be sold without any discounts. Many non-Japanese think that the price should be always discounted, and these buyers are facing difficulty to purchase always.

Paying deposit by cash
It is still standard to pay deposit by cash when signing the contract in Japan. The deposit is generally 5% of the property price, so if the property price is 100 mil JPY, then the buyer will bring and handover the cash 5 mil JPN. The reason is, one of the important meanings of deposit is to show the seriousness of the buyer to the seller. It can be paid by remittance if both the seller and the buyer agreed, otherwise it will be paid by cash.

All contract documents in Japanese language
Since the property is in Japan, and the deal is following Japanese real estate law, the format of contract will be also Japanese. We REDS will provide you the draft of contract few days before the contract signing so that you can translate to any preferred language and check the contents beforehand. We will explain you all in English.

Too many explanations at disclosure statements
Before signing the contract, it is obliged to explain the property details from the licensed agent to the buyer. We REDS will do the investigation of all details of the property, following Japanese real estate law, so the explanation will take 2-3 hours. Our non-Japanese clients always surprise how deep we investigate and explain.

No inspection when purchasing a house
We are asked if the inspection to a third party can be arranged. It can be arranged, but it does not mean a lot in Japan because the sellers will declare all details of the condition they recognize. The seller has a duty to disclose everything, and the violation penalty is heavy. So the sellers prefer to disclose everything, rather than having a penalty because of breach of disclosure.

Easy dealing than expected
We REDS will guide you all processes in English purchasing a house, from searching, viewing, loan arranging, till the ownership transferring and property hand overing, and so on. At the last, all clients say, “I enjoyed this journey, it was easier than I expected”.

If you want to experience your journey with these unique Japanese habits, please send email to us.

【REDS】Real Estate Distribution System (REDS) Japan

Hiroki Kano (Mr.)

mailto: hi.kano@red-sys.jp