Search Properties
Get to know us and the latest market conditions. Spend time on the website and talk to us about the properties. Look at the recent sales and understand the values and relative prices of properties in your target range. The more you see the better you will understand the market and the easier it will be to make the decision to buy when you find the right property.
Purchase Application
When you find the right property submit an “application to purchase”.
This is a non-binding written expression of your interest to purchase the property at a certain price. An application shows the seller you are serious and will start the negotiation process.
Explanation of Important Matters
Once the price is agreed, we will start the contract process. We are required to investigate the details of the property and provide you with an “Explanation of Important Matters”. This document defines all the important terms of the contract. You should read and fully understand this document before executing the contract.
Execute Contract and Pay Down Payment
The contract execution usually takes place at the agent’s office and takes about 2 hours to complete. Usually you pay the owner a deposit of 10% of JPY 10 million at the time of the contract.
Loan Application
Although you will probably have a pre-approval from the lender, once the contract is complete you can make the formal loan application. It usually takes one month to six weeks for the final approval after which the final closing date can be set. If you are using finance, the contract will have a clause saying you are applying for a mortgage from a particular bank with a proposed approval date. If for some reason, the mortgage is not approved, the contract will be terminated.
Final Settlement
The final settlement usually takes place at the buyer’s bank and is handled by a judicial scrivener. The buyer will transfer the remaining balance to the seller’s account and the title of the property will be transferred to the buyer. Transfer of the ownership is complete after the seller delivers all the keys to the property.
Summary of Cost
When purchasing a property in Japan, normally the taxes and fees will come to about 5 to 6% of the price of the property.
- Acquisition Tax
- Official land estimate value × 0.5(1/2)×3%
- Registration Tax
- Registration tax is about 1% of the standard taxable value
- Stamp Duty
- For a property of ¥50,000,000 to ¥100,000,000, the stamp duty will be ¥30,000 for the property contract and ¥60,000 for the mortgage contract.
- Judicial Scrivener Fees
- For a property of ¥100,000,000 the fee should be about ¥100,000
- Agent Fee
- (3% of sale price + ¥60,000) + Tax(8%)