Living
In Japan
Restoring A Home In
The Japanese Countryside ~ by Ahmad Tijani/Asigo Chi
|
|
...
| In
a previous article I described how to purchase a used house from the courts
in Japan. But how do you restore and repair a house that may be fifty to
200 years old? As with any house in need of repair you have to ask
yourself can you foot the bill or do you need a loan. Who will do
the repairs? The first thing to remember is that there are always
options.
Getting a loan
as a foreigner in Japan is not easy. Banks will not even talk to you unless
you have permanent residence (Eijuuken) or citizenship. So if you do not
have either of these it would be difficult to have massive work done on
the house unless you had a nice sized savings. How much money you
have may ultimately determine where you go to have the work done.
Large well known companies are expensive and want payment up front or in
two installments. If you cannot afford that there are further options.
You can do as much of the work as you can yourself, even painting makes
a difference in the final cost. |
|
|
| The front
of Ahmad's house in Japan |
|
|
...
|
|
You
can also talk to local carpenters or small local home repair companies.
Chances are that if you are a foreigner and you bought a house in a rural
area the local companies have gotten wind of you hand will pay you a visit
looking for work. This can work to your advantage. Tell them what you want
done and what you can afford. My scheme is $200.000 or $2,000 a job,
which can include multiple repairs. So far I have only worked with small
companies but if you get your hands on a freelance carpenter I am sure
you can go cheaper.
I have had
roof work done and entire rooms rebuilt on the $2000 plan and I am pleased
with the results. There are two ways to go when it comes to restoring a
Japanese farmhouse. You can restore in the true since of the word
by making it look the way it did originally or you can be pragmatic and
make it look the way your wallet can handle, which may include adding a
few modernities. The latter way is cheaper in the short and long run.
For example, my house had four "tattami" or reed mat rooms and I am eliminating
them one by one opting for wood flooring until I am left with one or two. |
.....
In the end
I always remind myself that the reason I bought a seventy year old Japanese
farmhouse was precisely because I did not see myself being able to nor
wanting to spend $400,000 dollars on a new house not even including the
land. My place cost under $7,000 including the 155.7 square meter lot.
To contact
Ahmad Click Here
...
To see Ahmad's
article about buying real estate in Asia Click
Here
.
.
|
