The hunt is on

March is the busiest month for moving. Employment contracts begin and end this month and so do many rental agreements. There's a huge variety of apartments and houses available, but not for long. The average Japanese house hunter takes less than a week to choose a new dwelling! Are you thinking of moving? Kristen McQuillin cuts some trail through Tokyo's happy hunting grounds.

Find a realtor
Your realtor is your number one ally in house hunting. Besides matching weekly listing updates to your preferences and showing you good prospects, your agent can help you understand the rental process, introduce you to your new neighborhood, negotiate your lease and even sometimes persuade a landlord to allow a foreigner to rent a place. Finding a good agent is key to your success.

But how do you find one?
Check newspapers and magazines. In addition to listings and ads in Tokyo Classified, you'll find accommodation information in Monday's Japan Times and in the Daily Yomiuri on Wednesdays (most listings in the newspapers are in the JY1 million range, clearly targeting the upper income bracket). Townpage, the English language telephone directory, can get you started too.

Your best bet is a personal recommendation, so it pays to let people know you're house hunting. Tell your coworkers, your friends, and your neighbors. They will all recommend their own neighborhoods and someone is likely to be right. Local realty agents are often a good choice - they have extensive knowledge of their neighborhoods.

"I received a referral from my employer, I searched the Internet and I contacted realtors who advertise," says Lil, a recent house hunter, "but I eventually worked with a local realtor recommended by a friend."

If you are short on referrals, walk around the neighborhood where you want to live. Examine the floor plans in the windows of agents' offices. They will give you a feel for the sizes and prices of available properties. If you see one you like, stop into the office and arrange to see it in person.

Most local realty agents will speak little to no English so if you don't speak much Japanese, explaining your wishes can be slightly comical. There are no international hand gestures for "I'd like to live near the station and I need to move next week." Take along a dictionary (better, a Japanese friend), memorize some key phrases or have a friend prepare a brief letter explaining what you are looking for.

Next, narrow your options
Deciding on a location, budget, size, and two or three other key points goes a long way to narrowing your options.

Where do you want to live?
"Thirty years ago, foreigners lived in Roppongi and worked in Hiroo and there really weren't foreigners anywhere else," explains Alexander Myhdalskyi at Urban Planning. "Today most people find Roppongi enjoyable for visiting, but not for living. Foreigners can live just about anywhere."

Kazue Hainu of Orient Kosan Realty says that Omotesando is the top pick for her clients. "Tied for second place are Aoyama and Hiroo, followed by Azabu and Roppongi."

Many foreigners prefer neighborhoods where there are familiar amenities - grocery stores selling foods from home, bookstores stocking foreign titles, international schools. But these amenities tend to be in pricey neighborhoods where rents are high and so are the costs for basic goods.

Other parts of town may not have gaijin support systems but can offer lower rents and immersion into the everyday life of Tokyo. For a good overview of locations and the sorts of rooms you'll find there, page through a copy of My Room, a Japanese housing magazine (JY200 at your local conbini), or pick up a free copy of My Room Mini at many real estate offices.

How much do you want to spend?
Your budget will determine the type and size of your new apartment and your commute to the nearest station. Perks like parking, balconies, upper floors and new buildings add to the cost.

According to Keiko Akimoto at Urban Planning, the average Japanese householder spends about one third of his income on monthly rent. Foreigners spend as much as half their income on housing. Of course, you don't have to spend that much! If you carefully choose what is important to you and are willing to make compromises on other points, you can find a place to satisfy your budget.

"Most Japanese select their housing based on price because when they move, they may be moving from their company's subsidized housing which is free or inexpensive," explains Akimoto. "But foreigners look for location, a lot of space and a good feeling."

How much space do you want?
Your realtor will ask you about what sort of place you want. Structures fall into one of several categories:
   Mansion: modern, larger apartment building
   Apaato: older, smaller apartment building
   Ikkodate: detached house
   Terrace house: row house

Apartments are listed by the number of rooms - a 2LDK is two rooms plus a living room/dining room (LD) and kitchen (K). Sometimes you will find +S (service room) or +P (parking). Room counts don't give the whole picture, though. Bathrooms and balconies are not counted, though they are included in the total area, so a 1K can range from 15 to 25 square meters!

Other considerations
You can adjust your costs up or down by deciding how close to the station you want to live; your choice of flooring, carpet or tatami; whether you want to have air conditioning, a fancy toilet, automatic door locks and security.

Also important is considering what you can live without. No car? Then you don't need parking. If your cooking repertoire is coffee, toast, and instant ramen maybe you don't need a five-mat kitchen. If you have a bicycle and want to ride it to the station, you can live 20 minutes away instead of two.

Third, visit your top choices
Floor plans only show so much. You can't get the feel for a house until you've been in it. Japanese houses and apartments, even Western style ones, are significantly different from housing back home - fewer electrical outlets, shorter doorways, smaller baths, lower kitchen counters - these can be issues depending upon your needs and desires.

"Foreigners look at a lot more apartments than Japanese. They do not want to compromise on property," says Kazue. "Most find their place within a month, though it depends on the person."

Finally, lay out the cash
As if finding a place to live weren't already painful, the amount of cash you'll put down before moving in can be astonishing. Start saving early because you can plan on laying out around six times the monthly rent before getting the keys. See this week's Money Talks for an explanation of what you're paying for.

Key money is an aspect of rentals that can be disturbing to new residents. It's possible to find apartments with no key money, but sometimes these places are inconveniently located, run down, or have been unoccupied for some time. "No key money" can also indicate a higher monthly rent. Kazue warns that quality rentals without key money are rare and waiting for a no key money property can take a long time.

Lease contracts are two or three years with a fixed term of renewals. Renewals bring a new set of agent fees, rent increases and sometimes more key money.

Before you sign the contract, make sure you understand it. Check to see whether you'll be charged for replacing tatami, changing locks and other items through a deduction from the deposit. Will you be required to pay home insurance? In Japan, the landlord does not pay insurance on the house, the tenant does. Some ask you to pay the insurance directly to the insurance company; others incorporate it into the monthly rent.

If you don't read Japanese, ask someone you trust to read the contract and explain it to you. Before the agreement is finalized, your guarantor should read it.

Guarantors are a way of life for every renter, Japanese nationals and gaijin alike. The easiest way to deal with the guarantor issue is to have the lease in your employer's name - a company contract. You pay the rent, but your company guarantees it and their name is on the lease.

If your employer will not sponsor a company contract, then you will need to make a private contract and find a guarantor. A guarantor must be a Japanese citizen or a permanent resident. There are companies that will guarantee your contract for a fee - often a month's rent or more.

Realtors agree that the most important aspect of successful house hunting is understanding Japanese customs. Key money and guarantors are firmly entrenched; trying to change the system to fit your home country's methods isn't going to work and may hinder your house hunting. Changes are slowly coming but in the meantime, try not to get too frustrated by the system.

Buyer beware
Even when you know the customs, it can be a challenge to find a landlord who will accept you.

Landlords do not have to rent to tenants that they don't want and they draw on many reserves to keep out undesirable ones. One landlord listed his property with the requirement that the guarantor be a member of the renter's family. Others require proof of a certain income. Some just flat out say "no foreigners."

If you speak Japanese, that's a plus. The number one concern among landlords, according to Myhdalskyi, is difficulty in communicating. If you have no Japanese ability your choices may be limited. Agents do their best to win over landlords, though, and sometimes it works.

"When I first saw my apartment, I liked it and decided this was the right one. But the landlord found out I was a foreigner and wouldn't rent it to me," explains Lil. "My agent talked with her and she changed her mind."

But agents can only do so much. Lora Elway, who is still looking for a place to live, shares her story.

"I've been looking off and on for about six months, going to real estate agents in the neighborhoods I'm interested in. The difficulty is that I've got a cat, though sometimes I don't know which poses the biggest obstacle: me the gaijin or my feline. At one place the agent called up the landlord and explained that there was a gaijin woman here with a cat who was interested in seeing his place, would that be okay? He replied that he had no problem with cats but wouldn't rent to a foreigner! Next time I think I'll let my neko do the hunting."

On a lower budget
Because lease contracts are long and expensive, many foreigners look to guesthouses and shared accommodation for short-term housing. There are scores of houses fitted out for multiple residents.

Most guesthouses, aka "gaijin houses," rent furnished rooms with a shared bath and kitchen. Rents vary, depending on the size of your room and the location of the house, but start at JY45,000 per month plus utilities. There's usually a deposit required, but no key money.

Guesthouses can have their drawbacks - housemates who eat your food or keep odd hours, cramped quarters, a lack of privacy, queues for the bath. But prices are comparatively low and landlords are happy to have foreign residents. Some landlords are genuinely interested in foreign cultures; some are returning a kindness paid to them when they lived abroad; others see a good market niche.

Some landlords can be downright odd. One short-term resident tells of his experience with a landlord who would appear unannounced at the house to cook dinner for the residents and then get upset when nobody turned up at the unplanned soiree! "It was very stressful when she intruded. If you have a landlord who seems at all weird," he advises, "find somewhere else to live."

Shared flats are also available and offer a balance between budget and privacy. Check the Tokyo Classified listings to see who's looking for a roommate!

Moving in
No move is complete without a fair amount of paperwork. Be sure to visit your ward office within 14 days of moving. If you are late, they'll extract a written apology from you!

If you're moving to a new location in the same ward, you'll need to change the address on your alien registration card - a ten minute process. If you are moving to a new ward, you'll need to register with the ward and exchange your health insurance card for a new one. As applicable, you'll need to re-register your hanko (stamp) and transfer records for your children.

The post office has a free forwarding service. Stop into your local branch and fill in the bilingual change-of-address form to have your mail delivered to your new place for up to one year.

Realtors
Many realtors have webpages so you can see what's available as you begin your house hunting. Most are happy to fax you plans and information.

Fontana (03-3382-0151)
Email fontana@gol.com
Reasonably-priced apartments and guesthouses in the Tokyo area; willing and able to help you conduct your search in English.

Ichii Real Estate (03-5366-6356)
www.nona.dti.ne.jp/~overseas/index.html
A small realtor with a yen for helping foreigners. The page is a bit challenging to navigate but digging in is worth the effort - read "Informations for Easy Living" for some great ideas on getting your money's worth.

Interhouse (03-3586-6100)
www.interhouse.co.jp/HOUSEE0.htm
Houses for sale or lease. Commercial properties, too.

ISIZE
www.isize.com/house/FR
Japanese site with an excellent search engine. Search by station, price range and request faxed information. Contains a wide range of sizes and budgets all over town. Downfall - no info on whether gaijin are welcome.

Ken Corporation (03-5413-5632)
www.kencorp.com
The friend of many an expat family. The website has as much about moving to Tokyo including maps and school information, as it has places to rent. Many rentals are in the JY1 million range but they do have less posh properties.

Kimi Information Center (03-3986-1604)
www2.dango.ne.jp/kimi/
Serving Ikebukuro and northern locations.

Leaf Court (0120-069-500/03-5485-0801)
www.arai-s.co.jp
Covers two different serviced apartment buildings, one in Roppongi, the other in Hatagaya.

Morris International (03-3400-4990)
Email morris@osb.att.ne.jp
Reasonably-priced apartments and guesthouses in the Tokyo area and bilingual assistance.

Orient Kosan (03-3479-1751)
www.orientkosan.com/e-index.html
Webpage features a "Property of the Month" list plus a searchable database.

Plaza Homes (03-3583-6941)
www.plazahomes.co.jp
Many properties (Apartments, Houses & Offices) are listed in the ENglish website. Wide range of properties from one bedroom to family type. The searchable database is almost updated.

Relocation House Corp. (03-3586-6100)
www.interhouse.co.jp/
Helpful bilingual website with rental and sale listings in both Tokyo and New York.

Sakura House (03-5330-5250)
www.sakura-house.com/
Private apartment listings with photos as well as guesthouses and shared accommodations.

Shinkikaku Property Management Ltd. (03-3368-7558)
home.att.ne.jp/blue/tokyo_apts/
This company specializes in housing for foreigners. Their webpage contains English listings of expat apartments, reasonably-priced apartments and guesthouses.

Tokyo House Bureau
www.bekkoame.ne.jp/ha/tokyohouse
Detailed vacancy listings in English also include reasonably-priced places, though very dark background makes this site difficult to use.

Urban Planning (03-5485-2572)
www2.gol.com/users/urban
Webpage lists mid-priced apartments and houses in southwest Tokyo and Yokohama.

Guesthouses
J & F House (03-5366-6356)
www.nona.dti.ne.jp/~overseas/index.html
See listing for Ichii Real Estate (above).

Kettle House (03-3645-4028)
Email kettlehouse@msj.biglobe.ne.jp
Rooms in various locations in central Tokyo.

Friendship House (03-3765-2288)
www.gaijinhouse.com
Well-designed website even includes photos of the gaijin house inhabitants along with their email addresses!

Sakura House (03-5330-5250)
www.sakura-house.com
See above.

Check the house hunting vocabulary