Chapter 8 — The buying process, and how long it takes

How long does it actually take?

This is the question buyers ask most often, and the honest answer is that it depends on three things: whether anyone is living in the property, whether the seller can sign and settle remotely, and whether the house still has someone's belongings in it.

One thing it does not depend on is whether you can be in Japan. You can complete a purchase entirely from abroad — the Important Matters Explanation can be delivered by approved video call, contracts can be executed electronically, and a representative can attend settlement on your behalf. Chapter 9 sets out the mechanism. What follows assumes you are buying remotely, because most readers of this book will be.

The fast case — two to three weeks from offer to completion. The property is empty, cleared, and you are able to come to Japan. Offer accepted, contract signed, settlement. It really can move that quickly, and buyers coming from markets with long conveyancing chains are usually surprised. There is no chain in Japan, no exchange-then-wait-two-months convention, and no mandatory cooling-off period on a normal purchase.

The typical case — two to three months. You are settling from overseas, and the timeline depends on how much has to be done on paper.

Electronic contracts are permitted and increasingly normal, and where both sides are comfortable with them, a good deal of the delay disappears. But one document cannot be done electronically. A foreign buyer needs a notarised affidavit standing in place of the seal certificate a Japanese buyer would provide, and notarisation means attending in person somewhere and sending an original. That single requirement is what makes a remote purchase take months rather than weeks, and it is covered properly in Chapter 9.

Start it early. It is the item most likely to delay your settlement, and it is entirely within your control.

What stretches it further.

A seller still living in the property needs somewhere to move to, and that timeline is theirs, not yours. It is the most common cause of a three-month purchase becoming a six-month one.

A house full of the previous owner's possessions needs clearing before handover. Someone has to arrange it, and someone has to pay for it, and both of those are negotiable — which means both take time.

A seller who cannot or will not sign electronically adds another cycle of posted documents. Not every Japanese seller is comfortable with electronic contracts, and older sellers frequently are not.

Three questions at the enquiry stage will tell you more about your timeline than anything else you can ask: Is it vacant? Is it cleared? Can the seller sign online?

The steps

1. Enquiry and viewing

You or your agent contacts the listing agent. If the property is vacant, viewing is usually straightforward and can often be arranged within days. If it is occupied, it moves at the occupant's pace.

Nothing is committed at this stage.

2. Purchase application (買付申込書)

You submit a written application stating your offered price, intended settlement timing, and any conditions.

This is not a contract. It is not legally binding on either side, and either party may walk away. It is nevertheless taken seriously, and withdrawing without cause damages your standing with that agent.

Price negotiation happens here. Japanese sellers are less accustomed to aggressive negotiation than sellers in some markets, but properties that have been listed for a long time have room, and your agent should know how much.

3. Important Matters Explanation (重要事項説明)

This is the step with no equivalent in most countries, and it exists to protect you.

Before you sign the contract, a licensed takken holder must explain — orally, with the document in front of you — every material fact about the property. This can be delivered by approved video call, which is now routine, so being outside Japan does not prevent it. Legal restrictions, infrastructure, boundaries, road access, known defects, the terms of the deposit, what happens if either party defaults.

It runs to dozens of pages. It is delivered in Japanese. And it is the point at which most of what Chapter 6 said was missing from the listing finally appears.

Two things follow from this. First, do not treat it as a formality to be endured. Second, if you do not read Japanese, you need someone whose job is to make sure you understood it — not someone whose job is to get it signed.

4. Sale contract (売買契約) and deposit

Contract signed, revenue stamp affixed, deposit paid. The deposit (手付金) is typically 5–10% of the price.

The deposit does real work under Japanese practice. Until performance begins, either side may withdraw: the buyer by forfeiting the deposit, the seller by returning double it. This is a genuine option, and it is worth understanding what you are buying with it.

5. Between contract and settlement

Loan approval if you are borrowing — the contract will normally include a financing contingency releasing you if the loan is refused. Final survey if boundaries need confirming. The seller clears the property. You arrange your funds.

And if you are buying from abroad, this is when your affidavit must be obtained. It has to exist by settlement day, and getting it involves a notary in your own country and an international courier. Chapter 9 explains what it is and how to get it.

This period is where an international purchase spends most of its time, because this is when documents cross borders.

6. Settlement and handover (決済・引渡し)

Everyone meets, usually at a bank. You pay the balance. The judicial scrivener confirms the documents are in order and files the transfer of title. You receive the keys.

The scrivener's role here matters: they are the reason it is safe to hand over ¥28,000,000 in a room. They verify that title can transfer cleanly before the money moves.

7. After

Title registration completes within a week or two. Utilities transfer. The acquisition tax bill arrives months later.

What can go wrong

The property sells to someone else before you offer. Good property in desirable areas moves in days. This is the most common failure, and it is a reason to have your position clear before you start viewing rather than after.

Financing falls through. The contingency protects your deposit, but you have lost weeks.

Boundaries turn out to be unconfirmed. Resolvable, expensive, and slow — a boundary survey involving neighbours can take months.

The seller's circumstances change. Inherited properties with multiple heirs are particularly prone to this. One sibling changing their mind can stop everything.

Documents get stuck in transit. Mundane and common. Build slack into any timeline that depends on international post.

Being ready

The single largest determinant of whether you get the property you want is not how much you are prepared to pay. It is whether you are ready when it appears.

Ready means: you know your maximum, your funds are accessible, you have decided whether you can act without viewing in person, and you have someone in Japan who can act on your behalf.

Buyers who begin arranging these things after finding a property they like usually lose it. Chapter 13 covers what to do about that.

Next: Chapter 9 — Buying from overseas. The mechanics of purchasing a Japanese house without being in Japan.