Living in a Leopalace Apartment

My last apartment in Japan was a Leopalace. These are becoming a more common setup for ALTs in Japan, and many people seem to be curious about what the buildings and facilities are like. Although I'm sure my experience won't be representative of every Leopalace in Japan, I'll be sharing some of my memories of the place in this brief set of articles.

To begin with, I'll address my personal experiences with and opinions on noise, insulation, price, and guarantors.




Noise
In my building, the walls weren't thick enough to block out very noisy neighbors, but neither were they paper thin. I could have a friend over and talk in a normal voice or Skype home and not appear to bother other people in the building. However, I did have a neighbor who came home at 1 or 2 am rather frequently and was either on the phone or bringing a boyfriend in tow. Against the otherwise completely silent backdrop of rural Japan, I could hear their vocal rumblings through my walls well enough to be woken up a few times, although never clearly enough to understand any words being said.

Insulation

The tiny "1K" (that means: bedroom + kitchen-in-the-entryway) Leopalace setup, which is the most common type--although I've also seen 3-room family setups, is pretty good in terms of insulation. The door to the outside world is usually made of metal, which lets in all the cold during wintertime, but between that door and your bedroom should be another wooden door. When that bedroom door is closed, you'll have a nice, cozy living space. Running a computer and just sitting emanating heat from your body is enough to carry these tiny rooms through cooler months, and in anything more extreme than that, turning on the heater or air conditioner brings about almost immediate results.

Price
I was able to get used to living in my place easily, and I think that's the most important quality of an apartment. However, I've gotta say that the pricing on Leopalace apartments is steep. The building I stayed in was new and in exceptionally good condition, but even so, other 1K apartments in my backwoods area were running for 10,000 to 20,000 less per month. Of course apartments rented on a monthly-basis (instead of with annual contracts) are generally a bit more pricey, but I think another part of Leopalace's pricing rationale is that you're paying for the amenities inside the room--rented furniture, appliances, and a provided Internet connection.

Guarantors
A big draw of Leopalace for foreign tenants is that they do not, in principle, require you to have a traditional Japanese-style guarantor to move into one of their facilities. In my case, the apartment had been arranged through work. However, later, when I wanted to arrange for my own private parking space, it was easy for me to walk in to the local Leopalace agency and sign up for one without a guarantor present. (They did ask for me to provide contact information for my closest relative in my home country, however.) And don't think that's because it was "just a parking space." It's true of apartments as well. (I sure as hell needed a traditional Japanese-style guarantor to get my next parking space, by the way.)

Over the next couple of weeks, we'll continue this series with detailed articles on furnishings and Internet connections in Leopalace apartments. Be sure to check them out. We as always welcome comments, and particularly would like to hear from readers who have experience living in Leopalaces. What is/was it like? Is the description here accurate? Any DIY tips on how to make the most of the cookie-cutter floorplans?

More Navigating of Property Deposits

Several months ago, we outlined some of the major points of the monetary deposits you'll be likely to make when you rent an apartment in Japan. After some more first-hand experience on the matter, we have some more details to add, and in the next post, we'll share some money-saving strategies to use in your apartment hunt.

Furthering the discussion of shikikin (敷金) and reikin (礼金), which we covered in our last article, note that landlords tend to trend their shikikin and reikin habits in different regions and neighborhoods. For example, in one neighborhood, it may be thought standard for an apartment to carry 3 months' shikikin and 1 month's reikin. In another neighborhood just across the city, most properties might carry 1 months' shikikin and 1 month's reikin.

It certainly doesn't mean there aren't exceptions to this rule, and you may run across a no-shikikin, no-reikin property right beside a 3-months', 3-months' monster. It's just worth considering how certain regions or neighborhoods seem to run in trends.

Outside of shikikin and reikin, there are a bunch of other fees that factor in to the final property deposit. You will probably be asked to pay chuukai tesuuryou (仲介手数料). This is a cut of money given to the real estate agent for showing you around, processing paperwork, and contacting the building owner on your behalf. Even if you find the apartment online yourself and just contact the agent to make a purchase, you will be charged this amount.

Each agency has its own 仲介手数料 policy. For some, it is a flat rate for every contract. Minimini charges, I hear, 40,000 yen no matter what property you decide on. Apamanshop is said to be more expensive, around 70,000 yen. For other agencies, 仲介手数料 is based on your monthly rent. For example, if your apartment will be 55,000 yen per month, the 仲介手数料 will be 55,000 yen. (And often, the agent will ask you to pay tax on that amount to boot.)

However, you have more bargaining power here than an agent will let on--check out our next article for money-saving tips.

Anyway, after that, you'll be charged for fire insurance, or kasai hoken (火災保険). This is often mandated by the municipality in which you live and unavoidable. It is a yearly charge running around, in my experience, the 10,000 yen mark in big cities.

Next, recently landlords require renters to have guarantor company insurance, hoshou gaisha hoken (保証会社保険). I had heard of guarantor companies before, in the sense that they are available for people who cannot provide a guarantor (i.e., a financially established Japanese citizen) when they look at apartments.

However, this hoshou gaisha hoken is different. Even after you provide a legitimate guarantor, landlords are asking for you to buy insurance just in case you default on your rent payments. In essence, you are paying a company to follow up on you if you don't pay your rent on time. (Ridiculous.)

If your agent has personal connections with the landlord, it is possible he can ask for this insurance to be waived. But, I was told in my search that some 80 to 90% of rental properties have over the last couple years begun requiring this guarantor company insurance.

Anyway, the hoshou gaisha hoken cost depends on which insurance agency is used. Some of them charge a lump sum on signup and no additional payments later, and others charge annually. The price is based on your rent. In examples I saw, a 50,000 yen per month apartment cost 20,000 yen the first year and 10,000 yen each subsequent year to insure. It scaled to 30,000 yen the first year (and 10,000 yen each subsequent year) on an apartment that cost 60,000 yen per month.

Finally, on your upfront costs the landlord is going to ask you to pay through the first full month's rent in advance. This means that if you start renting an apartment for a portion of a month (with a move-in date of, say, January 15), the agent will ask you to send the rent for January 16-31 as well as all of February's rent at the time of contract.

All in all, when playing the new apartment game, you may want as much as six months' worth of the monthly rent available, on-hand in order to meet the down payment on your apartment. Yes, I understand what an astronomical figure this is. Older apartments and apartments in less pristine condition will require less set-up money because of lower monthly rent and smaller shikikin and reikin deposits. And, as our next article shows, it may be possible to sneak out of some of that obnoxious chuukai tesuuryou money.

After you have hammered out the initial payment, read the contract carefully for other fees. Sometimes a landlord will request a "renewal fee" in which you have to pay some 10,000 yen to "renew" your apartment contract each year. Sometimes the renter will get pegged with the cost of changing locks on the apartment building when they leave. There are lots of ways to hide additional fees, and you need to check the contract carefully to know what you're getting in to.

Some alternatives to this kind of set-up money are monthly apartment companies like Leopalace. However, be very careful about contracts for monthly apartments. Often they will draw renters in with promises of "no shikikin" only to charge you a "cleaning fee" when you move out of the apartment: You end up paying shikikin, you just pay it at the end of your rental period and under a different name.

If you have any comments or experiences to share, please leave them in the comments below. I hope this article was helpful, and keep an eye out for next week's post on saving money in the apartment search game.

Moving to Japan

Thinking of moving to Japan? If you are an engineer working for Toyota or Boeing and being sent abroad, rest assured. You will live like royalty in American-style housing set up by your company through a relocation agent. The rents on two- or three-bedroom American style apartments or homes in expat towns of Nagoya or Tokyo run in the $2500-7000 per month category.

If you are an English teacher, you will probably be closer to the $300-600 per month category. For this price, you can stay in a nice, clean "1K" apartment
(explained below), but it will be small, with only one or two rooms, a kitchen, and a (often separate) toilet and shower/bath area. The area of the apartment will be somewhere around 250-350 square feet, which means the whole apartment could fit inside the master bedroom of a lot of American homes.

First-timers in Japan will have everything set up for them by their company. Often, a English school will keep an apartment constantly rented (and maybe partially furnished) for that school. Whoever happens to be teaching at that school at a given time lives in that apartment. If your company provides this kind of housing and subsidizes it, there can be perks. The building won't be as clean or new, but you'll get away with $100-200 rent per month. On the other hand, if your company "provides" this kind of housing but still makes you pay $500+, be a little wary; the place should either be fairly nice or they should offer a reasonable explanation of why you can't choose from multiple locations. Often this will boil down to [LINK]guarantor issues.

If you have more experience in Japan, or if you are moving from one job inside the country to another, you might get the thrilling experience of choosing your own apartment!

Apartment Criteria (Inside)

A continuation of last week's post on criteria to consider when choosing an apartment.
This time, we'll look at the up-front costs of renting properties and internal amenities.

Deposits:
Japanese landlords are infamous for requiring huge amounts of deposit money as 敷金 (shikikin) and 礼金 (reikin). Because 3 or 4 months' worth of rent is a considerable amount of money, the deposit on an apartment is as important to consider as its monthly rent. "No deposit" properties are in vogue in Japan now, so if you don't like what one agent offers, look for another who advertises with the words 敷金礼金０ (shikikin reikin zero)!

Guarantor:
An increasing number of apartments in Japan are doing away with the traditional [LINK]guarantor requirement. These apartments are much more accessible for foreign residents who do not have established family members in Japan. But, it is likely that you are actually "paying" for the guarantor in the form of increased rent to pay for insurance or compensate the landlord for his assumed risk.

Flooring:
In the apartment layout, information should be provided about the styling of each room. Western style rooms usually have wood or faux-wood paneling on the floors. Japanese style rooms have tatami floors. Apartments with Japanese style rooms are losing popularity, so it might be possible to save some money if you don't mind living with tatami.

Bath & Toilet Separate:
This is a deal-breaker for many Japanese. Traditionally, the bathtub and restroom facilities in Japan have been separate. Some very compact apartments offer a "unit bath" setup, which means the tub, toilet, and sink are all contained within a single closet-sized space. Apartments with this setup are slightly cheaper.


Air Conditioning:
If you live anywhere below Hokkaido, and you were born and raised anywhere away from the equator, you will probably require an air conditioner to withstand central and southern Japan's terribly hot, humid summers. An apartment listed as エアコン付き (air con{ditioning} included) usually has a temperature control unit that can both cool the room in summer and warm the room in winter.

Washing Machine:
Not all apartments provide space and hookups for washing machines. Apartments with this feature are labeled 洗濯機置場あり (sentaku okiba ari). The spot for the machine can be inside the apartment (室内, shitsunai) or outside (室外, shitsugai). For an outside spot, you might need to purchase a more rugged model of washing machine that won't collect rainwater or rust.

High Speed Internet/TV:
Japan is a very wired society, and most apartments will offer hookups for internet and TV. Specific questions to ask are what kind of internet is available (are fiber optics wired to the building?) and what providers are available (is the building only serviced by one provider?). The cost of internet will probably not be included in rent. TV should be available for free. As of 2011, Japan will be switching to digital only broadcasts (地デジ, chi deji), and only apartment buildings with properly updated antennae will be able to receive these signals.

Other:
Pets - most rental properties in Japan prohibit them; if you want to keep a pet you must search for an apartment with that requirement out front
Female Only - a few apartment complexes enforce this policy, oftentimes in the area around a women's college; it is offered on the grounds of safety and cleanliness
Furnished - in principle, assume that the apartment has no furnishings beyond a sink, shower, and toilet. Some apartments near universities may come partially furnished, and the new real estate company Leopalace21 specializes in fully furnished apartments.

Back:
Apartment Criteria (Outside)

Related:
Housing Guide

Apartment Criteria (Outside)

If you are already aware of Japan's strict [LINK]guarantor requirements, and you are now looking to find an apartment of your own, you might start with one of the major real estate agents in Japan, like minimini or Apamanshop.

Even if you don't buy through these agents, they will give you a good idea of what properties are available in a given area, and how much those properties cost.

And, aside from location and apartment layout, there are many other details to consider in your apartment choice. Let's look at some of the common criteria Japanese people look at, starting from the outside environment:

Construction Year:
Sometimes the key to cheap rent is a building's age. Apartments in 30 year old buildings can have half the rent of apartments in newly constructed complexes. The tradeoff is, of course, style and comfort--and less obviously, safety. An older apartment won't look so good, and it might have pest problems. Additionally, older buildings are more prone to earthquake damage. Japan experiences enough large earthquakes every year for this to be pertinent. A rule of thumb a Japanese friend once taught me is to look for buildings constructed after 1990, around the time stricter building codes were enacted in Tokyo and elsewhere.

Distance from a Station:
Japan's public transportation system is one of the best in the world. Unless you are living in the countryside, you'll want to seriously consider commuting to work by bus or train. Apartments close to stations cost more.
It's worth checking details of the bus or train line served by the apartment as well: some lines do not have rapid service or (like Seibu Shinjuku or Chuo in Western Tokyo) are notorious for packed, uncomfortable rides during commuting hours.

Noise:
Along with prime location often comes increased noise. If the apartment is on a busy street, midnight traffic might keep you awake. If the apartment is near a nightlife district, noisy drunks might keep you awake. If possible, visit the property's neighborhood once at night and check its noise level.

Floor:
In a multi-storied complex, apartments at the ground level will be slightly cheaper than apartments on higher floors. This is a perceived safety issue, and especially Japanese women believe that living on the ground floor carries risk of robbery or assault (or perhaps panty-theft when hanging laundry out to dry).

Direction:
Apartments with a balcony facing the south are considered best. These apartments will get the best sunshine throughout the day. Next best are apartments facing east, since these get the rising sun in the morning. The "worst" apartments by Japanese standards are ones that face west; these apartments aren't as well lit in the morning and glare from the setting sun is unpopular in Japan.


Parking:
If you have a car, parking availability is another key point to consider. Unless living in a small town or village, car owners are required by Japanese traffic law to [LINK]own and register a parking space. Some apartments have adjacent spaces and others do not. You will almost certainly be required to form a separate contract and make a separate monthly payment for the parking space, even if it is on the same property as your apartment. In small cities, a parking space may be as cheap as $20 per month. In prime neighborhoods of Tokyo and Osaka, rent on a parking space can exceed that of a small apartment. I have heard numbers from $100 per month up through $1000 per month.
Of course, it is also possible to find a parking space separate from your apartment! However, the parking law requires the car to be within some 2 kilometers of your living space. (Check your local police station for your city's specific distance designation.) The Japanese site Parking-point can help you find spots and prices in your area.

Next:
Apartment Criteria (Inside)

Related:
Housing Guide