@Chris Seveney I remember when cupcakes shops were popping up everywhere and were a big thing.Then, poof, most of them were gone!

If it's the difference between $1800 and $2200 but you have to cover utilities too, not worth it. 

Is it worth it?

Put in about ten grand and a summer's worth of weekends in sweat equity and the deal is very sweet.

We will shop for used appliances where we can when we need one… or pick up used cabinets if we can, or search eBay for something smaller,  but going to the extreme of personally shipping something big in internationally for one-off renovation needs seems like a stretch of reasonable.Just like you mention, the number of unknowns would not seem to be worth it to me.Just my 2 cents.Randy  

An argument can be made that you will generate a higher net worth there than say middle of nowhere Alabama.3.

Some outreach to local companies with a transient workforce may be worth your time - you'd have 1 lease rather than 5 (1 per bedroom). 

And your net worth will thank you.If you still want to go ahead, you'd be better off buying a house than an apartment because, while the value of the building itself will go to 0, you'll still have the value of the land, bearing in mind that the land might actually lose value too given the depopulation and the yen depreciation.Sorry if I'm pooping a party but make sure you understand what you're getting into (which you're already doing by asking the forum) and then make the decision that's right for you according to your objectives.

some hype but also a lot of good information.also remember: seller finance of a paid off asset, lower risk. 

For a land cost of $150k, how would you think about how much the completed home would need to sell for to make that land cost worth it?