{"id":2367,"date":"2020-03-20T12:48:33","date_gmt":"2020-03-20T03:48:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vhbloglive.wpengine.com\/?p=2367"},"modified":"2020-03-20T12:48:36","modified_gmt":"2020-03-20T03:48:36","slug":"things-that-anyone-apartment-hunting-needs-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/japanese-apartment-life\/things-that-anyone-apartment-hunting-needs-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Things That Anyone Apartment Hunting Needs to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Looking for\napartments can be a stressful and problematic time. You are constantly trying\nto find the things that you want versus the things that you can actually\nafford. It can take long stretches of time before you will find the right place\nfor you. There are a few things that should be kept in mind when looking for\napartments and basic living spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Be Ready to Pay<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Japan may be an\nappealing place to live but there are some small problems when hunting for\nplaces to live. Namely the hidden fees that come with finding a place. There\nare things like paying key money, fire insurance, and maintenance fees that may\ncome as a surprise when looking through the contract. There can be some extra things\nfrom the city as well, and each city will have its own amount that it will\ncharge for taxes. Look carefully at any contract and check the city fees that\nwill come with living there. If you don\u2019t do any extra checking, you may end up\npaying for it later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Walk Through<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There may be a\nton of pictures posted about the new place, and some agencies have started to\nuse YouTube videos as walkthroughs for the actual apartment. Even though you\nmay be able to see it this way, it will always be more beneficial to you to see\nit for yourself. There can be some small things that can be hidden through\nvideo and pictures that would be impossible to miss in person. Make sure to ask\nfor a personal walkthrough, and if you are denied, you may want to look\nelsewhere for housing. They can use some things that are already messed up\nagainst you in the end, so make sure to protect yourself as much as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Using Agencies<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most people who\nare renting their properties in Japan will not be able to speak anything other\nthan Japanese. Unless you have a friend, girlfriend or boyfriend, or enough\nJapanese mastered for yourself you will need some help. Using an agency can\nhelp lift a lot of stress off of your shoulders when having to deal with\nlandlords and other renters. There are a lot of companies that have begun to\nhire English speaking workers to help get a piece of the foreign market. There\nwill usually be at least one person who will follow you through the process and\nhelp get the right place for you. They do however end up taking a fee for\nhelping you find a new apartment, and it is typically the same as the first\nmonth of rent. They can also help by being your guarantor as you need one who\nis a Japanese resident or company. They will also take a guarantor fee on top\nof everything, so even though it is very helpful, it will end up costing you\nmore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Check the Floorplan<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every apartment\nbuilding will follow some basic design for all of its apartments. Each one will\nbe different and can be large changes or small adjustments. You will need to\ncheck the floorplan as thoroughly as possible so you will know what it is you\nare trying to rent. If you have certain needs for a place this is crucial. You\nmay need to have a bathtub, and some places only have shower boxes, or you may\nwant a washing machine and the building won\u2019t have the proper hook ups. This\nmay seem like an easy thing to take care of, but many people overlook specific\nthings when trying to find the right place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Look at the Area<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The general area\naround the apartment building will have a big impact on aspects of renting. The\ndistance to the station is the biggest one, and is always one of the main\npricing points of a property. It is a good thing to know as well as it will affect\nyour morning commute and overall travel. The amount of conveniences will also\nimpact the price and change what will be available. The konbinis, supermarkets,\nand other things like that will change the price that most landlords want to\ncharge renters. Try and keep an eye out for things that might change your ease\nof life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Look Around<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are many\nareas that will be open to you to view and in each area, there will be a large\namount of choices. Even though you may want to find only places near your work\nor in a highly sought-after area of the city. Make sure to be open to finding\nother spots that may end up being a little further away. It can be a small\ninconvenience having to add distance to your overall commute, but it can lead\nto some of the best pricing you will find. Trying to stick strictly to one area\ncan be to your detriment and end up leaving you with a much higher rental fee\nthat others. Being only a city away from your main area of work can help get\nyou cheaper taxes, or even get you closer to other areas of the city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If you take your\ntime and try to be a little more flexible in your decision making. It is best\nto try and broaden your search so that you can be certain to find a good\napartment. Try and look for a good medium between what is practical, and what\nyou personally want out of your living area. You will find the best place for\nyou in no time at all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Looking for apartments can be a stressful and problematic time. You are constantly trying to find the things that you want versus the things that you can actually afford. It can take long stretches of time before you will find the right place for you. There are a few things that should be kept in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2368,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-japanese-apartment-life"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}