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Japan Is Giving Away 8M Abandoned Houses

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Re: Japan Is Giving Away 8M Abandoned Houses

#31

Post by Xixi »

_iyig wrote: post #11
ComputerGuru wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Japan doesn't renovate. It's probably the only country in the world where "used homes" are considered something to be ashamed of. People buy homes only to knock them down and start over, even if they're only a year or two old. EDIT: You can read about it here: https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2018/03/15/w...

How does that work for apartment buildings? Surely they don't casually demolish and rebuild massive structures made of reinforced concrete?

If I remember correctly the rule of thumb is that a house is built to last 30 years, a normal building 60 years, and a high rise 90 years.

Re: Japan Is Giving Away 8M Abandoned Houses

#32

Post by stcredzero »

ComputerGuru wrote: post #3
ArtWomb wrote: post #2

This is cool. Would not know where to begin with gut renovation in Japan, though. And some of these look quite weathered. In US for example, you can typically sub-contract parts of the renovation to get decent pricing. One team for the basement flooring. One for waterproofing / sump pump installation. And then perhaps install drywall / paint DIY. Of course this is aided by close availability to Home Depot, Lowes, and…

Japan doesn't renovate. It's probably the only country in the world where "used homes" are considered something to be ashamed of. People buy homes only to knock them down and start over, even if they're only a year or two old. EDIT: You can read about it here: https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2018/03/15/w...

Japan doesn't renovate. It's probably the only country in the world where "used homes" are considered something to be ashamed of.

I had heard that older Japanese were very 'allergic' to anything used or old, as it reminded them of the time during the war and post-war when everyone had to scrounge for everything. There was this thing in the 90's called '{some derogatory term}-shopping' where you'd dumpster dive in well off neighborhoods, and if you found a bit of 2 year old consumer electronics, you could assume it still worked.

Re: Japan Is Giving Away 8M Abandoned Houses

#34

Post by bobthepanda »

dev_dull wrote: post #30
bobthepanda wrote: post #27

The US saw similar efforts in Detroit and other Rust Belt cities. That mostly just resulted in asset flippers hoarding houses and letting them fall into further disrepair. I wonder what steps Japan is taking to mitigate that possibility.

Source? When I looked into buying an “abandoned” house, the city used a bizarre tax calculation that used historical values to value the house (and it’s tax liabilties) in a bizarre and costly way.

https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-detroit-housing/cheap-de...

I was never talking about the taxes, just the sticker price for the house. Japan doesn't seem to be waiving property tax for these houses, either, so the comparison is still valid.

Re: Japan Is Giving Away 8M Abandoned Houses

#35

Post by yayana »

ska wrote: post #18
masklinn wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's probably the only country in the world where "used homes" are considered something to be ashamed of. That's generally true though it depends on the specifics e.g. they would renovate and maintain things like temples, ryokan or major multi-generational homes. It's the "personal" homes which are considered disposable (pretty much anything you'd have in a suburbs in the US for instance).

US is becoming more like that over time too, if you look at a lot of the new builds in subdivisions it's hard to imagine them lasting that long. I wonder if at some point the cultural attitude to "old houses" will become more like Japan's. [edit]: I find the downvotes curious - I know plenty of people living in ~120 year old houses, and plenty living in 5-15 year old new builds in subdivisions. None of us can really…

The US might have been heading that way before the 1980s.. I think it would take a few decades of invariant quality for pre-1950 to not be a frequent requirement.

(I would have supposed undamaged pre-war inventory established different tastes in the US, but that wouldn't explain Europe having the same demographic of new building skeptics as the US.)

Re: Japan Is Giving Away 8M Abandoned Houses

#36

Post by jonknee »

TheGRS wrote: post #28
onetimemanytime wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Insane, every 22 years house goes to zero value. Probably adding relatively little money can extend the life to 40-50 or so. If I'm 30 and buy a house, makes no sense to need to tear it down when I'm 52.

Its just thinking of your house as a depreciating asset instead of an appreciating one. Much like a car. I actually can't imagine wanting to live in the same house for more than 10 years.

> I actually can't imagine wanting to live in the same house for more than 10 years.

But can you imagine knocking it down and building a new one every 10 years?

Re: Japan Is Giving Away 8M Abandoned Houses

#38

Post by coldtea »

bobthepanda wrote: post #27

The US saw similar efforts in Detroit and other Rust Belt cities. That mostly just resulted in asset flippers hoarding houses and letting them fall into further disrepair. I wonder what steps Japan is taking to mitigate that possibility.

Only a property in Detroit in the deserted areas could mean frequent meetings with muggings, violence, etc.

In Japan it will just be a regular house.

Re: Japan Is Giving Away 8M Abandoned Houses

#39

Post by TheGRS »

jonknee wrote: post #36
TheGRS wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its just thinking of your house as a depreciating asset instead of an appreciating one. Much like a car. I actually can't imagine wanting to live in the same house for more than 10 years.

> I actually can't imagine wanting to live in the same house for more than 10 years. But can you imagine knocking it down and building a new one every 10 years?

Yea, this is pretty much what they do in Japan, hence the article.

Re: Japan Is Giving Away 8M Abandoned Houses

#40

Post by [deleted] »

ska wrote: post #18
masklinn wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's probably the only country in the world where "used homes" are considered something to be ashamed of. That's generally true though it depends on the specifics e.g. they would renovate and maintain things like temples, ryokan or major multi-generational homes. It's the "personal" homes which are considered disposable (pretty much anything you'd have in a suburbs in the US for instance).

US is becoming more like that over time too, if you look at a lot of the new builds in subdivisions it's hard to imagine them lasting that long. I wonder if at some point the cultural attitude to "old houses" will become more like Japan's. [edit]: I find the downvotes curious - I know plenty of people living in ~120 year old houses, and plenty living in 5-15 year old new builds in subdivisions. None of us can really…

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