hello welcome to part 3 of my series about moving in Japan
today's topic is property inspections and things to prepare okay so when you
found some properties that you're interested in the next step is to
contact a real estate agent and try to arrange inspections now properties in
Japan aren't restricted to one particular agents so you don't
necessarily have to go through the one from the property listing that you found
it on. You can approach the real estate agent of your choice
show them your list and they should be able to make arrangements for you this
also means that if you don't feel particularly comfortable with a certain
agency you don't feel like they're being honest with you then you can change to
someone else some things I'd recommend for you to
prepare are one Zairyu card for foreigners this is your residence card
with your personal information so it's pretty important that you have this
Two personalized stamp now this is not compulsory but it can be pretty useful
It's quite common practice here in Japan for people to use a personalized stamp
as their signature in lieu of signing with a pen this way you can maintain
consistency across all documents like when you sign out the bank or when you
rent a place etc they're pretty cheap and easy to make I got mine made at a
stamp making shop and from memory It only took around half an hour or so for them
to actually make it number three make sure you have your finances in order as
I said in the last video you will need a whole lot of cash to begin with so just
make sure you're in a position to be able to pay all of that and number four
if possible if you don't speak or read Japanese try to bring a trusted friend
or person you know who has Japanese language abilities with you because it
will just make the whole process a lot easier and less nerve-wracking okay
during the actual inspection it is okay to take photos in fact I highly
recommend that you do this way you can remember each place more clearly and
even share the photos with your family and friends to get their opinions use
your checklist of needs and wants as a guide of things to look out for in the
apartment the building and surroundings and jot down brief notes about
place. also make sure you bring a tape measure with you this was something that
I did not think about but luckily my colleague who came with me for the
inspections did bring one and it proved to be super handy to be able to
measure specific dimensions which is something that the agent doesn't
necessarily provide lastly ask your agent any questions you may have and trust
your gut sometimes some places can look really good on paper like the floor plan
might be ideal and the photos of the place looks really attractive but when
you get there in person something just doesn't feel quite right I had this
experience with a couple of properties during my search so give yourself time
to think things over don't rush into anything to make sure you can find a
home that you can truly feel comfortable and happy in if you are pretty set on a
particular place though be prepared to sign an application form of interest on
the spot this will require things like your personal details contact details
employment details of your working etc when I did the inspection for my current
home the property was brand new and it was only available because the previous
person had for whatever reason pulled out suddenly so I knew competition was
high especially as it is in a good location luckily though thanks to good
planning and preparation I was able to apply for the place on the spot and from
there the agent did checks just to make sure I can actually afford it and then
once things were cleared we arranged a contract signing to finalize everything
okay that brings me to the end of part three once again thank you so much for
watching if you've been finding these videos helpful please like and subscribe
and leave any questions you may have about moving in Japan in the comment
section and I'll try my best to answer them or you may just want to share your
moving experience with all of us so we can learn from each other I will see you
in my next video so until then bye