APARTMENT HUNTING IN TOKYO

Just recently I had to look for an apartment overseas, I had absolutely no idea what to do, what I would need and how much it will cost me. I was browsing through the web and to my disappointment, my intended destination apparently doesn’t have any available apartment. And the waiting list, I was told was longer than the average waiting list of a clinic in any third world country. Frustrated I was reminiscing my time in Tokyo, moving and how easy it is to find an apartment.  In my experience it was easy because my first year here, everything was done for me and by the time I had to start doing things for myself, I speak a fair bit of Japanese and thanks to my friends everything went smoothly.

 After moving around Tokyo 4 times you could say I'm a pro when it comes to finding an apartment.  So here are the things that you will need before heading to the nearest real  estate

·         Passport and (alien registration card)

·         Bank statement – proof that you can afford the apartment (or if you are working, your monthly income statement)

·         A guarantor, some real estates wont accept your own. Asking you to pay an amount for a company to become your guarantor. This guarantor will be responsible to pay up your rent if you leave without paying. 

·         Other documents depending on the real estate.

Be aware of certain real estates, the bigger the real estate group doesn’t really mean that they are the best. However Able (Eburu *in  Japanese) comes highly recommended, they have apartments every where and at an affordable price with descent living space.

·         Its best to decide where you want to live, or near which station. This varies depending on your school and work place or due to personal choices.

·         After deciding, go to the real estate that is in the area of your choice. Most of them are always close to the train stations exit.

·         Before visiting an apartment they will ask you to fill out an application form. Then they will show you the plans for each apartment.  They will then call up the landlord. Don’t get upset or offended when the landlord wont take in foreigners. Out of the 5 apartments you chose 3 of them wont accept foreigners. (foreigners have bad reputation in relation to noise and late rents)

·         It’s always wise to visit all of your choices and ask for more before deciding on which you want to rent. Most of the time, the agents will save the best for the last.

·         After you decide there will be more forms to fill and they will ask for a next of keen. Pick someone who can speak Japanese. They will call this person to confirm, so you should have his name, telephone number, home address and work address.  They will only call this person in the case of emergency. * he is not your guarantor*

·         Be aware that there are extra fees, deposits (which will be returned if you pay all your rent and didn’t damage anything prior to your moving out) , thank you money (non refundable, a gratitude money for the landlord) and agent fee.

·         They will have a lot of little costs that are not mandatory so ask them to explain fully. Eg, clean up fee, for them to flash out any insects.

There are other real estate agents that doesn’t require much paper work and have attractive packages. However, I personally think its wise to rent these apartments if you are here temporarily.  For less than a year it’s the best option.  The pros and cons of these kinds of agencies are

PROS:

·         The initial payment is cheap, no agent fee, no thank you money, and small amount of deposit.

·         They provide free Internet and the bills are free as long as they are below 10000yen.

·         Usually fully or partly furnished: Beds, refrigerator, stove, microwave, TV etc.

·         Usually have a lot of foreigners around, its good for social reasons.

·         They accept all foreigners

CONS:

·         Rents are much more expensive in comparison to the location and size of the room.

·         Its usually very far from the station and outside of Tokyo metropolitan area.

·         There will be no prior visit before moving in.

·         The rooms are too small and in some cases a bit old and not in a very good state.

·         It is more expensive in the long run than apartments from other agencies.

·         You will have to pay an extra 2000yen/day  if you are late  with your rent regardless of whatever reason.

·         Very strict on having visitors staying over.

Apart from these kinds of apartment, there are other kinds of accommodation that you can find. Room sharing is common among both the Japanese and Foreign Population. Usually it is a house, not an apartment, the landlord rent out rooms unlike boarding houses, the landlord doesn’t live in the house nor does he handle any issues. There are middle men who deals with his business and to rent a room, they only put out advertisement online when they have a spare room.

For tourists who are not willing to spend most of their travel money on accommodation, if you are  travelling with friends or in a group there are dormitories, room share with bunk beds. What a way to relive the college days……..