Real estate in Japan

I've had some experience in the real estate industry. I worked at a company run by Japanese people. Many of you are saying, "Do they know anything about how a foreigner feels in Japan?" I don't think they did. Me not being there anymore shows how much I agreed with the management style. But that's another posting.

Read closely, as my article will probably be better than most sources on the web. For those of you who haven't rented an apartment or house in Japan will be shocked at how crazy the system is compared to most western real estate systems. Let's take a look at the different payments required up front before moving in. The first month's rent prepayed (yachin maebarai, 家賃前払い), deposit (shikikin, 敷金), key money (reikin, 礼金), lock change fee (kagi kokukan dai, 鍵交換代), guarantor service fee (hoshouryou, 保障料). The mentioned fees, add a few more special perks, can run a bill of almost 6 months worth of rent. Keep in mind that you still need to go through the ridiculous application process. Let's talk more on the next post.