Closing Process

1.Stating your needs and conditions

It is recommended to only start searching for an apartment 4-6 weeks before your expected move in date. In Japan, once you find your perfect place, the process to bind you to the lease will begin immediately. Most owners will not wait months in advance for you since someone else would be ready to pay and move in sooner. Before that, you'll need to define your conditions, such as:
where you want to live, your rental budget (if rent is $300 per month, you would need an income of at least $900 - 3x higher), your budget for the initial move-in cost (deposit, key money, etc) and the space or amount of bedrooms you require.

2. Contact us

Once you have an understanding of what you are looking for, contact us to arrange a tour of available apartments you wish to see that fit your requirements.

3. Application

Once you have decided on an apartment, you will begin the financial assessment. You will need to provide your personal information, ID, guarantor information, income and any other legal documents that are requested by the owner. At this stage, you can negotiate conditions i.e. lowering rent and so forth. After all necessary documents are in place, we send your application to the owner.
Normally when applying to rent an apartment long-term in Tokyo, the applicant would need a Japanese guarantor. If no guarantor can be found, a guarantor company chosen by the landlord is used.
The cost for the guarantor company's services usually ranges from 50% to 100% of the combined value of a month's rent and management costs.

4. Owner's response

Once the application is sent, we should get a reply in about 2-5 business days. The time span will also depend on any negotiations stated and whether the owner is a private or corporate entity. If it's a private owner, results are fast. Whereas, if it's corporate owned, it would take more time

5. Payment

Once your application has been approved, we will create an invoice for the initial move-in cost, according to your decided move-in date within 1-2 business days. Once you have received it, you will have to pay the quoted amount before signing the contract.

6. Contract

Once payment has cleared, the contract papers should be ready in 2-3 business days, and the only official binding language is in Japanese by law. We can explain to you in English at the time of signing the contract. Once everything has been signed and completed, you are able to get your keys!

7. Getting ready to move in

Upon your request, we can open the utilities (water, electric, gas) on your behalf. To open water and electric, it's just a phone call away, but the gas man will come to your door to inspect any leakage of gas and give you instructions on how to use the equipment. We can provide any interpretation as needed.

8. Inspecting the property

Before you move-in, you will need to inspect the property to find existing marks and damages, so that you will not be charged when moving out. You usually have about one week to report it, so if you find anything wrong, please let us know ASAP.