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S San's Profile
Came to Japan in August, 2006. (But previously lived in Japan for 4 years) American Graduate Student Housing: Apartment Commute: 10 minutes by bike to school |
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TB -- Your Japanese is fantastic! But you said you've lived in Japan before, right?
S San -- That's right. I taught English in Wakayama for 4 years.
TB -- So that's why you can speak so well. Alright, let's get to it. Did you have any problems when you were looking for apartments in Tokyo?
S San -- Actually, my wife did a search over the internet for me from New York. Using my university's network, we were able to ask about places that were convenient or near my school.
TB -- That's great! So it went smoothly then?
S San -- Yeah, but getting a guarantor (co-signer) took some time.
TB -- Why is that?
S San -- Well, I asked my wife's father which was no problem at first. But, when it was time to sign the contract I was told that it wasn't allowed because we are not blood relatives. I don't know the Japanese laws regarding this, and I was worried that the real estate agent was changing his word. And on top of that, I had to keep going back and forth to the real estate agency...
TB -- Yeah, blood relation is kind of a strange topic isn't it... But in the end, you were able to sign a contract for the apartment you wanted?
S San -- Yes.
TB -- Great! And how much is your rent?
S San -- Including maintenance it's 145,000 yen a month.
TB -- How much did it cost to move in, any key money or deposit?
S San -- I had to pay 2 months rent for security deposit, 2 months for key money, and a half a month commission to the real estate agent.
TB -- And your rent is 145,000 a monthﾉso add 4.5 months worth to that and it's a lot of money! Apart from what you mentioned earlier did you have any other problems?
S San -- Well, I think the real estate agent made a few mistakes. Things he originally said were OK were later rejected or became problems for us. For example, we have a baby, and when we were on the verge of signing the contract, we were told that we were not allowed to have a baby in that building. We weren't able to sign the contract in the end. I think if you say something is ok at the beginning, it should be ok.
TB -- Yeah, it sounds like the real estate agent didn't really know the landlords rules.
S San -- Yeah. Also, at first I didn't really know where to buy furniture and other necessities. Oh, and one more thing about the maintenance in the building. We weren't able to contact the maintenance office directly. We had to go through our real estate agent. That was annoying in my opinion.
TB -- How about problems with your landlord or neighbors?
S San -- Nope!
TB -- That's good to hear. Thank you for your time today!
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