The A–Z Home-Buying Process in Japan: From Viewing Properties to Receiving the Title Deed in 2–3 Months
A detailed guide to the process of buying a home in Japan, from viewing properties and undergoing a preliminary bank-loan assessment to kessai, receiving the keys, and transferring the title deed in 2–3 months.
Aug 7, 2026·✍️ olablog·⏱ 14 min read
A detailed guide to the process of buying a home in Japan, from viewing properties and undergoing a preliminary bank-loan assessment to kessai, receiving the keys, and transferring the title deed in 2–3 months.
Owning a home in Japan—whether it is a condominium (chuko mansion) or a detached house (ikkodate)—is a major dream for many Vietnamese people living and working in the Land of the Rising Sun. However, language barriers, a host of complex Japanese legal terms, and numerous additional costs often leave many fellow Vietnamese residents feeling overwhelmed. Can you get a home loan without permanent residency? What are the steps involved, and how long does it take before you can finally hold the keys? This article lays out the entire home-buying process in Japan from A to Z in the most practical and easy-to-understand way possible, helping you confidently take charge of your family’s journey toward settling down within 2 to 3 months.
1. Overview of the home-buying process in Japan and the 2-3-month timeline
Typically, from the day you settle on a property you like and submit an application to the day you officially receive the keys and move in takes around 2 to 3 months (8 to 12 weeks). If you pay in cash (cash package), the timeline can be shortened to around 3–4 weeks. However, most Vietnamese residents in Japan choose to take out a home loan (住宅ローン - jutaku ron), making the 2-3-month timeline the most realistic standard.
Here is a summary of a typical home-buying timeline in Japan:
| Stage | Procedure / Main task | Estimated time |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | Search for properties & view them in person (内見 - naiken) | Week 1 - Week 2 |
| Step 2 | Submit a purchase application (申込 - moshikomi) & preliminary loan assessment (仮審査 - kari shinsa) | Week 2 - Week 3 |
| Step 3 | Receive the important-matters explanation (重説 - juusetsus) & sign the purchase agreement (売買契約 - baibai keiyaku) | Week 3 - Week 4 |
| Step 4 | Undergo the official loan assessment (本審査 - hon shinsa) & sign the loan agreement (金消費貸借契約 - kinshou) | Week 5 - Week 8 |
| Step 5 | Settlement (決済 - kessai), ownership transfer registration (所有権移転登記 - shoyuken iten touki) & receive the property | Week 8 - Week 12 |
2. The parties you will work with throughout the process
To purchase a home smoothly in Japan, you generally will not deal directly with the homeowner alone. Instead, you will work through a chain of professional parties:
- Real estate agent (不動産会社 / 仲介業者 - fudousan kaisha / chuukai gyoosha): The main link between the buyer and seller. They find properties, arrange viewings, negotiate the price, prepare the legal documents, and help you submit your bank-loan application.
- Bank / lending institution (銀行 - ginkou): The institution that assesses your finances and provides your home loan (jutaku ron).
- Judicial scrivener (司法書士 - shihou shoshi): An independent legal professional with an extremely important role. They attend the settlement (kessai), confirm that the funds have been transferred in full, and go directly to the Legal Affairs Bureau (法務局 - houmukyoku) to remove the existing mortgage, register the new owner’s title (the red/pink title deed), and register the mortgage for the bank.
- Homeowner / seller (売主 - urinushi): This may be an individual moving to another home or a real estate company that develops or builds new homes (house maker).
3. The 5-step home-buying process in Japan from A to Z
Step 1: Search for a property and view it in person (内見 - Naiken)
You can search through major Japanese real estate portals such as Suumo, Homes, and At Home, or work through an agent. Once you have selected 3–5 properties you like, the agent will arrange a time to take you for an 内見 (naiken - property viewing).
When viewing a property, do not focus only on whether it looks attractive. Pay attention to these practical points:
- The actual walking distance to the station (based on a Vietnamese person’s walking pace, not just the figures listed on paper).
- Sun exposure, ventilation, surrounding noise, and signs of mold or dampness in the corners of walls and ceilings.
- For detached houses (一戸建て - ikkodate): Check the road in front of the property (public or private road - 私道 shidou) and the land boundaries (境界杭 - kyoukaikui).
- For condominiums (マンション - mansion): Ask carefully about the management fee (管理費 - kanrihi) and the reserve fund for repairs (修繕積立金 - shuuzen tsumitatekin).
Step 2: Submit a purchase application (申込 - Moshikomi) & undergo a preliminary loan assessment (仮審査 - Kari shinsa)
Once you decide to proceed with a property, you will fill out a 購入申込書 (kounyuu moshikomisho - Home Purchase Application) or 買付証明書 (kaitsuke shoumeisho - Letter of Intent to Purchase). This document states the price you wish to offer—which may allow for some room to negotiate a modest discount on an older property—and your expected transaction timeline.
At the same time as submitting the moshikomi, you must submit your 仮審査 (kari shinsa - preliminary loan assessment) application to 1–3 banks.
- Documents required for the preliminary loan assessment:
- Residence card (zairyu card), passport.
- Health insurance card (shakai hoken / kokumin hoken).
- Tax return / most recent tax withholding statement (源泉徴収票 - gensen choushuuhyou).
- Kari shinsa processing time: It can take as little as 2–4 days or as long as around 1 week. Based on your income, credit history (CIC), and visa status, the bank will provide an estimated borrowing limit and interest rate.
Step 3: Receive the important-matters explanation & sign the purchase agreement (売買契約 - Baibai keiyaku)
After receiving notification that you passed the 仮審査 (kari shinsa), the agent will schedule the purchase-agreement signing. Before the official signing, the real estate agent is legally required to provide an 重要事項説明 (juuyou jikou setsumei - explanation of important matters).
A licensed 宅建士 (Takkenshi - real estate transaction specialist) will read through and explain the lengthy 重説 (Juusetsu) document in detail, covering matters such as zoning status, disaster risks (hazard map), financial obligations, and penalties for breach of contract.
Immediately after the Juusetsu explanation, once all questions have been answered, both parties will sign the 売買契約 (baibai keiyaku - purchase agreement). At this point, you will need to pay two amounts:
- Deposit (手付金 - tetsukekin): Usually 5% to 10% of the property price (deducted directly from the total purchase price).
- Stamp duty (印紙税 - inshizei): Affixed to the purchase agreement.
Critical contract warning: You must check whether the agreement contains a ローン特約 (Loan tokuyaku - loan contingency clause). This clause ensures that if the official loan assessment (hon shinsa) is rejected by the bank through no intentional fault of your own, such as deliberately falsifying documents, the purchase agreement will be canceled unconditionally and the seller must refund 100% of your deposit 手付金 (tetsukekin).
Step 4: Undergo the official loan assessment (本審査 - Hon shinsa)
After signing the purchase agreement, you submit the original agreement to the bank for the 本審査 (hon shinsa - official loan assessment).
- The hon shinsa requires more extensive documentation, including:
- A residence certificate 住民票 (juminhyo) for the entire family.
- A seal registration certificate 印鑑証明書 (inkan shoumeisho).
- A tax certificate 課税証明書 (kazei shoumeisho) and tax payment certificate 納税証明書 (nouzei shoumeisho) covering the most recent 1–3 years.
- Employment contract and information about existing debts (car installments, credit card balances, and so on).
- Hon shinsa processing time: Usually 2 to 4 weeks.
- Once you pass the hon shinsa, you will go to the bank to sign the official loan agreement, known as the 金銭消費貸借契約 (kinsen shouhi taishaku keiyaku - commonly shortened to 金消 kinshou).
Step 5: Settlement (決済 - Kessai), ownership transfer & receiving the property (引き渡し - Hikiwatashi)
This is the decisive day—the day you officially become the owner of your new home!
The 決済 (kessai) usually takes place on a weekday morning (Monday through Friday) at the branch office of the bank providing the loan. The parties present include you (the buyer), the seller or the seller’s representative, the real estate agent, and the judicial scrivener (司法書士 - shihou shoshi).
The kessai process is as follows:
- Legal verification: The 司法書士 (shihou shoshi) checks your identification documents and those of the homeowner, ensuring that all ownership-transfer procedures are ready.
- Loan disbursement: The bank transfers the full loan amount into your account.
- Payment: The bank deducts the necessary funds from your account to transfer the remaining purchase price to the seller, as well as pay the agent’s fee, judicial scrivener’s fee, fire-insurance premium (火災保険 - kasai hoken), and other costs.
- Handover of keys & documents: The seller hands over the keys and the home-equipment documentation.
- Ownership registration: The 司法書士 takes all the documents to the Legal Affairs Bureau (法務局) and submits the 所有権移転登記 (shoyuken iten touki - ownership transfer registration) application. Around 1–2 weeks later, the new title deed bearing your name will be mailed to your home by the 司法書士.
4. Summary of taxes and additional costs when buying a home (Updated 08/2026)
In addition to the listed price of the home, you need to budget for additional expenses (known as 諸費用 - shohiyou). As of August 2026, these costs account for approximately 6% - 9% of the total property value for both new and used homes.
The table below details the fees and tax rates applicable as of August 2026:
| Fee / Tax | Japanese name (Romaji) | Fee / Tax rate (As of August 2026) | Example for a 40 million JPY property (~6,6 - 6,8 billion VND) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brokerage fee | 仲介手数料 (Chukai tesuryou) | Standard formula: (Property price × 3% + 60.000 JPY) + 10% tax (Properties ≤ 8 million JPY: maximum 330.000 JPY) |
|
| Stamp duty | 印紙税 (Inshizei) | 10.000 – 20.000 JPY (preferential rate applicable through March 2027 for contracts worth 10-50 million JPY) | 10.000 JPY (~1,6 million VND) |
| Registration tax & ownership-transfer fee | 登録免許税 (Touki menkyo zei) | Land tax ~1,5%; building tax ~0,1%-0,3% (assessed Fixed Asset value) + judicial scrivener’s fee 80.000 - 150.000 JPY | |
| Fire / earthquake insurance | 火災保険・地震保険 (Kasai/Jishin hoken) | Depends on the insurance plan and building structure (10-year fire insurance, 5-year earthquake insurance) | |
| Bank-loan processing fee | 住宅ローン 事務手数料 (Ginkou tesuryou) | Usually 2,2% of the total loan amount (including tax) | |
| Post-purchase real estate acquisition tax | 不動産取得税 (Fudousan shutoku zei) | One-time tax, with the bill sent 3–6 months later. Tax rate: 3% (substantial reductions are available for owner-occupied homes) | Usually 0 JPY to ~100.000 JPY after deductions |
参考 exchange rate (August 2026): 1 JPY ≈ 165 - 170 VND. For a 40.000.000 JPY property (
6,6 - 6,8 billion VND), total additional costs 諸費用 will come to approximately 2,5 - 3,2 million JPY (410 - 530 million VND).
5. Practical tips to help Vietnamese buyers avoid common pitfalls
- Do not hide bad debts or installment purchases: When you apply for a bank loan, the bank will check your CIC credit history. Things such as late payments on an installment phone purchase, credit-card debt, or unpaid traffic fines can all seriously hurt your application.
- Do not be tempted by an extremely cheap, very old home: Houses built before 1981 (before the introduction of the New Earthquake-Resistance Standards - 新耐震基準 Shin Taishin Kijun) are much harder to finance with a long-term bank loan and can incur extremely high maintenance costs.
- Take advantage of the home-loan tax deduction (住宅ローン控除 - Jutaku ron koujo): As of 2026, the Japanese government still maintains an annual personal income-tax refund based on the year-end outstanding home-loan balance for homes that meet energy-efficiency standards. Ask the agent whether the property qualifies for this certification.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Can I buy a home and get a bank loan in Japan without permanent residency (永住権 - Eijuuken)? Yes, it is possible. If you pay 100% in cash, you only need your passport and personal documents. If you want a bank loan without permanent residency, you generally need to meet conditions such as holding a stable work visa (engineer, highly skilled professional, and so on), having lived in Japan for more than 2-3 years, and having worked at your current company for more than 1 year. Banks will also typically require a down payment of around 10% – 20% of the property value. Some banks that offer loans to people without permanent residency include SMBC Trust Bank (PRESTIA), Shinsei Bank, Kansai Mirai Bank, and certain Chinese- or Taiwanese-owned banks.
Q. Will I lose the 手付金 (Tetsukekin) deposit if my bank-loan application is rejected? No, PROVIDED that your purchase agreement clearly includes a ローン特約 (Loan tokuyaku). If the official loan assessment (hon shinsa) is completely rejected, you can legally cancel the agreement and the seller must refund 100% of the 手付金 deposit. Check carefully for this clause before signing!
Q. How much are the additional costs outside the property price (transaction costs)? Additional costs (諸費用 - shohiyou), including the brokerage fee, ownership-transfer tax, insurance, and bank-loan fees, usually amount to around 6% - 8% for new homes and 7% - 9% for used homes. You should have this cash ready because most banks place restrictions on rolling these additional costs into the home-loan package.
Q. How long does the home-buying process take from viewing a property to receiving the keys? If you take out a bank loan, the total average timeline is 2 to 3 months (around 8–12 weeks). The stages that usually take the longest are the official bank loan assessment (hon shinsa) and coordinating the kessai settlement date among all parties.
Conclusion
Buying a home in Japan is a memorable milestone, but it requires careful attention and thorough financial and legal preparation. Understanding the 5-step process—from viewing the property (naiken), preliminary loan assessment (kari shinsa), and signing the agreement to the official loan assessment (hon shinsa) and settlement (kessai)—will help you stay fully in control and minimize unnecessary risks.
To learn more about settling down in Japan and keep up with life in the Land of the Rising Sun, you can also explore these useful articles:
- Read more practical living tips at Blog OlaChill.
- Learn more about interest rates and loan requirements in Tips for Getting a Bank Loan to Buy a Home in Japan.
- Discover Japanese destinations and cultural experiences through Day Tours from Tokyo, or visit the OlaChill homepage so you never miss the latest updates!
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