All Forum Posts by: Zeek Collins

Hello, I recently returned from an internship in the countryside of Japan. I know that everyone talks about the declining value of Japanese Real Estate. However, during my time there, my landlord was living happily near the beach with a big home, a new BMW, and a 36-unit apartment building (3 floors, 12 units per floor). The guy worked at a 7-11 for fun on the weekends. I know that most people are trying to make revenue on their real estate from the sale of the building itself. However, am I crazy to want to just hold onto the building and rent it out until it has no value? Below is my response to common points often brought up when it comes to the apartment building situation.

1. I also know that people are hesitant to buy property because of the aging population of Japan. But, also due to the aging population you have people like my landlord; whose children don't want to inherit the property because they live in a different area of the country.  This means that there are properties in very lucrative areas at a great price but, no buyers. Of course I'd choose a place closer to a train station in a larger city but, I'm not looking to make insane profits. I just want enough stable revenue to pay yearly expenses, hire a property management team, and pay the debt preferably in 5-10 years. I'm 22 the only thing I'm rich in is time.

2. It could just be me but, I know apartment buildings are heavily slept upon. If you buy in an area like Kanagawa, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, or Fukuoka even; I find it very hard to believe that those areas won't find people living there in the next 100 years. it's not nearly as hard to find properties in a good location as we are made to believe. If you do decent research or have traveled to the area the story tells itself. For example, if you're in a place where there's a bunch of old people and most stores are closed past 3 pm that's not the place you want to be.

 3. I know another argument is that people want to live in new properties. Which is fair everyone does. I know I did.  However, if I have a low salary and this building is a little older but has good upkeep, the rent is fair and my landlord is decent. It's a no-brainer what I'm going with. Not to mention my Japanese friends who are in college all have cheap apartments by the college because they don't want to wake up at 5 am for a 2-hour commute to school. Because the colleges rarely have dorms. There will always be a buyer for an older apartment as long as the conditions are decent and the location is right. 

4. Getting Capital: Me personally, I have no clue. I am merely an overly passionate young adult chasing my white whale that is owning an apartment in Japan. 

I am putting this together just in case there is also someone who is as crazy as myself on BiggerPockets who has taken the leap or will take the leap in the future to see later down the line. All comments are appreciated and if my ignorance of the industry annoys you. Please use comedic insults only and I will take into consideration what you have to say. 

I’m definitely going to start looking into wealth building because I wasn’t planning on selling anything as long as it brought in stable income or I needed money for a downpayment on a property with a higher yield. I do have a question. What exactly are the Classifieds? Is it a website or a thread on BiggerPockets? Once again thanks so much you all have been extremely helpful. @Mike Lambert @Kevin Ing

The Japanese banks are going to be probably the greatest hurdle. I can definitely get the money for a down payment on a property but, if the banks never give me an option to get a loan is a whole different beast. I appreciate your on-the-ground knowledge. You make it way easier to understand what is and isn't possible.

 Just out of curiosity where do you think would be best for someone like myself? Singapore was an option from what I remember. Also, wouldn't it be ok if the asset value plummeted but, you managed to make the money back through rent? Like an exchange of sorts.

 I work at a Law firm currently but, school is still expensive with scholarship money as expected. I got an internship to return to another area of Japan so I'm looking forward to seeing real estate in a smaller city.

 Yes, the salaries not changing is something I definitely remember from my days in class. Maybe there is a way to prosper in rental properties. I found a place for 100,000 USD a while ago that had a kombini underneath the building and was 3 minutes from a Chou Line Station and I think about that a lot. 

No worries about the name! Thanks for the input on Canada. I had a friend who mentioned that it was expensive but, I had no idea that it was that bad. The U.S similarly has bad tenant laws that's why I am not too interested in the market. Not to mention how little the dollar benefits me here. I was looking at Japan from a generational standpoint. Yes, I would probably lose value in the apartment buildings. But, once I pay off my first property I could take a loan out against the property for additional cheap properties. I was thinking perhaps good locations with a decent amount of properties would be sufficient. given that I was bringing in enough to make sure that I could pay everything off yearly and pocket a few thousand for savings or renovations. Then in an area like Tokyo where things are being built often, I could perhaps sell for land value if a company ever wanted an area I bought. I think that the writing on the wall is just a no from what I am hearing though. I appreciate your thoughts very much.

 I see that's pretty smart! I'll definitely try that trick! It does suck how 30 Year fixed rates don't exist but, I totally can understand why. I've never considered Singapore before but, perhaps I'll start looking that way. 

This is my first post so I apologize for my lack of knowledge in the industry. I'm 21 and study airport management. I recently did a study abroad in Japan last year and am sure that you can make a killing in the Japanese market due to the decreased yen value and the lower apartment building costs and real estate as a whole compared to the States. With Japan's population getting older and major cities getting more popular with young people. I have seen some amazing deals around $100,000-$500,000 for 5-16 unit properties depending on the city.  Of course, many more fees go into the final sale of the property but, I still believe it would still be cheaper than trying to buy a home in the US. Japan also does not have laws preventing foreigners from purchasing property in their country. I don't have any capital for the purchase of a property and I fear that I may miss out on this opportune time to get into the market. I've researched a few banks that would offer me a business loan to be able to start a company to purchase property. But, I have to live in the country beforehand to get a loan. I have also reached out to some of the real estate companies for information on insurance fees and rental company costs that go into the monthly operations of apartment buildings. However, without any actual capital; I'm gaining knowledge with no way to take action. I'm hoping that someone here can help assist me in how to proceed with my situation. If you're still reading, thank you very much.