Whole-building investor sues lender
Another cautionary tale from the whole-building investment scandal that had been targeting novice real estate investors for over a decade. This time, a Fukuoka-based news channel interviewed a government worker that just filed a 290 million Yen (US$2 million) lawsuit against the bank at the center of the scandal.
Buying property in an Urbanization Control Area
If you are looking at purchasing property in the outskirts of cities, you may come across land that is in an Urbanization Control Area. This land comes with a very different set of building limitations than other classifications. Here’s why you need to pay careful attention to this difference.
Whole-building investment scam could extend to 520 billion Yen in loans
There is still no end in sight for victims of real estate investment fraud and predatory lending. The share house investment fraud scandal that erupted in late 2017 is only the tip of the iceberg, with some data suggesting that similar loans for whole-building investments are four times as high.
More arrests as land swindles continue
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has arrested three people on suspicion of defrauding a local real estate brokerage of up to 200 million Yen from a land sale back in 2018.
No disclosure requirements for natural deaths, MLIT
On October 8, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT) announced the new guidelines for disclosing stigmatized properties to future tenants and buyers. Up until this point, there have been no clear rules on when or what to disclose to a potential occupant, leaving it up to the real estate brokers to follow their own practices. This has been a frequent cause of trouble and confusion.
Foreign buyers targeted by fraudulent investment property scams
In May the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper ran a series of reports on property investment scams targeting foreign residents in Tokyo. This is a continuation of the ongoing reporting by newspapers into the fraudulent loans on so-called investment properties that have, until now, focused on Japanese buyers.
Poorly managed apartment buildings of concern in Tokyo
Apartment buildings do not magically care for themselves. They require the apartment owners to be proactive about ensuring regular maintenance and repairs are carried out. By doing so, a building can last a long time while also helping with the resale values of those apartments. A poorly maintained building can become unpleasant to live in and resale values can plummet.
Osaka’s leaning apartment buildings ignored for 8 years
On April 27, the Sankei Shimbun newspaper reported on two neighboring apartment buildings in Osaka that are leaning to the point where they are now touching. One of the buildings was deemed at risk of collapse over 8 years ago, yet the building owner has taken no action. Several tenants continue to live in the buildings.
Residents of luxury Tokyo high-rise ordered to move out
A major construction company is writing up a 9 billion Yen (US$83 million) extraordinary loss after a recently-built high-rise condominium in Tokyo was found to have some interior defects. All residents in the several-hundred unit tower will have to temporarily move out while these issues are repaired.
Majority of wooden homes built before 2000 need earthquake-retrofitting
According to the Japan Wood-frame House Earthquake Reinforcement Business Cooperative, made up of contractors and architects that provide earthquake-retrofitting services, 93% of the 4,000 homes that have had earthquake-resistance inspections carried out over the past 15 years in Tokyo were at risk of collapse in an earthquake that produced a seismic-intensity (shindo) level of upper 6 or higher (*Note: The seismic intensity scale is difference to magnitude). The average age of a house surveyed by the Cooperative was 37 years.