And while a foreigner can buy one of these homes, there are restrictions to keep in mind.įor example, some contracts to purchase an akiya require the buyer to live in the house permanently. Buying a property in Japan, abandoned or otherwise, does not grant you automatic residence status. Can a foreigner buy akiya?įirst of all, don’t consider an akiya your fast track to living in Japan. These factors overall lower the property’s value and deter new buyers from investing in the house. If you cannot find the property owner, that presents a genuine difficulty in changing ownership to your name.Īfter a while, the value decreases due to risks including fire hazards, termites, hygiene problems and property decline. Thus, another big reason people don’t buy akiya is that it is complicated to check the title (ownership) of akiya. Therefore, the main driver of the akiya problem is that the actual owner does not want to admit ownership because of the tax liability. The younger generation often leaves them because they don’t want to pay the high property tax. Money is also a factor in why these houses are abandoned. You might have to drive hours to your job in the nearest city, work from home or start your own business in your new little neighborhood. Millions of vacant homes are spread throughout Japan, but the rural prefectures of Kagoshima, Kochi, Tokushima and Wakayama have the most.īuyers must be willing to live in the house despite the town’s low population and little financial potential since the point of this program is to repopulate dying towns.Įven if the abandoned house was in good shape, younger families often don’t want to relocate to a town that may not exist shortly after moving in or have no sustainable development. Most akiya are located far away from major cities where a good portion of jobs are found. The most obvious is the declining birthrate and an aging population, but another reason is location. There are numerous and complicated reasons why Japanese homes became vacant.
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