We Bought An Old Japanese House For $4,000 (But It Took A Year to Get It)

We bought a ¥500,000 akiya in rural Japan — but that wasn’t the hard part. The real challenge was clearing the legal title: inheritance transfer (相続登記), locating heirs, and removing decades-old mortgage records. From the first time we visited the house in November 2024 to getting the keys in our hands, it took us one year to secure the title for our dream home. If you’re trying to buy an akiya in Japan, this is what the process can really look like.

Our Meiji-Era Time Capsule

The house itself is a fascinating challenge. It’s small, at 81 m² (around 870 sq. ft.), with a more recent addition tacked onto the side. We knew the purchase price was low: ¥500,000 for the house itself (plus a bit of mixed-use, forestry land). Including all real estate and legal fees, our total cost was ¥1,300,000 (approx. 8,200 USD).

The exact construction date was, unfortunately, lost to time, as detailed building records weren’t kept until the Showa Era (post-1926). However, we learned that property taxes were being paid on this spot back in 1868, the year the Meiji Restoration began. We were buying a genuine piece of local history!

Read: The Shocking Reality Of Our First Year In An Akiya House (and How We Made It Better)

How We Bought a ¥500,000 Akiya in Japan (1-Year Timeline + Title Issues)

This wasn’t a standard, listed purchase; it was a private transaction that required us to act as legal detectives, navigating the complexities of Japanese inheritance law and property bureaucracy. After our first visit to the house, what followed was a year-long journey of hunting down property records, hiring a specialist judicial scrivener to locate estranged heirs, and confronting mysterious, decades-old mortgages.

This table provides a quick, chronological overview of the key milestones, delays, and resolutions during our one-year journey to purchasing our dream akiya.

Date	Event	Details
Nov 2024	Initial Discovery	House found via a friend-of-a-friend connection; our search ended after three years. Connected with the seller (owner’s daughter).
Nov/Dec 2024	City Hall Visit	We pulled property records and discovered the major issue: the title was still in the deceased parents’ names.
Dec 2024	Contact & Negotiation	We agreed on a price under 500,000 JPY.
Dec 2024	Title Issue Identified	The title issue required Inheritance Transfer (Sōzoku) to consolidate the property claim before sale.
Feb 1, 2025	Judicial Scrivener Hired	We hired a specialist to find all heirs and manage complex property registration.
Feb – Apr 2025	Scrivener’s Investigation	The scrivener hunted down descendants and discovered the existence of unsettled mortgages.
Apr 9, 2025	Inheritance Cleared	The scrivener found all heirs, and they signed paperwork, consolidating the title under the seller.
Early July 2025	Real Estate Agent Hired	We brought on an agent to manage the formal sales process.
July 2025	Agricultural Committee Inquiry	The agent began checks regarding the sale of surrounding agricultural land to us.
End of July 2025	Bureaucratic Roadblock	The Agricultural Committee denied us the right to purchase agricultural land due to lack of full, permanent residency.
Aug 2025	Decision Point	We decided to proceed with buying just the house and its non-agricultural plot.
Sept 2025	Second Mortgage Scare	The scrivener discovered a second, previously settled mortgage that still required formal registration removal.
Sept – Oct 2025	Final Due Diligence	The scrivener retrieved final documentation from the loan company to clear the remaining debt record.
October 2025	Closing & Signed Paperwork	We cleared and finalized the title, signing the transaction after a full year.

Nov–Dec. 2024: The Local Edge and The Inheritance Riddle

The process began with a piece of local knowledge. Our quest for an akiya finally ended in November 2024 when we were introduced to a house through a friend of a friend who knew the property’s family. This connection allowed us to bypass the anonymous real estate market and connect directly with the seller—the daughter of the deceased owners—via the LINE app.

After chatting on the phone, we set up a meeting at the house, where we talked about its history. I tentatively asked if she was willing to sell. To my surprise, she was not only willing but very accommodating and interested in the idea of us giving the place a new life.

In December 2024, we visited City Hall together to pull property records and land maps, and were given pink-highlighted sections showing exactly what her family owned.

It was here that we discovered our first major challenge: the title was still legally in the names of her long-deceased parents. In Japan, without a will, the property becomes a shared asset among all their descendants. The house was technically owned by a whole collection of estranged relatives—a common reason why so many akiya sit vacant.

Read about our akiya experience: What You Need to Know About Akiya Abandoned Homes in Japan

Before the seller could transfer the title to us, she first had to consolidate the entire claim under her name through a complex process called Inheritance Transfer (Sōzoku). It meant we had to find and obtain the official inkan (seal) of every living heir.

Feb–April 2025: The Scrivener, Heirs, and the First Mortgages

Knowing we needed expert help to solve the inheritance puzzle, we hired a Judicial Scrivener (司法書士、Shihō Shoshi) on February 1, 2025.

Their job was to act as our legal detective: hunt down every single person with a legal claim and manage the delicate, complex business of transferring their rights by obtaining their official seals (inkan).

Using the property and tax records we provided, the scrivener tracked down all descendants. During this investigation (which spanned into early April 2025), the scrivener discovered another critical issue: unsettled mortgages taken out by the original owner.

He alerted us that before the title could be fully cleared, we needed to ensure these loans were either officially paid off or, if already settled, that the necessary payment registration was filed.

By April 9, 2025, the inheritance was successfully cleared, with all heirs located and having signed the necessary paperwork, allowing the title to be consolidated under the seller’s name.

June – Aug. 2025: The Agricultural Land Hurdle

With the inheritance finally sorted, we moved into the formal sales process by hiring a dual English/Japanese-speaking real estate agent in early July 2025.

The agent immediately encountered the next major bureaucratic hurdle: agricultural land regulations. In Japan, the rules for foreigners purchasing agricultural land vary widely by municipality, and this required a lengthy back-and-forth with the local Agricultural Committee.

After a month-long wait, we received the definitive news from the agricultural committee: we could not purchase the surrounding agricultural land because we were not permanent residents.

👉 Read more about the agricultural purchase regulations for foreigners.

This setback forced Jesse and I to pause and think, but ultimately, in August 2025, we decided to proceed with buying just the house and its non-agricultural plot.

Read more if you are interested in inaka country life in Japan: Is Inaka Life For You? Here Are 7 Truths To Consider Before Making The Big Leap

Sept – Oct. 2025: The Final Snags and Closing

Just as the paperwork seemed complete, another issue arose in September 2025. While preparing the final documentation, the real estate agent contacted the judicial scrivener only to discover that the scrivener had missed a second settled mortgage that still required formal registration to clear the title.

This triggered another month-long delay as the scrivener worked to obtain the necessary details from the mortgage lender.

Once this final due diligence was complete, the scrivener cleared the title, and the real estate agent finalized all contracts. Interestingly, we both shared the same real estate agent for the transaction, which is typically unusual in Japan. Finally, in October 2025, after a full year of legal and bureaucratic maneuvering, we signed the paperwork and became the official owners of our akiya!

Next Steps: The Renovation Blueprint—From Clearing to Permits

Including all the legal and real estate fees, the total cost for the house and land title was ¥1,300,000 (approx. 8,200 USD). Crucially, we went into this knowing the initial price was deceptive; the real investment now begins. We are launching the massive renovation phase, which we anticipate will exceed $100,000, focusing on gutting the interior, earthquake-proofing, and preparing the century-old home for modern life. Our first few months of ownership, however, will be dedicated not to building, but to intensive preparation.

Phase 1: Clearing and Salvage

Our immediate goal is to clear the land around the house. We need to cut back the relentless bamboo, vines, and weeds to make space to move materials in and out. After that, we’ll dive into the house itself to sort through the contents.

Want to read more about renovations? Try these:

• The Shocking Reality Of Our First Year In An Akiya House (and How We Made It Better)
• How (and Why) These 5 Helpful Fixes Made Our Akiya House More Comfortable

We’re not throwing everything out. There are some genuine treasures we want to keep, like beautiful kimonos left behind by the owners. We’ll carefully move these items down to the workshop below the house for safekeeping, then hire a professional cleaning company for a deep clean.

We’ll also quickly identify and address areas like roof holes to protect the structure from the weather before we do anything else.

Phase 2: Permits, Planning, and Costs

Once the house is weatherproof, the fundamental transformation begins: stripping away all the superficial renovations, right down to the good bones. We need to understand the structural constraints before we finalize the budget.

The next few steps involve massive amounts of planning and paperwork:

• Permitting: Understanding local permits for full renovation and extensions.
• Infrastructure: Learning about installing a proper driveway and extending the walkway for easier access.
• Subsidies: Researching government subsidies for key investments like earthquake-proofing and new plumbing/sewer connections.

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We’re now diving headfirst into the renovation phase! What aspect of the transformation are you most excited to see? Let us know in the comments which permits, subsidies, or building challenges we should focus on first!

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