If you are a foreign national looking to purchase real estate in Japan and considering engaging an attorney, please read and understand the following points before proceeding.
What Your Attorney CAN Do
- Review Contracts: Examine sales agreements for legal risks and unfavorable clauses.
- Sign on Your Behalf: Act as your proxy for signing contracts, especially if you’re not in Japan or uncomfortable with Japanese.
- Manage Payments: Handle purchase price settlements, often crucial for non-residents without a Japanese bank account.
- Support Document Prep: Assist with preparing registration documents (e.g., sworn affidavits) and coordinate with judicial scriveners.
- Handle Legal Disputes: Represent you in negotiations or litigation for issues like contract cancellation or defects.
What Your Attorney CANNOT Do (Specialized Fields)
- Property Search/Brokerage: Not involved in finding properties or transaction partners.
- Property Valuation: Appraisals are done by real estate appraisers or the real estate agents.
- Defect Confirmation: Attorneys cannot investigate physical defects or buried objects.
- Infrastructure Confirmation: Real estate agentscan confirm utilities, transport, etc.
- Local Regulations: Generally handled by real estate agents.
- Registration Applications: Handled by judicial scriveners.
- Tax Consultations: Handled by tax accountants.
Referral to English-Speaking Professionals: If you require referrals to real estate agents, judicial scriveners, or tax accountants who can communicate in English, we can introduce you to such professionals through our network.
Other Important Considerations
- Documents: Non-residents may need sworn affidavits from their home country’s embassy/consulate; allow time.
- Taxes: Consult a tax accountant for acquisition, fixed asset, capital gains, and other taxes.
- Funding: Loans from Japanese banks can be challenging for foreigners; consider self-funding or home-country financing.
- Inheritance: Consult an attorney for international inheritance laws and and a tax accountant for inheritance taxes. We recommend creating a Japanese will for assets located in Japan.
- Identity Verification: Cooperate with anti-money laundering checks by professionals.
- We recommend you visit the property in person at least once to see it with your own eyes.
To cover what an attorney cannot, we highly recommend engaging a reliable real estate agent from the beginning.
If you wish to consult with an attorney about purchasing real estate in Japan, please inquire via the following link: https://sumikawa.net/contact/