Owning a house can be different from owning an apartment because apartments always have common areas. Common areas often include hallways, stairs, a laundry area, a front entrance, gardens, parking, etc. These common areas belong to all the unit owners collectively. Managing these common areas is the responsibility of the whole community, not just any [...]
You might think: “To make and maximise a property listing isn’t my job. It’s my real estate agent’s job”. In Japan, recruitment of tenants is the job of real estate agents, property managers, etc., after all. They are responsible for creating the listings that go on popular websites such as “at home”, “Suumo,” and “LIFULL [...]
"Millionaire". "The Million-Dollar Retirement". 1 million USD. Our society fixates on the magical amount, one million dollars. In the past, a millionaire was "rich". Nowadays, there are more than 20 million millionaires in the world. Yet being a "millionaire" is still an important milestone. Many, from laymen to financial planners, see it as the threshold. [...]
A six-figure income. For many, it’s the mark of financial success, the prerequisite to being upper-middle class. Only 9.08% of Americans make an income of six figures or more. The threshold for a six-figure income is $100,000 a year. People associate six-figure incomes with stressful, professional jobs. Doctor. Lawyer. Wall Street Stockbroker. The association between [...]
First, two famous quotes: “I hate paying taxes. But I love the civilization they give me” —Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (jurist, former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of America) “I like to pay taxes. With them, I buy civilization.” —Also Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Seems like he couldn’t seem to [...]
Real estate—the most expensive consumer good. Or does it have to be? Look around at the newspaper headlines. The median home value in Los Angeles is $696,900. The average house price in London is £644,215 (about US$828,191). That’s the Western World. What about the East? Singapore: S$1,183,375 (US$874,372). For only HK$4.34 million (US$553,398) you can [...]
You have either invested in real estate already, or you know somebody that has. Unless those investments were made in the Japanese real estate market, then forget everything that you think you know- it'll make things a lot easier to digest and you'll get up to speed quicker. The Japanese real estate market is a [...]