Buying Renovating Japanese Abandoned Houses - One Big Issue
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ก.ย. 2023
- Welcome to the channel! If you are currently thinking of, or even in the process of, buying an abandoned house in Japan, please watch this! And then, let us know in the comments what you think and what you know?
Akiya websites:
www.koryoya.com/akiya/index.html
www.akiyajapan.com/
www.akiyabanks.com/
Find me on IG @exjapter
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As someone who has spent the last 20 years designing seismic resistant homes, I appreciate your public service announcement. Just because a structure is standing, doesn't mean that it is structurally sound. Water or insect damage can greatly impact the integrity of a wood structure.
I've watched a fair amount of those videos and you're absolutely spot on. That subject is simply not brought up. I believe I've seen ONE video where they mentioned that securing the foundation and reinforcing/replacing the main support beams in order to get them to pass 'code' which included a level of ability to withstand earthquakes was a massive headache and an even larger financial drain. That was the only one.
They went into further detail stating that facet alone was pricey enough to make most people walk away, however, I believe the wife of the couple was absolutely set on that particular home and the couple decided to stick it out. But they reiterated that it was very expensive, almost to the point of almost completely negating the whole 'it's a cheap home' allure.
I don't know if this applies to this scenario, but I've often heard that many content creators in Japan like to avoid 'bad news', 'realities of tough situations', or the 'downsides' because they fear that Japan seeking audiences simply want feel good, puff pieces. Unless the videos are about salacious and seedy myths and provocative activities. The hardships of everyday life and revealing that Japan is not a cure all or utopia simply doesn't interest them. OR...I could be completely wrong about that.
Your video gets to the nitty gritty, and serious people want those details. It's really cool that you've brought that issue to light. Clearly, it's not spoken about enough.
I've also heard that the vast majority of Japan content is made for people who will never step foot into the country, so maybe that's why the creators lean into the one dimensional representations, very little bad news, and cake videos. Who knows.
Your description sounds accurate for why my channel gets little traction. Not many people are interested in Japan beyond a romanticised facade. Yes, I do point out some of the 'dirty truths' here and there, but I think the majority of my videos are on positive things I love or find interesting about living here. Even so, the audience for that level of detail is small, as you say, most will at most visit for a short time or never come here at all, so you would have to be a true Japanophile to be interested in what I talk about.
But that, for me, makes this all pretty rewarding because I have a small group of dedicated viewers like yourself who are genuinely interested in knowing more about Japan. I appreciate that greatly.
Thanks for your thoughts. Not something in my future but my daughter is definitely considering buying in Japan and your information will surely be part of the calculation.
There are a lot of videos with good information out there about the process of buying and renovating, but there also seems to be an "ignorance is bliss" idea - I believe it is due to people coming from not-Earthquake countries. Japanese people don't buy these old houses for that very reason - they expect earthquakes to happen.
Great video. You raise a very good point. Last year we purchased a kominka built in 1868. While the fact that it is still standing after 150+ years and in an area with relatively low history of seismic activity, our next project is to rip up all the floorboards and ceiling panels, check the integrity of all supporting posts and replace/ reinforce with the guidance of local specialist contractor. We will perform this restoration over time to spread the cost out, as we are no rush to live permanently in the house. I've experienced smaller earthquakes while living in Tokyo - even those are seared into my brain as terrifying experiences.
You don't mention that fact that the building codes for earthquake safety were upgraded in the early 80s and 90s, so a 40-year-old house should have decent earthquake resistance. I was worried about the house I was living in on 3/11, which was a tall mid-1990s, open-plan house (100 meters from the Pacific Ocean in Chiba), but it did brilliantly. The ones to be careful of are those older houses that have the heavy roof tiles (and weak walls). I previously lived in a 100-year-old house in Tokyo that survived the 1923 quake. That was kind of reassuring...
Im looking to buy budget house ...akiya was on the list .. for cool retirement.. I have thought of the frequent earthquake japan has ( is it scary but if ppls in japan can overcome it .. why not i try also😂)
It is an important consideration.
Thank you for this public service announcement, Paul. I moved to the countryside in Yamaguchi to teach English. I love it here! Like you, I dreamed of having an traditional style Japanese home and refurbishing it. I knew there would be some costs but I had no idea about the post war era construction! I naively thought, that because Japanese know this nation is prone to earthquakes, that they constructed all homes with this in mind. So sadly my akiya dream will remain just a dream for now. I'll just get a modern house instead 😊
It isn't commonly known, so I think it is important to know that most construction 1950s to early 2000s has a lot of issues. Thank you for watching!
Thank you for your video. Yes I have considered a move to Japan from Singapore and at first, never considered earthquakes. It does put the perspective of an earthquake happening, on a property very scary. Especially so as Singapore have never had an earthquake and is protected by the neighbouring countries from a Tsunami. Your video is appreciated
Thank you for the comment. Where I am from, thunderstorms and tornados are the only common natural disaster. Japan is on another level. I love Singapore, btw.
I’ve only seen or read a couple of folks talking about earthquake resistance with akiya. I lived in Japan for a number of years and through a number of earthquakes and have exactly the same concerns with certain types of houses. I did want to go the Akiya route but the challenge is large and prices for older houses are extremely reasonable compared to houses in other developed countries. Currently I am leaning towards kominka or new construction when I return to Japan. The really difficult part has little to do with the house however, it is jobs. Beautiful countryside homes are great but if there are no jobs nearby… well, that might be an issue… ;)
Very true about jobs. It's the reason why the kids have all left. If I win the takarakuji I'll buy a kominka. I have read and watched some wonderful stories of restoration and those old houses are magnificent.
I was living in Tokyo for that earthquake, and that has not swayed me in my decision to find an old akiya (traditional style ~100yr old). Granted I am looking in a less seismically active area, but that is just one of the things you just accept. To me its the same as someone living where any disasters are prone, rural WA/CA where forest fires ravage every year, the midwest where tornados spawn randomly, along the gulf coast where hurricanes travel every year.
Yes, sometimes you just have to make peace with the fact that Japan isn't a 'safe' country due to natural disasters. It is a founding part of the country's psyche after all...
What about Insurance?
I know insurance works for one person's house burning down, but it tends not to work when an entire village is razed.
Do you know of people who got their house destroyed by 3/11, who got a lump sum of money and were able to start fresh?
We were required to buy earthquake insurance as part of the home buying process. I believe this is standard for everyone, at least if you are using a home loan. If you pay cash up front and don't have a loan, maybe it isn't required? I honestly don't know the answer to that. Earthquake insurance is separate from fire insurance - fire insurance is also required. Fires caused by earthquakes are not covered by fire insurance, apparently, so having both is important.
As for what happened after 3/11, I presume those with earthquake insurance got paid. That said, if your home was swept away by the tsunami...the unfortunate truth is not many had any sort of insurance covering that....
Maybe cause im a homeowner my self, i know whst to look for. Once i heard just how much it cose just to trash things.... so far rachel and jun talkex why they went new, sundai decided on an olc townhouse in kyoto, and a few others including a japanese realtor talked that the good akiya arent cheap or have back taxes or there just isnt much craftmen left that even know how to refurbish.
If i had money, id just build a new house with stylings of an akiya or machia. Just a look
Awesome video, ポールさん！Some Akita hunters are choose to promote their business and I see as lack of honesty and integrity in business. But at the same time customers must educate themselves like ポールさん。 if we ever decided to move back to Japan .. Akiya is my next choice on the list , even if we have to fix it up. 👍
God bless,
It's still a dream of mine to have a farmhouse in the mountains somewhere. But I will wait until I can afford an actual kominka that has stood since Edo or Meiji. 🙂
As someone who is planning to live in Japan at some point, I never thought of this. Not big into refurbishing, and we ran some preliminary numbers for an Akita. Would it likely be better to buy a condo in Saitama?
I don't know much about condos to be honest. Why Saitama in particular? I do think they have lots of condos there due to it being a convenient "bedroom community" for people working in Tokyo.
@@ExJapTerfamily is there.
u have to pay at least 10k to renovate old toilet to western style there is no free houses ,
Indeed. For people who are handy and can do a lot of work themselves, it might make sense, but you're still going to have to pay contractors for some things, especially to be up to legal codes.