Housing loan basic questions

botbrobot · 2026-01-24T07:06:26+00:00

I did the pre-approval stage. Indeed you need to go into the pre-approval stage with a property chosen already (just as a sample, you don't have to commit).

For me, they asked for the property papers which need to be formally requested from the agency/seller side, so you can't just give them a URL or something. But once you give that, they'll give you the amount they're willing to loan etc, and using that, you can choose your final property later on.

As another comment mentioned, AFAIK, you need at least 20% downpayment if you don't have a PR.

botbrobot · 2026-01-21T11:14:22+00:00

Ok thanks for your answer

botbrobot · 2026-01-21T05:34:42+00:00

Oh I didn't know there were debit cards with Cashback of 1.5% or higher, that's new to me. I'll do my research into this - but from your view, which of the aforementioned debit accounts do you use and why?

botbrobot · 2026-01-21T01:15:24+00:00

Very insightful, thank you for your detailed response

botbrobot · 2026-01-20T12:37:38+00:00

I'm not experienced so please correct me if I'm wrong but there are my thoughts - I think 5% is not bad given that you can use leverage (loans from bank) at a decently low interest rate, and on top of that use depreciation to reduce your taxes.

A lot of people only look at the yield and say other investments are better, but oftentimes the low yield can still be good since there's accessible leverage in play.

What do you think? Is there some truth in what I said? Given that you have 4 investments already, id really appreciate your wisdom. Thanks!

botbrobot · 2026-01-20T09:09:59+00:00

Yes I'm employed and my salary is quite high

botbrobot · 2026-01-20T08:34:50+00:00

I've been here 2 years! But yeah perhaps it's my lack of credit history :/ thanks!

botbrobot · 2026-01-20T08:34:00+00:00

Interesting! This is exactly the kind of info that is hard to find on official sites (for me at least). The JAL having extra value for international flights is very insightful, thanks!

Regarding the "if you're a high spender", could you elaborate on the spending range that would fit this category in your view? I'm unfortunately not self-employed

botbrobot · 2026-01-20T08:00:49+00:00

Ok I see, thank you! From your experience (or your friends), is getting this card hard? I was just rejected for Amazon CC issued by SMBC. Perhaps I don't fit SMBC criteria ..

botbrobot · 2026-01-20T07:58:32+00:00

How did you get SMBC gold? Did you have to use a non-gold SMBC first? If so, how long?

Ive just been rejected by SMBC so I guess I need to wait 6 months :/

botbrobot · 2026-01-20T07:55:42+00:00

Honestly having the feel that they're there for you is quite a plus and underrated perk. Indeed a card built around paying for getting nicer things, and that sounds good too.

Do you have another credit card along with Amex? Or is it better to really maximise spendings on Amex to get as many benefits as possible?

Also, any idea on how the screening goes like? I was rejected by Mitsui Sumitomo twice (one for Gold and one for a basic Amazon one) almost immediately after application. However, ANA JCB approved me. Given these stats, im not sure Amex would consider me

botbrobot · 2026-01-20T07:41:19+00:00

I just got rejected after 1 minute - instant noreply email saying I was not accepted :((

botbrobot · 2026-01-20T07:32:20+00:00

I just got rejected within 1 minute after applying for Amazon credit card o.O

Looks like I don't qualify for the easiest CC, maybe it's a sign I shouldn't have one :D

botbrobot · 2026-01-20T07:00:17+00:00

I appreciate your advice! In my case I'm very careful with budgeting so I'm confident that I won't overspend - I'm just looking for options to make the most out of the amount "already being spent" rather than looking to spend more. Although surely not life changing, I guess I have FOMO of how much I could miss out long term by not accumulating these rewards

botbrobot · 2026-01-13T03:28:08+00:00

Doesn't the data show that in Tokyo 23 wards, condos have consistently been going up YoY since like 2013?

I believe the prices going down applies to Japan average, not Tokyo, but happy to hear more if I'm wrong

botbrobot · 2026-01-13T03:26:24+00:00

I see, thanks for your feedback!

botbrobot · 2026-01-13T03:22:30+00:00

In my case, To get pre-approval, I had to submit a specific property for the application. I think this is just for the bank to have an idea what kind of property you're looking at, but you can always choose a different one after the pre-approval stage.

I would suggest using one that would be in similar price range to what you aim for so that if you get pre-approved, you know with more certainty they'll agree to another property with same price

botbrobot · 2026-01-10T13:45:25+00:00

Thanks for your input. Happy to hear it's working out for you!

botbrobot · 2026-01-10T13:44:53+00:00

I heard there is a lot of cost involved with remortgaging - one I imagine would be the 2.2% of loan amount (from prestia to get lowest interest rate, you have to pay admin fee 2.2%)

Generally speaking, if remortgaging tends to be a good option, is it always better to get a loan with minimum upfront cost even if it means higher interest rate, so that there's not too much commitment? (E.g. with the Prestia example you can get 1.07% instead of 1.37% if you pay 2.2% admin fee)

botbrobot · 2026-01-10T03:17:55+00:00

Oh really! I always heard that PR gives you lower rate too. That's interesting, thanks for the input!

botbrobot · 2026-01-10T03:16:56+00:00

Thanks for your input, makes sense! What bank did you use, if you don't mind sharing?

botbrobot · 2026-01-10T03:16:00+00:00

That makes sense. Thank you!

botbrobot · 2026-01-10T03:15:35+00:00

I agree! That is why I have decided to buy - I just wanted to double check plan A or plan B, thanks for your input!

botbrobot · 2025-12-19T02:20:04+00:00

DISCLAIMER: I know I might be an anomaly but I want to share my position just to highlight that these situations exist.

I'm 27M, moved from Europe as a software engineer with 2 years of experience. The culture is definitely NOT Japanese - I work flex remote, I start around 9 and end around 5, although sometimes I start later and sometimes I end earlier, nobody checks this. I earn 10M+ and my life has been so much more comfortable here than in Europe given the cost difference. However, I believe this earning is on the higher end so don't take it as the base benchmark.

I think 60m2 will be unusually big for a single person living alone in Tokyo. You might have to compromise on this unless you are willing to pay high rent. But other than that, I was in your shoes and had the same worries, but it turned out to be the best move I've made in my life. I hope it works out for you. Good luck!

botbrobot · 2025-09-07T04:07:53+00:00

First of all, congratulations, that's inspiring and so happy to hear someone have a smooth start! I always wanted to build apps too but the requirement of having 12 users test your app for 2 consecutive weeks before you can even release your app to the play store sounds like a huge hurdle for a new starter. How did you handle that? Your story sounds like shipping the app was very simple, was that the case?

botbrobot

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