About IREA & TokyoRealty.jp

We actually had some experiences where we were looking to buy a house in Japan, and although I am reasonably fluent in speaking and reading Japanese, I didn’t understand the processes or the laws at all. So I decided to study up and take the Japanese national real estate exam to get my real estate license.

Japanese real estate law can seem really complicated at times, but there is invariably a logic to everything. I really enjoyed learning the different regulations related to real estate here — and after two years of study, I managed to pass the exam!

I wanted to introduce our services acting on behalf of buyers and renters looking for properties in Tokyo. People can save a lot of time by engaging a buyer's agent service like ours.

Not only time, but many people end up buying properties that are not suitable to their needs, or miss out on properties that they would have bought had they known about them. And best of all, there is no extra charge for using a buyer's agent — the service is covered by the standard Japanese brokerage fee.

I have quite a few favorites, such as when our client starts telling me about the new renovations they are doing on their property, or cafes they recently discovered in their neighbourhood.

But my favorite favorite is when I visit them in their new home and they come and greet us at the entrance — because now it is no longer just a property, it is their home.

Greater Tokyo has so many train lines, stations, and neighborhoods that it is almost impossible for one person to compare everything. I wanted to create a search tool that helps people discover good areas they may never have considered.

It is really good for working out where we should start looking, so I use it myself all the time.

I help with Japanese communication, seller-side coordination, procedures, contracts, and the many small details that come up during the buying process.

I have experienced living in a foreign country, so I understand how stressful it can be buying a property overseas and trying to settle into your new lifestyle. I do my best to make it as smooth as possible — from searching and contracts to moving in, utilities, and renovations.

Quite often people are worried about how they can be sure they are the registered owner of a property, so we explain the Japanese registration system clearly.

Many people are also worried about whether their payments will arrive on time, so we can recommend using our corporate bank account for receiving money and making payments.

Of course, everyone worries about Japanese paperwork, so we translate the important documents and explain things clearly before major decisions are made.

My favorite part is seeing people start their new life. It is like watching the changing of the seasons. Before, they were struggling to find their place in Tokyo, but then I see them confident and settling into their new environment. Some people look completely different when you meet them one or two months later -it's really wonderful!

Good properties can move quickly, and the information available online is often incomplete, so we often cannot know the full situation until we have already seen the property.

If another party is making an offer and our client still does not have loan pre-approval, then unfortunately they are likely to miss out. So when clients use financing, I always ask them to get pre-approval taken care of as soon as possible.