Hi everyone, new here. 27 years old living and working in Tokyo. I will live here for at least ten years and am looking to buy something here so that my rent payments will be paying off the purchase of my place. Any advice for how a foreigner can buy here? I’d like to grow from there and hopefully by a small apartment building to have tenants and another side source of income for future investments/expansion.

I’ve heard about great loan opportunites here for buying property. But the best loan deals are reserved for citizens and people with permanent residence I believe.

Is anyone involved with the market here in Tokyo?

@David Gotsill @Daniel Mills  

Hey @Chris Nelson - Welcome to the BP community.  

I just moved back to the US after about 6 years in Tokyo.  I'd be happy to connect offline and offer you my thoughts.

(1) My first suggestion would be to attend a few of the Meetups run by some of the BP community:

https://www.meetup.com/BiggerPockets-Meetup-Tokyo-...

They meet on the 3rd Thursday of each month in Roppongi.  There can be a wide variation of who attends each time, so I would give it a few months and see if it makes sense for you.  It was great for me.  There are a lot of foreigners in Tokyo who buy for personal residence and/or for investments.  With some legwork you should be able to meet a good mix.  If you have trouble meeting some, let me know and I can make a few introductions.

(2) You may also consider scouring the forums for other threads about buying in Japan, I feel like I've written and read many such posts.  Might be helpful for background. 

(3) Some things to consider as you look into buying there: (i) do you have PR (permanent residency), without which you may not qualify for a loan; (ii) do you have personal ties to Japan (Japanese spouse, parents, etc); (iii) do you speak Japanese (which can also help in getting a loan); (iv) how much capital will you have as a down payment - I understand 20% is commonly required.

Happy to address any specific questions you may have, so don't hesitate to shoot them my way.

@David Gotsill thanks for the info! I've sent you a message.

@Chris Nelson - I just talked to a guy about commercial properties and loans that may work for you. They focus only in the 5 main wards of Tokyo so it would allow you to live there and rent out the rest. Depending on credit, you could get up to 90% LTV. There are also some other brokers that you could speak with. Banks are still hesitant to give loans but are slowly making a comeback. Even Suruga is starting to make loans again (albeit under very close scrutiny I am sure). PM me and I'll be happy to discuss.

I won’t be at the Meetup tonight but will try next month. 

Bruce

Hi @Chris Nelson !  A bit late to the party, but just came across this post! Did you have any success with this?

I am kind of in the same boat!  I started looking into buying property here in Osaka and it is quite hard if you don't have permanent residency or are not married to a Japanese person. In addition to the bigger pockets group, if you check out Meetup.com there are quite a few in Tokyo for buying real estate as a foreigner and I believe they occasionally have workshops and such. (Although I've never been so not sure if its any good!)  Good Luck!!