Buying a House: Finding a Home 1

Buying a House: Finding a Home 1

List up your housing preferences

When purchasing a home, it is necessary to consider whether to buy a condominium or a single-family home, and whether to buy a newly built or used property. It is important to discuss with your family how you would like to live after the purchase, what kind of life you would like to lead, and what kind of home would be best for you to realize your dreams.

Point 1: Envision the life you want to lead.

First, envision what kind of lifestyle you would like to lead.
For example, "you might want a single-family house because you want to keep pets," or "you might want a condominium because it is too much trouble to maintain the garden and exterior," etc. By imagining the kind of life you want to realize in concrete terms, you can find a form of housing that will fulfill that desire.

Point2: Know the characteristics of the property types.

Both condominiums and single-family homes have their own characteristics. Everyone has their own preferences for housing, so use the table below to consider what makes a home comfortable to live in for you.

Condominiums vs. single-family homes

Characteristics of each of newly built and used houses

When looking for a used home, there are several mechanisms in place to address concerns about the quality of older buildings. These include the following methods to check the quality of an existing house.

• Inspection: An objective inspection and investigation of the condition of a building by a third-party expert who conducts a building diagnosis.
• Housing Performance Evaluation System: A system in which housing performance is evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5 by a third-party housing performance evaluation organization registered by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
• Safe R-Housing: A used house that is earthquake resistant and has undergone inspections such as building condition surveys, and for which information on remodeling, etc. is provided. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism examines and registers the business groups that wish to participate in this program, and the businesses (real estate companies, etc.) that belong to each business group list the used housing that meets their standards as "Safe R-Housing" in their advertisements and other media.
  

Point3: Understanding condominium management

(1) Exclusive and common areas
A condominium differs significantly from a single-family home in that the property is co-owned by the owners of each unit: unit ownership. While the site is co-owned by all unit owners/purchasers, the building is divided into "exclusive use" and "common use" areas. Exclusive areas are the living space inside the house that is partitioned off by walls and ceilings and are owned by the owner. Common areas are the entrances to the entire building, elevators, stairs, corridors, exterior walls, bicycle parking lots, garbage storage areas, etc., which are shared by all condominium unit owners.
(2) The role of the management association
The common areas are managed by a management association whose members are all condominium unit owners. The management association decides on management policies, such as a long-term repair plan, including when and how to inspect and repair the buildings and facilities in the common areas, and all unit owners accumulate the necessary expenses for this purpose (called a repair reserve fund). In general, the daily cleaning of common areas is carried out by a management company entrusted by the management association.
(3) Management regulations and bylaws for use
A condominium is a place for communal living, and rules are necessary to ensure that everyone can live comfortably together. These rules are called the management regulations and bylaws for use.
The management regulations mainly stipulate the operation of the management association, and includes the scope of exclusive areas and common areas, the amount of management fees and reserve funds for repairs, and whether or not pets are allowed. The bylaws for use stipulate the rules and promises for daily life in the condominium, such as how to use the balcony.