Was it actually an emergency, or did they just say it was an emergency?

There are actually quite a few Americans investing in real estate in Japan, but more I think that invest only in the US.  

Large deposits are nice, but very difficult to actually get access to escrow funds in the event of default.

I always get a kick out of people who say they would never do this or that and when you start quizzing them, they've actually never done anything. 

If the new administration actually enacts their policy stances on tariffs, immigration, trying to ignite the economy even more....all of those things add up to higher inflation.

this is the distinct different between being an actual lender like a bank .. and an investor in a fund.. two very separate transactions.. when you lend and receive collateral on the asset you get paid when it pays off or the borrower refinances etc. 

You can still achieve it, but finding deals that actually pencil out on all criteria (low enough purchase price, low enough renovation cost, cash flows on the backend, all cash out at refinance) is pretty hard.

Set a goal of 60 days to educate yourself and dedicate 30-60 minutes per day actually doing it.

I actually took a look at your profile and made some tweaks to mine. 

Has the borrower actually received anything?