"Congratulations on the purchase of your home Iron Chef! If you don't mind me asking, was it much of a problem for you to purchase a house? Are you married or did you do it alone as a foreigner? Was it a hassle? Did you get a mortgage and, if so, was that much of a problem?
We could pay cash for a "mansion" or a house, but we are undecided yet if we want to purchase or rent. A Japanese magazine article my wife showed me recently said that, for people over 50, it would be cheaper in the long run to rent. Still, I like the security of ownership."
Thanks, i'm very happy with my new investment. Originally, when I was first entertaining the idea of buying a home here I had a LOT of questions and concerns. I wasn't even sure if I was legally eligible to purchase one or qualify for a loan because I was a) not Japanese, single, and lacking permanent resident status (turns out it is not necessary), b) my visa was only valid for three years at the time, and c) would it be cost-prohibitive for me as a foreigner/would I be penalized as a result? Well, everything worked out even better than I had expected and the whole process went quite smoothly (although I did have to rely on the help of others with most of the paperwork).
Low-interest rates certainly help and after searching dilligently in my area for three months (and pooling all my contacts and their resources) I was able to find an amazing property that had just been offered up. A thirteen year-old house with no prior tenants, used only for storage and built as a second-home by the original owner... good as new! Located less than five minutes by foot to the local Nishitetsu train station it's conveniently located for my work on my way to Fukuoka (i'm about 30 minutes outside the city proper).
At any rate, I suppose i'm pretty lucky to be in the position i'm in right now and my only advice is that if you do decide to eventually buy or build a new property then the options available to you are quite varied. I'm ceratinly no realty expert but from what I can tell, the markets pretty much bottomed out and a lot of the newer mansions and whatnot tend to lose their value after the first couple of years (not to mention having to pay additional maintenance fees which can be pretty steep sometimes).
It all comes down to finding the right kind of property you're looking for, selecting a realtor and proper lending institution, then jumping through all the necessary hoops to make it happen. In essence, a lot of research and footwork canvassing what's available. You should be able to qualify for a loan, so no worries there as long as your credit holds up. Also, you might consider finding an older house (10 years or more) with good documentation and then rennovate or build on as you see fit to increase the property value if you're planning on staying for the long-term. Aside from being a worthy investment, it will make your living in Japan all the much more satisfying. Hope that helps in some way.