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Japan Is Giving Away 8M Abandoned Houses

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Re: Japan Is Giving Away 8M Abandoned Houses

#321

Post by brownbat »

iandanforth wrote: post #180

The more interesting thing about this is that it is part of a new type of economics, contraction economics. The global trend toward birth rates below replenishment means that first-world countries are maintaining their population growth through immigration. As some countries embrace restrictions on immigration, and ultimately all countries plateau in their population growth (projected to be around 2100) it means that…

George Friedman wrote a book of creative predictions called "The Next 100 Years" that argued mounting depopulation pressures and labor shortages would lead countries to begin competing for migrants.

Interesting that has not been Europe's solution so far...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Next_100_Years:_A_Forecast...

Japan's politics, with a strong aversion to open immigration and a desperate need for labor, have landed on some controversial compromises--for one, "internships" for temporary foreign workers with questionable protection for rights. May be an early signal for how the rest of the world will handle this.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/japan-skirts-immigration-debate...

Re: Japan Is Giving Away 8M Abandoned Houses

#323

Post by chasontherobot »

0x8BADF00D wrote: post #95
blocked_again wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aren't software engineers treated badly in Japan?

All workers are. It’s practically indentured servitude, based on what I’ve read. It is also exceedingly difficult to be an entrepreneur there. Don’t get me wrong though, it’s a beautiful country to visit.

Whenever people say this, its always "based on what they've read".

Real work culture varies from company to company here, and isn't that different than US work culture overall.

Re: Japan Is Giving Away 8M Abandoned Houses

#324

Post by dionidium »

yardie wrote: post #48
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.

It's a lot more complex than that. Usually these deals have tax liabilities and liens that aren't chargeable unless the city agrees to it. Anyone can tell you, there is nothing more expensive than a free house/boat/car.

St. Louis is the market I’m most familiar with, but I’m sure it’s the same everywhere: it’s not just taxes and liens; it’s that most of the properties are worth less than the cost of making them habitable. Every municipality has occupancy requirements and building codes. Any house you can buy for $100 in Detroit is going to cost roughly the same (or more) as new construction to meet these codes. In St. Louis, for example, you’re required to present construction plans and hard timelines as a condition for purchasing abandoned property. They aren’t going to accept your optimistic DIY dreams. They have to be real plans at market rates. And if you don’t meet the agreed-to dates, you lose the property.

A lot of these properties literally have a negative value; it would cost more to renovate them and complete environmental mitigations on them than is profitable. When you see a property for $100, you almost certainly wouldn’t want it unless you were paid to take it.

Use common sense; there’s a reason these properties were completely abandoned by their previous owners.

Re: Japan Is Giving Away 8M Abandoned Houses

#325

Post by [deleted] »

ransom1538 wrote: post #42
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.

Detroit: If you have a credit card and a want to own an apartment building, it is the place to be. Just needs some elbow grease. There MUST BE opportunity at $5 USD per square foot -- but it is hard to visualize. https://www.point2homes.com/US/Multi-Family-For-Sale/MI/Detr... [I think you can talk this guy down to $10k].

[deleted]

Re: Japan Is Giving Away 8M Abandoned Houses

#326

Post by pax »

rayraegah wrote: post #240

This is just one of the many initiatives by the government or a local body to give away houses. The population in remote areas of Japan (aside from tourism) is declining quite fast. I've had friends who have bought houses for as cheap as $600 in remote areas of Japan. [1] If you are interested in owning a house in Japan then Okutama (a town close to Tokyo) is giving away houses with certain conditions. [2] There are…

> If you are a tourist you'll get accommodation and travel tickets to these "reviving" towns (free of charge) as well. https://www.detouur.com/rikuzentakatamain/

This particular example you gave, while probably cheap, is not free (~$225/day)

Re: Japan Is Giving Away 8M Abandoned Houses

#327

Post by sgc »

dreamcompiler wrote: post #148
sgc wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where are houses being given away in Italy? I would love to know of the program.

Rural Italy is beautiful and the food (in the grocery stores and markets) is both great and ridiculously cheap. But there are a few downsides. 100-plus-year-old houses often require significant refurbishment including earthquake mitigation (depending on the area) and they can be expensive to heat unless you spend $$$ on new windows and good seals and insulation. But the biggest problem for a foreigner moving to Italy…

I lived in Italy for a number of years and would love to move back.

Re: Japan Is Giving Away 8M Abandoned Houses

#328

Post by smsm42 »

bduerst wrote: post #249
smsm42 wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In 2017, over a million people[1] received legal permanent resident status. In 2017 it was slightly less than in 2016, but on roughly the same level as the previous decade. So recent policy changes don't seem to have much effect in that regard. [1] https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2017

Over 500,000 of those are familial green cards (spouses and children), meaning they likely would have been issued regardless of the changes in policy and don't really reflect a multicultural dimension for the country. Other permanent resident status issuances take up to 15 years to achieve, meaning you won't see the effects of recent policy changes in that metric until the years to come. A better metric is visa issua…

That depends a lot what exactly visas are those. There are dual intent visas, which allow change to permanent immigrant status, and ones that explicitly prohibit such change. Most visas at your link are B type visas, which would be denied if immigration officer even suspects you have intent to become a permanent resident.

Re: Japan Is Giving Away 8M Abandoned Houses

#329

Post by hrktb »

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...

> ashamed of

It might be true for some people, but that’s far from the mainstream. same for destroying a 2yo house, that’s an outlyer, as the title says the line is at 22 years in average.

The basic calculation is wether it will cost more to renovate a house or tear it down and build anew.

When considering redoing all the plumbing, upgrading insulation, eventualy the basic frame of the house if it built on wood, to then redo the whole kitchen and bathroom because so much has ch aged in the meantime, just tearing it down is the most cost and effective approach. For anyone buying an appartmwnt in Japan, the budgeting of all of that is layed out in the maintenance fees planning, where some part of it will be set aside for rebuilding.

Some people are renovating anyway, but think of it more like how people renovate 1920 area cars. The cost/benefit analysis is different.

Re: Japan Is Giving Away 8M Abandoned Houses

#330

Post by Nasrudith »

eloff wrote: post #264
colechristensen wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Food and energy are not what defines scarcity any more. If you want to pay the mortgage, have a fulfilling job, have time to spend with your family, and give your child a good start in life, you can't have 8 kids in a middle class family. Sometimes 1 is the right number if you want your child to be successful and have enough free time to enjoy life yourself. That IS resource constraint, the resource just isn't food.…

What's the resource constraint then if it's not food, energy, or shelter? People want to buy more stuff? Hardly a requirement of years gone by. People want more free time? Doubtful, otherwise people would work less and buy less stuff - which we don't see. People keep getting more productive, but they just funnel that into a more expensive lifestyle rather than cutting back on work. I don't think the reasons are simpl…

I think the current answer is quality - people want the best for their kids including a future or they won't have them otherwise. They may feel that their lifestyle consume too much time, that they can't afford what they need, or just that they and their family situation would make poor parent(s) for whatever reason. And this is peripheral to adoption vs reproduction.

Kids have turned from a resource like they were to farm families to an expense and an increasing one at that - and I don't mean in a "kids these days" sort of way - the world changed and not people. Which leaves children to be had by those who want to have them for the sake of having them - some sort of enjoyment or sense of obligation.

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