All Forum Posts by: Dan Baker

I wouldn't recommend it, association fees can increase for various reasons, and kills your cash flow if you ever decide to move out. The condo was my first investment, and I made a killing on it, but these were during the 2003 bubble years. Basically what I did was house hack and rent out the spare bedroom's to college/exchange students. If I decided to rent it it would have had a negative cash flow. Instead I decided to 1031 exchange it and upgrade to a better property.

Ideally I would like to find something near Tokyo, but I know it'll be hard to find something that'll cash flow. Not really interested in flipping. I'm still trying to narrow down my criteria, but I think I'll probably focus on the other population centers, possibly on reinforced concrete buildings. Trying to figure out if I can take advantage of the residents loan in some kind of apartment building here in Tokyo that has an owners unit. It would be Nice to take advantage of the 1% owner occupier loan. There is a meeting in ropunggi on Thursday night, there are some good people there.

Sad to see you go, I'm still in Tokyo. Looking to get started here this year. Good luck in Vancouver, it beautiful there.

Originally posted by @Bill Baldwin:

Dan let's grab that long overdue beer again sometime, I can bring out my spreadsheet from my places and share what I know and have learned, way too much to type all here posting from my phone :)

 That would be great! I'll shoot you a message, in the next few days, hopefully we can set something up soon. 

@Dmitri L

It's ok, your welcome to keep bugging me about it. Hopefully soon I'll be able to drag my butt to town. 

@Jim Adrian 

 I appreciate you taking the time to find that link for me, I'll definitely check it out. I'd like to know more about the subject for the US markets. But  things here are quite a bit different, the banks have very strict rules on the usable lifespan of the building, and won't give you a loan past that time.  Many buildings are considered disposable,  and some cannot be " reformed"  if their built after certain year. It has to do with earthquake laws. 

Yeah I would love to head out there, it's just very difficult for me to get out there at a reasonable hour on Thursdays nights. My schedule will change in a few months though, we'll see how it go's.

@Bill Baldwinundefined

hope you could help me out a little, if thats not to much trouble. 

so im looking to learn more about the specifics of purchasing japanese real estate, more specifically single occupant units.  Im trying to figure out what kind of operating costs and tax's i should consider before purchasing a small or medium apartment building.  I do know that the type of structure makes a difference when acquiring a loan (steal/wood/concrete). If anyone knows the specific usable years for these structures that would be great.  

It would be immensely helpful if anyone could enlighten me on what to expect on the subjects of fire, elevator and water tower inspections (frequency/cost), building maintenance, insurance, property management, etc.

I believe 5% each month and a 2-3 month fee for finding tenants, please correct me if im wrong. 

Also with buildings essentially being disposable, and "reforming" only able to be done after 1990 something. does anyone have a plan for the investment when the usable life span begins to run out and vacancies begin to increase? I figure just tear it down and build a new one, but to my understanding it is very difficult to get people out once they are in. 

Also with prices shooting up here in tokyo would it be advisable to look in another population center, or wait for a good deal locally? 

Sorry guys! I would really like to come, but Thursday's are just not a good day for me in general, I don't think I'll get there till about nine or 930. Hopefully next year I'll be able to meet with you guys.

no I usually get an alert and an email when there's activity. You can also find it in your past post on your profile page. 

welcome to BP,

I'm also currently in Tokyo and looking to expand into on my local market. Apparently there's a large community of us ex-pats investing in Japanese real estate.   Unfortunately right now Tokyo is extremely high, a lot of foreign investors came in and drove prices up through the roof. However other population centers at the moment are still quite affordable, but with the shrinking population there are only a few types of pepertys you should be looking into. Many expats  who invest here do it for a tax loophole that allows you to buy US (any wood residence) investment for very cheep.  Basically you are able to wright off 100% of the structures  value over a 48 month period.  

If your interested there is a local meetup, I'm sure everyone would be happy to meet you.