With global economic markets in turmoil and job markets in peril, Kuniko and I pulled the trigger yesterday and started paperwork on a plot of land in Okubo. Billed in Japan as the biggest decision of a person’s life, buying a piece of land (and building a house on it) is not an easy call. For most people in Japan, once you buy the land you have already determined where your kids will go to elementary and junior high school, how long your commute will be for the rest of your life, and where you’ll live and probably where you’ll die. No snap decision, this one.
Obviously our situation is a little different. I don’t have a lifetime employment arrangement, and we don’t have kids, so some of these issues will no doubt come up later. Still, these thoughts weighed heavily on us as we considered it.
After consulting with Kuniko’s parents on the property and the ins and outs of the contract it looked good, so we went ahead. This is just the first step – there is still a lot to be worked out. We’ll need to secure our loan for the property and house (we only did the application and paperwork yesterday), and we’ll need to plan the layout of the house and choose all the details – the colors, textures, cabinets, etc.
The basic timeline is that we’ll spend the next few months working with an architect on the layout and choosing interior and exterior stuff once the layout is complete. After that is complete then we’ll have to wait another 3-4 months for the house to be built. Then we’ll have to wait a bit for some inspections before we move in. That puts us in a new home in early to mid-2009.
Making this move is a big turning point for me and Kuniko. Because of my status as foreigner in Japan the loan had to be in Kuniko’s name, and because I’ve blown all my savings on higher education it was from Kuniko’s hard-earned savings that we drew money for the “head money” (Japanese for down payment). Kuniko’s folks are chipping in as well, so we’re in good shape. Still, I need to wrap up this master’s degree and turn it into a full time job come this April. Time to contribute a little more around here!
So just like when we went every Sunday night to Kobe for months to plan our wedding we’ll be spending every Sunday at the architect and real estate offices in the near future. The good thing is that everyone is really helpful in the process, and because we are working with a company rather than a private person they handle everything professionally and politely.
I’ll write more later as the process continues. So far I’ve learned a lot about how things work in the real estate business, and I’m looking forward to learning more in the future.
