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JR, No...not difficult to buy. Difficult to get financing, but that wasn't a problem in our case. Until about 15 years ago, the real estate industry was controlled by some very shady elements in Japanese society. Unfortunately, some of these elements still exist, which make it difficult for everyone to buy, much less buy a sizable parcel of land.
A lot of people get shafted when buying property here, and there was simply no legal recourse until about a year and a half ago with the introduction of a series of consumer protection laws. Still, the gov't is reluctant to persue even what most of use Westerners would consider to be fraud, and won't move until you've won a civil case against the agent. What's really unfortunate is that most Japanese are reluctant to use the courts even when shafted, and legal fees aren't awarded to the victor even if the defendant was 100% in the wrong. The same holds true if you are sued and win the case brought against you. You have to pay your own legal defense even if the other party brought suit against you knowing that they had no chance of winning. Strange... :smt119 :smt013 :smt096 :smt093 :smt100
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Brian Sousa
Koi-Bito Magazine |