Current update.....

I've been pretty caught up by my job advertising apartments for the local community. I know it sounds like a lame excuse for not updating my blog and keeping the expat community up to date with the hottest info. Most expats tend to stay near central Tokyo for the sake of convenience, but end up paying an extortionate sum for rent. Depending on how long you stay in Japan, you may prefer a share house or furnished apartment over the usual apartments. But of course there's not much trouble finding a good room for a bargain so long you move away from central Tokyo. That is no way of saying it's an inconvenient place to live, as there are many shops and restaurants nearby. There actually are some expats that prefer living in the outskirts or suburbs, just to get away from the everyday bustling life of Tokyo. The only way to get good advice and find a good apartment is to find a trustworthy real estate agent. Most real estate agents only care about making money and getting as much contracts signed. They also tend to oversee what their clients really want.

It's true that many landlords or owners refuse to lend their property to foreigners due to their biased beliefs that they are rude or tend to break the local rules. But this is just utter crap, as I've known and even hung out with many people who are courteous and observe the local customs and rules. The media also tends to portray foreign people in a similar way, further giving off a bad impression based on biased belief. However, there are landlords who are open-minded and don't mind lending their apartments to foreigners. But it can still be a challenge to find foreigner friendly apartments, as most ads don't mention it. From my experience, I've seen ads that charge foreigners an extortionate sum for insurance. The "extra" fee can range from 1 to 2 month's rent worth or key money. This does not mean that all landlords or owners change an extra sum for foreigners.

On another note, the population is declining and they are building new apartments everywhere at ever increasing speed. Sometimes you wonder why the hell they do that when they'll end up with more vacant apartments. But that's what's been driving down rent in certain areas, even in central Tokyo. As mentioned in my earlier blogs, you are expected to shell out 4 to 5 month's worth of rent when you're moving into a new home. But that is gradually changing, as landlords and homeowners are becoming desperate to look for a renter in this world of ever-increasing vacant rooms. Most owners used to charge 1 month's worth of deposit and key money respectively. Until about 10 years ago, 2 + 2 months worth used to be the norm. Now there are apartments on the market that don't charge any deposit or key money. Gotta love the buyers market economy, eh?