Having a problem with finding a place

[rzombie1988]

Here's the deal guys:

I'm coming over on a work visa soon. I found a place I want in Japan but company says I can't sign for it until I am in Japan and I also can't sign for it until I have an alien registration card, phone and bank account. Only problem is, I don't think I can get those things unless I already have a place in Japan.

I've been looking at places and for one month, it seems I can't do much better than paying over 150,000 yen for a private apartment once the additional fees are added up in Tokyo. I really don't want to do the guesthouse/dormitory thing, so I'm not really sure what to do. I feel I'm absolutely getting ripped off by paying 150,000 total for one month. What's worse is that to get the place I want in Saitama(has everything, is on the same train line as my work and is only 50,000 yen) I'd have to pay another 150,000 up front to get it once the start up fees begin.

Any suggestions? I'm using a friend's address currently for when I get there, but there's another problem with that. My friend lives in Chiba, my work(and possible one month apartment) is in Tokyo and the place that I want but can't sign for yet is in Saitama. Even if I do all the registrations and stuff, I will still have to do them in either Tokyo or Chiba then I'm going to have to change everything again the day after I get the Saitama place. The only other piece I feel that is worth mentioning is that I will be able to stay in a hotel if I want the last week of June, but that's not really going to be helpful otherwise.

I feel they pretty much got me here, so any suggestions would be great.

[KansaiBen]

You are cutting your own throat by not going for the guesthouse, you will not be able to rent an apartment on your own until you have a work visa and are a resident. Everyone pays the key money and deposit when moving in, it is up to 3-4 months rent plus agents fees, you will also need to furnish the place as well- it wont even have light bulbs or an airconditioner.

Look at Leopalace apartments, no key money and they are furnished. You pay rent in advance but you can move in straightaway.

http://en.leopalace21.com

Here's the deal guys:

I'm coming over on a work visa soon. I found a place I want in Japan but company says I can't sign for it until I am in Japan and I also can't sign for it until I have an alien registration card, phone and bank account. Only problem is, I don't think I can get those things unless I already have a place in Japan.

I've been looking at places and for one month, it seems I can't do much better than paying over 150,000 yen for a private apartment once the additional fees are added up in Tokyo. I really don't want to do the guesthouse/dormitory thing, so I'm not really sure what to do. I feel I'm absolutely getting ripped off by paying 150,000 total for one month. What's worse is that to get the place I want in Saitama(has everything, is on the same train line as my work and is only 50,000 yen) I'd have to pay another 150,000 up front to get it once the start up fees begin.

Any suggestions? I'm using a friend's address currently for when I get there, but there's another problem with that. My friend lives in Chiba, my work(and possible one month apartment) is in Tokyo and the place that I want but can't sign for yet is in Saitama. Even if I do all the registrations and stuff, I will still have to do them in either Tokyo or Chiba then I'm going to have to change everything again the day after I get the Saitama place. The only other piece I feel that is worth mentioning is that I will be able to stay in a hotel if I want the last week of June, but that's not really going to be helpful otherwise.

I feel they pretty much got me here, so any suggestions would be great.

[rzombie1988]

The saitama place is set up already and probably has more than any of the other places I've been looking at for a month now. Internet, washer, dryer, fridge, ac, heat, tv, it's all there. It's also between 50,000-65,000 monthly but has high start up costs.

I'm set up visa wise. Already have it in my passport.

I'm thinking of going with the guesthouse but I really don't want to do it. Sadly it's still more expensive than it should be, but by far it's the cheapest to get my registration card.

I was looking at leopalace but the agent seemed to only give me more expensive choices after telling him that the previous places were already too expensive. Somehow after telling him my limit of 80,000 Yen, I kept getting reccomendations for places over 110,000 Yen.

[KansaiBen]

The saitama place is set up already and probably has more than any of the other places I've been looking at for a month now. Internet, washer, dryer, fridge, ac, heat, tv, it's all there. It's also between 50,000-65,000 monthly but has high start up costs.

Keep in mind that to walk into a brand new apartment you would have to pay out on a fridge, washer dryer, bed futons, even curtains etc. Most places are empty when you move in. Paying key money is a fact of life here and there is no avoiding it. There is no key money but they can charge high rent to compensate as people can rent on a monthly basis (most lease contracts are a minimum of a year) so you pay for convenience and dont worry about having to buy or get rid of furniture when you leave.

[ttokyo]

I was looking at leopalace but the agent seemed to only give me more expensive choices after telling him that the previous places were already too expensive. Somehow after telling him my limit of 80,000 Yen, I kept getting reccomendations for places over 110,000 Yen.

Leopalace's prices are fixed, but most of the other rents are negotiable. Maybe he thinks that they can go down a bit and you can afford a bit more ?

[rzombie1988]

Well I'm pretty much beat at this point. I'm just going to go with fontana for a guesthouse somewhere and deal with it. The finding a place from overseas thing is a nightmare. I'll see whats available at the end of the 3 months and go from there. I have to be careful money wise as my job doesn't have set salaries.

[vastlife]

In your situation you should really just get a room at a share house. It's really not that expensive at all. I stayed at several different Sakura House (http://www.sakura-house.com) share houses for about 3 years, and I had really nice experience there. Good service, really easy to deal with (everybody speaks English), and not really that much more than a 1 room apartment. I used to pay around 65 000 yen per month.

Now I have my own apartment and I pay 55 000 plus all the additional costs which amounts to about 75 000-80 000 yen per month (not to talk about all the initial costs amounting to over 200 000 yen plus fridge, bed, furniture etc). In comparison the price for a low cost share house room is actually really good. I really don't get it why people complain about the prices. I know some rooms are more expensive (location, size, etc), but you are paying for the convenience of having basically everything prepared for you!

Anyway, if you don't like living in a share house, just get it in the meanwhile until you can find an apartment. It will be way easier finding an apartment while being in Japan. (although you will probably need to be able to communicate in Japanese when looking for a place)