I'd like to buy a house in Okinawa...

[Willard Boyd]

I've noticed a few of you mentioned buying a house in a few of the threads. I'm living in Texas right now, but I'd really like to buy a retirement home in Okinawa now and start making payments on it. Which means I won't even be able to move out there until 12 years from now. Any advice from those of you who've had to jump through these hoops? My wife is an Okinawan girl, so I have in-laws there, but they aren't well off. I've got a respectable down payment and steady work (I'm in the US Army). I appreciate any help you can throw my way. W Boyd

[DoctorP]

Willard...by respectable downpayment, I hope you mean 30% of the cost of the house (not including land). Assuming you want a decent sized home (70-80 tsubos for a family of 2) you'll need around $200k for a house, so around $60K for the downpayment. If you need land, it will cost a little more. Many people here rent the land long term (say 20-30 years). I personally don't plan to go that route. I plan to purchase the land and build the house all at the same time! Have your in-laws talk to Tokuzato housing. They specialize in building homes for families like yours. If you shoot me a PM, I'll tell you some more. There are some ways for you to save some money. What area of Okinawa is your wife from? Were you at Torii before?

[Time2PCS]

It is my understanding that in order to buy a house in Japan, you must be of Japanese heritage (or married to someone of Japanese heritage). Is this a correct statement?

[DoctorP]

Not entirely...there are ways around it. Willard if you are still interested, send me a PM and lets see what we can do.

[junjunforever]

Willard...by respectable downpayment, I hope you mean 30% of the cost of the house (not including land). Assuming you want a decent sized home (70-80 tsubos for a family of 2) you'll need around $200k for a house, so around $60K for the downpayment. If you need land, it will cost a little more. Many people here rent the land long term (say 20-30 years). I personally don't plan to go that route. I plan to purchase the land and build the house all at the same time! Have your in-laws talk to Tokuzato housing. They specialize in building homes for families like yours. If you shoot me a PM, I'll tell you some more. There are some ways for you to save some money. What area of Okinawa is your wife from? Were you at Torii before?

is that about the price of house in Okinaway? 200k sounds like a good deal.

[FrustratedDave]

Willard...by respectable downpayment, I hope you mean 30% of the cost of the house (not including land). Assuming you want a decent sized home (70-80 tsubos for a family of 2) you'll need around $200k for a house, so around $60K for the downpayment. If you need land, it will cost a little more. Many people here rent the land long term (say 20-30 years). I personally don't plan to go that route. I plan to purchase the land and build the house all at the same time! Have your in-laws talk to Tokuzato housing. They specialize in building homes for families like yours. If you shoot me a PM, I'll tell you some more. There are some ways for you to save some money. What area of Okinawa is your wife from? Were you at Torii before?
Doctor P ,I am only going to share my experience with you here so please take it as that. First I will say that I have bought and own a house here in Japan.

I do think that you have underestimated the price of a house by a little bit. If you go off current trends, they( housing companies) do the math by multiplying a "tsubo/坪"(I am explaining like this for the OP BTW) which is about 3.3m/sq or 35 ft/sq by a certain amount of money which is decided by what plans and materials you end up using.

This price ranges from about 400,000yen/$3,700 US to anything up and over 1,000,000yen/$9200 US. Going off these figures you would be looking at least $300,000 K US just for the house and this would be a very ordinary house, you would be looking at much more if you change around the plans too much.
One of my staff recently built a house with a cheap but big company here (Sekisui House) and it was about 35 tsubo/1225ft sq/115m sq and that cost them $240,000 US just for the house. The land cost them $100,000 US for 30 tsubo of land/1,200ft sq.

Now for land, the average price in Okinawa is about $3,000 US for one tsubo and if you were going to build a house that was 80 Tsubo you would need at least 100 tsubo of land, now do the math, you will need close to $300,000 US for that much land. Sure you will find cheaper places , but not much cheaper.

Add them both up and you are looking at over $600,000-$700,000 for a house that big (80 tsubo) if you skiped all luxuries. Of corse if you built a house that had a few nice luxuries like inbuilt air conditioners ect, it will easily go over the 1 mil mark.

Just some food for though.

@Willard Boyd, can you give me specifics as I know I can help you out on a few things.

Dave

[FrustratedDave]

I forgot to say that the average size of a house by floor is about 121m sq/1,300ft sq. 80 tsubo is huge by Japanese standards.

[junjunforever]

the best thing about building a house in japan, is the low interest rate. A person i know is paying like 3.5%. For a $300,000 loan, thats only $10,500, probably cheaper than what you would be paying for rent.

[Mike Cash]

Sergeant Boyd last visited us in August, 2005.

Junjun, you have an uninformed view of how the interest rate works. It isn't 3.5% of the total amount of the loan.

I just used my bank's (Gunma Bank) online home mortgage calculator to run the numbers on a 30 million yen mortgage at 3.5% over 30 years:

Monthly payments: 134,713
Yearly payments: 1,616,556
Total repayments: 48,496,680

That 3.5% is an annual percentage rate.

By way of comparison, at 3.4% the total repayments would be 47,895,840......a difference roughly half a million yen. Under your math it would be a difference of three hundred bucks.

[FrustratedDave]

Sergeant Boyd last visited us in August, 2005.


Ahhh... crap!!!:(:(:(

[DoctorP]

Dave thanks for the post. I think you forget that I am in Okinawa and not mainland Japan. The price per tsubo is not anywhere what you posted. I can buy land here anywhere between $500 to $2,000/tsubo depending upon location and whether it is ready for construction or not.

[FrustratedDave]

Dave thanks for the post. I think you forget that I am in Okinawa and not mainland Japan. The price per tsubo is not anywhere what you posted. I can buy land here anywhere between $500 to $2,000/tsubo depending upon location and whether it is ready for construction or not.
Wow Doctor P, that is cheap!:cool: I doN7t want to tell you how much we paid for our land.:(

[DoctorP]

Sad thing is that I have land that would be mine (MIL) if I moved up there to Kanagawa...but I'm not ready to work on the Japanese economy (yet) so it sits there in waiting. If I would make the move, I could build a house anytime.

[FrustratedDave]

Yes, the hussle and bussle of Japanese life can be hard!

[junjunforever]

Sergeant Boyd last visited us in August, 2005.

Junjun, you have an uninformed view of how the interest rate works. It isn't 3.5% of the total amount of the loan.

I just used my bank's (Gunma Bank) online home mortgage calculator to run the numbers on a 30 million yen mortgage at 3.5% over 30 years:

Monthly payments: 134,713
Yearly payments: 1,616,556
Total repayments: 48,496,680

That 3.5% is an annual percentage rate.

By way of comparison, at 3.4% the total repayments would be 47,895,840......a difference roughly half a million yen. Under your math it would be a difference of three hundred bucks.


yeah. sorry i was very vague uninformative in my post.

Personally when buying a house, the most important thing is the yearly interest reate compared to the rent expense. In the U.S. it is close to 7%, and thus, with simple math, $500k value house in south california would have to pay $35,000/year in interest only. You can probably rent the same house at $24,000 per year. Thus, it is more financially sound to rent the house and save up the extra $10,000 until you can save up enough to virtually buy the house outright.

In japan however, interest rate is still low enough for the home purchase to be much better investment than rent-and-save.

In retrospect, U.S. savings bond is like what... betwee 4 or 5 percent. Which means that the banks are lending home buyers at a lower rate than what they can get from purchasing the simple government bonds in the U.S..

Basically 30 year 130,000 payment for 30,000,000 loan is a great deal.

[KirinMan]

Dave thanks for the post. I think you forget that I am in Okinawa and not mainland Japan. The price per tsubo is not anywhere what you posted. I can buy land here anywhere between $500 to $2,000/tsubo depending upon location and whether it is ready for construction or not.

Actually Doc there are places here in Okinawa that one can purchase land for $50 per tsubo. 5,000 yen.

Plus one other thing, the average land amount bought here for buying a house is now roughly 50 tsubo and not 70 to 80.

[DoctorP]

I'm going more for 90 to 100 tsubo myself.

[-Rudel-]

Yuu want a mansion eh? hehehe

[KirinMan]

I'm going more for 90 to 100 tsubo myself.
I dont blame you either, just remember that over time the cost you will pay in taxes is going to be pretty expensive. I hope you are rich enough to cover them as well.

[DoctorP]

Please don't misunderstand me...I was speaking land size, not house size. I am not one to have a house with only 3 ft of land on either side of it! I need room to breathe, and space for a few trees!

[FrustratedDave]

Please don't misunderstand me...I was speaking land size, not house size. I am not one to have a house with only 3 ft of land on either side of it! I need room to breathe, and space for a few trees!
Yeah... I am the same, thats why we got a nice big piece of land here in mainland Japan. We have a nice garden ,which I like too.

[kala83]

I personally would love to thank you guys for putting up this info. In a few years from now I plan to be moving to Japan for working with young kids and since I do plan on staying in the country for as long as possible I want to see if I can buy a home at some point..lol yes I pretty much mean save up for one. But I don't know anything about ends and outs of buying a house so the info you guys are giving is great and I just wanted to say thanks. lol since is the first time I have seen actual helpful information on the subject.

[wtrhzrd]

Hi everyone,
I have recently accepted a position in Okinawa. I have a minimum 2 year requirement. My wife and I do not have any affiliation with the Okinawan heritage. Does anyone have any recommendations for us in finding a place to live (renting or purchasing)? I will be working at Kadena.
Thanks!

[KirinMan]

Hi everyone,
I have recently accepted a position in Okinawa. I have a minimum 2 year requirement. My wife and I do not have any affiliation with the Okinawan heritage. Does anyone have any recommendations for us in finding a place to live (renting or purchasing)? I will be working at Kadena.
Thanks!

Who are you with? Dodds or a contractor? Plus is there a housing allowance in your contract?

Off the top I would suggest renting as it is only for two years, the difficulties that you would have to go through buying here, particularly as a newcomer would probably not be worth it.

[wtrhzrd]

I'm a contractor with L-3 Communications. We do get a housing allowance. So you recommend renting. I see they have houses and apartments. Is there a big difference in size/price comparison between the two?

[KirinMan]

I'm a contractor with L-3 Communications. We do get a housing allowance. So you recommend renting. I see they have houses and apartments. Is there a big difference in size/price comparison between the two?
Yes and no, nearly every person that I have heard of goes through a housing agency to get their apartments or houses. The agency will probably ask you what your housing allowance is and then "show" you houses or apartments that would fit that allowance.

I know that doesnt answer your question yet but please bear with me a moment. Now a Japanese person could walk into the same agency ask to see the same apartment or house and ask what the rent was and most likely would be given a totally different amount. Not fair to say the least.

The housing agencies that cater to the base personell have usually much larger and better apartments and houses than the average Japanese one. I will give you an example of a friend of mine. He is married with one teenage son, and two dogs. They have a two story house with 4 bedrooms a smallish kitchen, living room and dining room and a decent sized yard. His housing allowance is roughly 400,000 yen per month and pays around 300,000 per month in rent, the balance he uses to pay for utlities, particularly electric for the a/c.

It gets a bit warm here, ok I lied, it gets down right nasty here from about rainy season in May through October. You WILL need the a/c to make life bearable, unless of course you are used to hot, humid, steamy weather.

Ok back to your question, how much room do you need? Sure there are size and price differences, houses usually cost more than apartments but there are some apartments that I have seen here that look exactly like they belong in some 5star resort hotel. Then there are ones I wouldn't let my pet cockroach sleep in if I had one that is.

There are many really nice sized apartments available, it's up to you about privacy with a house vs apartment, parking, closeness to the base, things like that.

[Ewok85]

Its also worth pointing out that rent is not a fixed figure, and it will be a fairly optimistic number ;)

When I was last searching I told the agents a price above what I was willing to pay, and was able to find a nice place and haggle the rent/deposits back down to something I would pay.

[KirinMan]

Its also worth pointing out that rent is not a fixed figure, and it will be a fairly optimistic number ;)
When I was last searching I told the agents a price above what I was willing to pay, and was able to find a nice place and haggle the rent/deposits back down to something I would pay.
The request for information was for here in Okinawa btw, so you were able to do this here?
What agency were you dealing with that allowed you to haggle with them?

I wouldnt put too much into thinking that it would be an "optimistic" number.

[DoctorP]

What Obeika posted is pretty much spot on. You will have no problem finding a place since you will be receiving allowances. Hope your trip here is a nice one.

[wtrhzrd]

Thank you everyone for the great information. My wife hopes to get a job when we get there. She will have just retired from the Air Force when we arrive. She does have a security clearance if that means anything. Will it be difficult for her to find a job?

[DoctorP]

She won't have too many problems, unless she is picky. The smart thing to do is take a job first...then later change to what you want to do!

[KirinMan]

Thank you everyone for the great information. My wife hopes to get a job when we get there. She will have just retired from the Air Force when we arrive. She does have a security clearance if that means anything. Will it be difficult for her to find a job?
I agree with Doc P too here. Have your wife considered applying for a GS position here and applying now before getting here? There are not too many GS positions here that I know of that are local hire with SOFA status as well.

There may have been at one time, but not so much now.

[wtrhzrd]

We'll get her resume out there. Is it allowed for two people to get a housing allowance and the like? I really don't know too much about that.

[shoguntomo]

Hi there, back to the topic of buying land in Okinawa ... I am a Canadian and my wife is Japanese (from Gunma) ... we are looking to buy either a house or just land in Okinawa or even on an island further south (Miyako).

Normally, how many tsubo is a typical lot of land for sale? 50? 100? 200tsubo?

Would Miyako be cheaper of more expensive in comparison to Okinawa?

We are looking for something considered more rural and ideally with some ocean view ... best part of the islands to look?

Also, we are going back to Japan, specifically Naha in December for a month. Which office (realtor) should I go to to look at some places?

Finally, is there any court ordered sales in Okinawa, and how does one access this info?

Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[DoctorP]

Hi there, back to the topic of buying land in Okinawa ... I am a Canadian and my wife is Japanese (from Gunma) ... we are looking to buy either a house or just land in Okinawa or even on an island further south (Miyako).
Normally, how many tsubo is a typical lot of land for sale? 50? 100? 200tsubo?

Typical? Around 50 to 70. You can find lots much bigger though, going up to about 120 tsubo. I've seen lots as big as 150 tsubo, but not sure why you would need one that big.


Would Miyako be cheaper of more expensive in comparison to Okinawa?
We are looking for something considered more rural and ideally with some ocean view ... best part of the islands to look?

This is only a guess, but I think Miyako would be cheaper, but harder to purchase. Rural areas? Look at Uruma, Kin, Higashi, Nago.

Also, we are going back to Japan, specifically Naha in December for a month. Which office (realtor) should I go to to look at some places?
Finally, is there any court ordered sales in Okinawa, and how does one access this info?
Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I would have to ask around for you on this one. Yes there are bankruptcy sales here. I have had two chances to buy homes that way, but the wife really disliked the house so we didn't follow up on them. I'll try to get you some more info soon.

[KirinMan]

This is only a guess, but I think Miyako would be cheaper, but harder to purchase. Rural areas? Look at Uruma, Kin, Higashi, Nago.

There is currently an abundance of land available for purchase in many locations throughout the island. However they are in landfill areas, but there are choice locations and in some cases the city will subsidize or give a gift of money if a person builds in the city.

The land fill areas that have literally thousands of tsubo's of land for sale are in Nishzaki, Itoman City, Agarie Hama, Yonabaru Cho, Toyosaki, Tomishiro City and there is open land as well in Nishihara, Awase, and more.

There is plenty of land.

[DoctorP]

I just looked at a patch of land today. 103 tsubos for Y70,000/tsubo. Not a bad location. Surrounded by older homes, view of the mountainside, and a slight view of the Pacific Ocean, and walking distance to my dojo, kids juku, shopping, and kids piano sensei. Will be looking over the fine details this week and deciding what to do from there.

[Windy]

Finally, is there any court ordered sales in Okinawa, and how does one access this info?
Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
http://www.foreclosedjapan.com

[Windy]

http://www.foreclosedjapan.com
Oh sorry, they don't cover Okinawa.

Try:
http://www.sumai-ism.jp/
http://www.jpress.co.jp

All the info is in Japanese though.

[DoctorP]

Signed a contract today, going to the bank on Thursday to sign the loan. Buying 103 tsubos in the same town I'm in now...working on the plans for the house. By this time next year, I should be living in my brand new home!

[shoguntomo]

Thank you Obeika and Doctor P for your information.

My wife has been able to find some good Japanese websites with land for sale in Miyako. The land sites look pretty good with views of the ocean. Prices don't seem too bad. 100 tsubo of land for $35,000 US and options to buy model homes.

The comment about the landfills was interesting, will need to do more research on that one.

Doctor P ... congratulations on the purchase if all went well.

[FrustratedDave]

I just looked at a patch of land today. 103 tsubos for Y70,000/tsubo. Not a bad location. Surrounded by older homes, view of the mountainside, and a slight view of the Pacific Ocean, and walking distance to my dojo, kids juku, shopping, and kids piano sensei. Will be looking over the fine details this week and deciding what to do from there.
Wow, that cheap. :cool: We paid ￥300,000/tsubo for our land.

[caster51]

Wow, that cheap. We paid ￥300,000/tsubo for our land.

this is in My vicinity with free onsen.


http://bbs.enjoykorea.jp/tbbs/read.php?board_id=pvillage&nid=41669
http://bbs.enjoykorea.jp/tbbs/read.php?board_id=pvillage&nid=45003
http://bbs.enjoykorea.jp/tbbs/read.php?board_id=pvillage&nid=41502

[DoctorP]

Thank you Obeika and Doctor P for your information.
My wife has been able to find some good Japanese websites with land for sale in Miyako. The land sites look pretty good with views of the ocean. Prices don't seem too bad. 100 tsubo of land for $35,000 US and options to buy model homes.
The comment about the landfills was interesting, will need to do more research on that one.
Doctor P ... congratulations on the purchase if all went well.


Had to postphone the bank until tomorrow...then everything will be final!

[FrustratedDave]

Did you get everything sorted?

[DoctorP]

Did you get everything sorted?


Signed the loan on Thursday...things are on track for now...I will post more as changes come.

[Mars Man]

Wow !! A house with land in the making !! I am so happy for you DoctorP san !! Great!! Keep us posted. MM

[DoctorP]

Finally finished the negotiations, and I now own 100 tsubos! Well...the bank owns it and I will soon have a home on it!

[sumo4life]

Doctor P.,

I noticed you purchased 100+ tsubos of land for what seems to be a great price. Do you mind just throwing a ballpark area where my wife and I may be able to find a similar bargain? We looked at a 54 tsubo lot in the Awase / Hiyagon area today and the owner wanted Y200,000 / tsubo. We plan on building up so 54 tsubo will probably work for us, but the price was a little too steep for our budget. Any further assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[DoctorP]

Doctor P.,
I noticed you purchased 100+ tsubos of land for what seems to be a great price. Do you mind just throwing a ballpark area where my wife and I may be able to find a similar bargain? We looked at a 54 tsubo lot in the Awase / Hiyagon area today and the owner wanted Y200,000 / tsubo. We plan on building up so 54 tsubo will probably work for us, but the price was a little too steep for our budget. Any further assistance would be greatly appreciated.


Awase??? Not gonna happen. What is your price range? I saw 148 tsubos for sale in Ishikawa this morning, but not sure of the asking price. Reclaimed land is cheap. Land near the Kurashiki Dam is cheap too, but you will be near a landfill...not good! Get a little outside of town...look for farmland near town...most of the farmers on island are getting old, and the kids don't farm the land, that is where we lucked out. The old woman knew the kids wouldn't work the land, so I got a great deal on it.

Are you trying to stay South?

[sumo4life]

Thanks for the prompt response. We love the Awase area, but over the years we anticipated having to give up the idea in favor of someplace more affordable. We also like the Gushikawa (Uruma) area and would settle for something in the Yomitan area. Do you have any idea what the avg. cost per tsubo would be in those areas? That's about as far north as we have thought about thus far. Thanks again for your input. Talk to you soon.

[DoctorP]

I'm no expert, but I would expect Yomitan to be fairly expensive. That is the best area for expansion on the island and most people are probably holding out for resorts. I would also expect that Ali Villa and the Renasance (sp?) and the other resorts out at Zanpa would have a hand in any transactions out there. With that said, there are some people developing out near the Renasance towards the end of Rt. 6.

Gushikawa (Uruma) would probably be cheaper, but that would depend upon where. I'm in Ishikawa which is also part of Uruma. You just have to keep your eye out. Like I said, we just happened across a sign one day and bam...there it was. I'll keep an eye out though.

[BBRyukyu]

This is a very informative thread, and has given me a lot to think about. My wife and I live in Naha and here parents live in Tomigusuku, so we would like to stay in this general area. How do property taxes work, are they the same for the whole Island or do they differ from city to city?

[Hermit Crab]

Very good information here! I really appreciate everyone sharing so much.

I am personally more interested in buying or building in Shimajiri. If anyone has any experience or information, please pass on what you can. If you happen to know anything about Ginowan and Urasoe, I'm considering those areas too, but nothing any further north.

[DoctorP]

From my experience, land in Ginowan or Urasoe is going to be extremely expensive. Probably around Y2,000,000/tsubo. I spoke to someone today that is selling some land in Gushikawa at Y1,100,000/tsubo. He hasn't divided up the plots yet, so it's open game for how much you want to buy....50 tsubo, 70tsubo, 100tsubo...up to you. He owns the housing company that is building my home.

[oyajikun]

Very informative thread.

My wife and I recently found a beautiful 200 tsubo home in southern Okinawa that we dearly wanted to buy. I submitted a mortgage application to my bank in Tokyo, (Shinsei). Unfortunately my application was denied….. Shinsei of course refuses to divulge any information to me as to why our dreams were shattered.

I guess I will move my banking locally to either Ryukyu or Okinawa Ginko in hopes that it helps our chances next time. With that, I ask, where did you have luck getting your home loans? Local or mainland?

[DoctorP]

My loan is with Ryukyu as are two of my friends.

[oyajikun]

I just got word from Okigin that they will alow me to apply for the loan without PR. Wish me luck!

[oyajikun]

So has anyone else bought in Yaese-cho?

[Hermit Crab]

I'm interested to hear about your dream home, the area, and the loan experience at The Bank of Okinawa. I like the south island region a lot.

[oyajikun]

I'm interested to hear about your dream home, the area, and the loan experience at The Bank of Okinawa. I like the south island region a lot.

It's a 10yo, 6 LDK house, sitting on 200 tsubo of land in Gushikami, Yaese-co. The building was designed by the owner from the ground up. (Apparently this is the 2nd home he has built, getting ready to build his 3rd after the sale.) It has a beautifully maintained backyard/garden, with a huge vine covering the back patio. The house itself is surrounded by farm land. Very secluded, and only a 15 min bicycle ride to the beach. The downside is that it's a 10 min drive to the nearest grocer. But I'm willing to live with that. :)

Still waiting to hear back from the bank.. should get an answer by Feb 8th.

[DoctorP]

I just found a 10yr old 6LDK about 1km from where I am now. Nice house actually, except for the kitchen. 64tsubos of land, quiet, 39 tsubo house. I would love to get this, but I've already started construction of the new place. Showed it to a friend today, hopefully he and his wife will get it!

[oyajikun]

Bank loan denied.. :( and the reason was the same as before. No PR. Why it took them close to 3 weeks to come to that decision, who knows...

I'm eligible for PR in 10 months, hopefully my house is still on the market then.

[Hermit Crab]

Bank loan denied.. :( and the reason was the same as before. No PR. Why it took them close to 3 weeks to come to that decision, who knows...
I'm eligible for PR in 10 months, hopefully my house is still on the market then.
You should go to immigration and talk to the people at the information desk. They will be able to advise you as to when is the best time to apply. While there are rules & guidelines in place for PR, the immigration officials do have a lot of leeway allowed. In many cases it all depends on who is working on your case. If they give you the green light for application, it would be best to start right away. Processing times can take from 3-6 months (in some cases a little shorter or longer).

[oyajikun]

You should go to immigration and talk to the people at the information desk. They will be able to advise you as to when is the best time to apply. While there are rules & guidelines in place for PR, the immigration officials do have a lot of leeway allowed. In many cases it all depends on who is working on your case. If they give you the green light for application, it would be best to start right away. Processing times can take from 3-6 months (in some cases a little shorter or longer).


Yes, I plan to go into the office tomorrow and please my case. Thanks for the tip.

[Shouganai]

Not sure there would be any available in such an 'idyllic' (???) place, but worth a look.

[Darican]

This thread kind of ended. I just found it and got a lot of good info. Is there anything else any one can share about buying a house or land or both in Okinawa?

[oyajikun]

After our last attempt to buy a house failed, I became extremely discouraged. I drug my feet around for a few months and grumbled excessively about being a foreigner in Japan etc.. As fun as that was, my wife and I decided to keep looking.

I guess the old adage that every cloud has a silver lining rings true. As we recently found a beautiful piece of land near the ocean that we can afford to buy and hopefully build our family home on.

Now I need info on local builders. Panahome and Daiwa are out, as the design I have in mind has 3 floors, and apparently only concrete can be built that high in Okinawa. Besides that, they look like doll houses.

I had some concerns about concrete not lasting very long (there are lots of good examples of this in Okinawa), but I have been told that the concrete houses of present are much stronger than the houses from 20-30 years ago.

Can anyone recommend any builders? I know there are a few that specialize in building American style homes for the military to rent out. I would really like to find some more info on them..

Thanks in advance!

[Darican]

I can’t speak as an expert, but I do know that I come from a tropical island much like Okinawa. In Puerto Rico, concrete is the best material due to the hurricanes and humidity. Wood doesn’t cut it. However, that said between 15 to 20 years later the house does show wear and tear. And when it comes time to fix the house, concrete is more expensive. I have been asking around, and in Okinawa seems to be just as true. Plus let’s not forget termites…

On the flip side, wood and steal houses are cheaper to build and the permits from the government are faster to get.

I’ve been on this a while, but finally got serious about trying to get one… Hope this helps, ‘cause this forum did get me some good info…

[kurisuti]

Wow this topic has been really helpful!!
If prices in the Ginowan area are 1-2 million yen/tsubo, isn't that still pretty cheap in comparison to houses in the US? Everything in my area is about 5 million yen/tsubo ^^;;
Anyway, does anyone know of good sites to use to find realty in Okinawa? I'm still in the US, but looking for some property in the Ginowan or Yomitan area.

[oyajikun]

Seems that I'm unable to post URLS here..

Google search ' 沖縄　不動産 ' and check out the sites ' e-uchina.net ' & ' sumai-ism.jp ' (lots of used properties and parcels updated at these 2 sites every day.)

Study the kanji for the various town names. Use google traslator whenever you are unsure 'translate.google.com/translate_t'

I hope this helps!

[kurisuti]

Wow!! Thanks very much ^^

The first looks easy enough to use and very Okinawa oriented, especially with a domain name like that :9 I know intermediate Japanese so hopefully won't have to use translators too much, they just make things more confusing usually >,<;; Thanks again though for the resources!!

[Darican]

So has anyone still in the military been able to get a loan from a Japanese bank for a house? Running into that situation right now... Any sugestions?

[DoctorP]

So has anyone still in the military been able to get a loan from a Japanese bank for a house? Running into that situation right now... Any sugestions?


Your situation is differnet than most here. If you are still active duty, take your wife and visit Tokuzato housing. If she has a job, or someone is willing to say that she works for them, then you can get them to build for you. You will be able to use your housing allowance to pay it off as well.

Go talk to them, and if you have more questions, then come back.

[Darican]

Doc,
When you say they can build me a house, do you mean american style or willing to build an military person a house? I ask because I really don't care to have an american style house, specially if it saves me a few dollars,... er, yen. Except for the toillet, though. I really care to have an american style toilet...

[DoctorP]

Doc,
When you say they can build me a house, do you mean american style or willing to build an military person a house? I ask because I really don't care to have an american style house, specially if it saves me a few dollars,... er, yen. Except for the toillet, though. I really care to have an american style toilet...


Price would be about the same, so why not build it "American" style...then if you transfer you can rent it to someone. 10 yrs and the house is paid off. Do it while you are still active duty!

[Mensore]

Good post and good information! I'm planning on going down to Okinawa to buy a house/apartment complex and rent it out to the military so it gets paid quickly. I'm also thinking about buying an apartment complex. As you might know, the Americans probably pay 2-3 times as much as a Japanese national. I'm currently living in Tachikawa, Japan. It's so freakn expensive up here compared to Okinawa. I'm thinking of sending the family there to get settled in while I finish my tour at Yokota.

[AroundTheWorld]

I have heard so many nice things about Okinawa. I think living there would be a lot more peaceful than living in Florida. ._.

[louxwe]

Wow this is great information and thanks for all the help everyone. So here is my situation, spent 4 yrs in AF on Okinawa, speak some Japanese, my wife is Japanese from Miyazaki, but went to school at Ryukyu Daigaku. I separated, came back to the states and got my MBA in international business, working back here and saving money, dreaming of my future return to Okinawa. I would appreciated any advice that you might have on the following plans. My wife is finishing her masters degree and it looks like she might have a job at Meio University in Nago in a couple of years which is great since that could bring in some money to pay the bills while I get set up. My dream is to set up a relaxed diving minshuku where people can some and stay at individual cabins, leaving my actual home as a separate building, and also charging for scuba/mt. biking/hiking/fishing excursions. I know it might take a while to get there but what I would like to do is by a large plot of land and build a small house for us and then grow into the rest as we get settled and I get my Japanese skills back up. My wife has many close Okinawan friends and when we were last back there we looked at a plot of land that one of her friends owns and felt like they were basically giving us the "local" insiders price since it was very low. It was a little bit north of the main part of Onna City, around 1/2 way between Onna and Nago. Then just a short drive up into the Mtns/Jungle area. It was about 1-1.5 US ACRES!!! surrounded (actually overgrown by jungle trees) and I think I could get the whole thing for under $140k. Some questions:
Is it just me or does this seem like an unbelievably low deal?
Would it be crazy expensive to get a house with services in this rural area?This is kind of remote but there is one more house higher up the hill that backs up against jungle and it is only 2 mins away from the small village center.
My wife and son still have their offical japanese residence but it is in Miyazaki... could we still by something in Okinawa?
I was thinkging about just buying even just as an investment since it is so cheap and that area is absolutely beautiful and I think it is destined to skyrocket in value... think prime resort areas in Hawaii.
I have a very good paying job here with extra cash but still wonder if me and my wife could get a Japanese loan while we are here in America still?
I think the best route would be to buy it up, build a smallish house on it and then rent it Americans to help pay it off until we move there in a couple of years... any thoughts.
It all seems like such a great idea but I am little bit skeptical since I don't know enough about this market (many Japanese homes go down in value not up, is it landslide prone, it is pretty overgrown so what would it cost to pull out the overgrowth) Plus now I have to pay for this house here and one in Okinawa and hope I don't lose my job, but I should be able to take quite a bit of money out of this house when we head back to Okinawa.
Okay so I rambled on way to much but one more question... I was considering signing back up for the AF reserves so that I could work a little bit when I first get back there, also get my clearance back for potential contractor opportunities on base... any thoughts?
Thanks for any directions, I would especially be inerested on your thoughts about the pricing in the Onna area.
Thanks,

[Shouganai]

You should investigate whether there is foreclosed property in Okinawa. Being Okinawa, maybe not. I dont think that law sounds so cheap. Land is not so expensive outside the major cities.Do your research because foreclosed land can be up to 50% cheaper in such areas because no bidders. Do a Google search for "foreclosed property Japan". If you are interested in diving, you should also consider the Philippines. Its only the south which is a war zone. Supposed to be good diving in the Philippines, but then maybe your wife likes the Japanese life. I must say I see potential for English schools in the Philippines. The Koreans already learn English here.

[louxwe]

Yeah I would love the PI too and actually have old retired AF buddies living back down there and running dive shops... all at an order of magnitude cheaper than Japan too.... but alas we are in love with the Ryukyu people, food, drink and culture and also having a brown haired dictionary living with me means we have to stick with Okinawa..... with frequent trips to the PI:)

[oyajikun]

1 year later and attempting to buy once again.

I've had alot of time now to weigh out the pro & cons of living in the country/beach community. We had been interested in both Yomitan and Nanjo, but we decided it would be better to buy somewhere more central. (closer to schools and employment), At least until my daughter has finished with school. Anyhow,, we found a beautiful home in Okinawa City that is perfect for us. I made the deposit with the fudousan and am now offically in contract. Just waiting to hear back from Shinsei bank on my loan application.

I finally filed for my eijuuken (PR Visa) but am still waiting for the reply from Shinagawa. This can take some time. This was the only reason I didn't try a local bank.

However, after doing some research, I found that Shinsei has a much better deal going on than Ryukyu or Okigin. As long as you don’t mind the inconvinence of having to visit Tokyo one time for the loan interview/finalization.

Will update this thread as my situation progresses.

[oyajikun]

Shinsei loan denied.

No explanation why, and no matter how many times my wife or I called, or how polite we were to them over the phone, the good people at Shinsei would not give a reason for denying my loan.

They only repeated that “their policy prevents them from giving any details.”

I was however able to gather the below information with the few calls that my wife and I did make.

Nationality (USA) - "Not an issue"
Visa status (3 year Spouse Visa, having applied for permanent residency) - "Not an issue."
Work status (5 year contract employee with a Tokyo employer) - "Not an issue."
Annual salary - (sufficient) "Not an issue."
Location of house (Okinawa) - "Not an issue."
Size of loan/deposit - "Not an issue."
Credit History - "Not an issue." (we plan to check this with the 3 credit companies just to be sure)

I’m very surprised by this decision. I have been a customer of Shinsei’s for 5 years, having all of my wages paid into my account on a monthly basis. It is very easy for them to check my account and see that I’m an upstanding consumer.

Needless to say, I’ll be closing my account with them just as soon as I find a suitable replacement. HSBC maybe?

Any other recommendations? I hear that Tokyo Mitsubishi sometimes gives loan to those without permanent residency. I think I will try them next..

[jokinawa]

Apparently after August 1st nobody will be able to move off-base if you do not already live off base. This is only for accompanied.

I have been trying to figure out where I want to live and this may make a ton of the houses go up for sale if it is true. I don't see a bunch of landlords keeping houses that they cannot rent once the current tenant moves out.

I have been here for 7 year and will probably be medically discharged/retired within a year. I am looking for a GS/Contracting position once I move out.

To get to the 20 Jul 2009 article: Google "okinawa no more living off base"

It is a Marine Corp times article.

[pipokun]

Work status (5 year contract employee with a Tokyo employer) - "Not an issue."
Location of house (Okinawa) - "Not an issue."

Do you and your wife get new jobs in Okinawa? Is it Seishain or not?

It is not impossible, but still difficult for contracted workers to borrow money.

I know some are highly skilled professionals and make much more money than an ordinary salayman, but it seems to me you prove the instability by yourself unless you are a super SOHO guys or you've already got a job in Okinawa.

[mechaman]

Is it true that starting on August 1, 2009 that military personnel cannot live off-based unless they have dependents? I'm curious to learn about this because I'm thinking of buying land in Okinawa.

[jokinawa]

Actually it is the other way. If they have dependents they will be forced to live on base. Only those that are single and qualified may live off base. Also, it only includes those not currently living off base.

J