MY FIRST OVERSEAS DEAL ZIV MAGEN
4.
On settlement day, the realtor or judicial scrivener that is handling the sale, receives the remaining funds
and settlement adjustments. He then proceeds to transfer true ownership of the property to the buyers,
after confirming that any outstanding debts have been settled prior to the new registration taking place.
That’s it, in a nutshell. Of course, investors who have never been to Japan and do not speak Japanese, find this
hard to achieve without hands-on translation services, preferably from an experienced real-estate professional
or investor. Additionally, locals are still largely unaware of the nuances involved in working with Westerners –
which, for the Japanese, are vast and intimidating – so Japanese partnerships become even more significant, in
order to find the good deals.
The last hurdle, which companies like ours help alleviate for foreign investors, is the difficulty of opening a local
Japanese bank account. While the law doesn’t prohibit this, almost none of the Japanese banks allow nonresidents to do so, as part of their anti-money-laundering policies. While local registration, normally achieved
with an investors or business visa and a temporary lease contract for a small apartment, may solve this issue,
this isn’t a particularly cost effective solution. Plus, not all investors visit their country of investment, particularly
for smaller deals. So it becomes essential, again, to have a Japanese partner, like us, in place. Someone who
can evaluate and facilitate the property purchase, arrange for insurance, collect the rent from local, “old-school”
property managers (who will most likely never be able to wrap their heads around the concept of transferring
funds overseas), hold it in local bank accounts until they accumulate to an amount worth transferring, or until
exchange rates are profitable, then send it overseas.