If you need stuff, open your eyes, hunt around and look beyond the massive department stores (this will be addressed in another blog about buying life essentials. The link to this pdf is here. Okay, have seen the start page and I have discovered this is an international organization:
Community House & Information Centre (CHIC) is a non-profit community service organization committed to meeting the needs of the international community in Kobe, Japan. CHIC's goal is to serve as a bridge between the international community and the Kobe community at large, to help both newcomers and long-time residents get the most out of their stay in Japan.They are wrong and need to update the information on basic living.
Our first real estate agent didn't try (he showed us two places--that the wife liked), we didn't fill in any forms, he wanted us to sign up for rental insurance (if you don't pay your rent, insurance covers it) and the moment we heard this suspicion iced our spines. To make a long story short, he phoned us after two days to say our application had been declined, and he withdrew his services. "What application?" I asked the wife. She had no idea. We filled out no forms, so we are a bit confused with this 'application'.
Also note: We do have a guaranteer.
Next was a small company called 'Change'. Nice people, listened to what we wanted but couldn't see the whole picture of what we were after. I will take the blame for that, I wasn't as clear or precise as I wanted to be. The lady showed us some great places and there was one serious contender but the location was far too countryside, plus it was next to the highway. Can you imagine what we would hear all night long? The wife and I discussed the house on the way home and realized the massive transportation fee and traveling time involved. We also noted there was no Lawson, no shops and no supermarkets for miles. We would need a car. This was not an option any longer.
This real estate agent called us the next day (while we were with another agent--don't rely on just one) saying she had found another place for us to look at, just behind the one we declined. It was nice to know she was still working for us. She called us several times throughout the day but we ignored the calls as we were with another agent. Then she called at night and we told her we were working on getting a contract with a house. She called AGAIN, saying she found the house online and wanted us to dump our agent and she could deal with this rental. She became almost stalker-like. Plus we don't think she could close a sale.
Our third estate agent is Kusaku-san from House Pier in Kobe. At first we thought he was an amazing salesman, we discovered he was the head of the company--the boss--with 6 others working under him. He was also very popular and clients wanted to talk only with him. But busy as he was, he never once walked away from us to deal with some else (this happened at mini mini Ishibashi), his entire attention was on us. He knew what we wanted (we had pictures) he tracked the owners down and discovered one was no longer on the market. Another was being sold and he told us about our third choice being way up in the mountains and in winter the bus doesn't always run because of the ice. BUT to our surprise he jumped on the net, went to a special page only for estate agents and found 3 more options for us. One was gone. The second one we both loved (during the ride Kusaka-san got a call; another couple wanted the apartment we had seen 15 minutes ago. As we are the first, they have to wait for us to make a decisions, turns out they didn't have to wait long) and it was in a good location and large enough for an apartment with a tatami room with removable walls. But the third place (as previously mentioned) is a kicker of a place and we jumped at it.
And got it. Without a job, we managed to get the place. It is a terrace house and massive. I don't know how Kusaka-san did it, but he managed to get the management company and the owner to accept us, jobless as we were.
The process of the real estate agent:
(mini mini and other LARGE real estate agents)
1. meet client (usually walk in off street)
2. Get client a cup of hot tea (this happened everywhere and always served by a lady)
3. Get our details -- address, phone number, job, salary, yearly income including bonus.
4. ask us what we are looking for, including location, size, pets, close to station, convenient, don't mind old buildings or want only new, house or apartment, max rent you are willing to pay and the max key money (deposit--doesn't usually get returned, usually a couple of thousand $$)
5. they get out their lists and show you what they need to get rid of while trying to convince you this is what you want.
6. The photo usually looks better than the place, so always view.
7. Agent drives you to location, while convincing you have good this place is. Clients are in the back seat of the car like a VIP being driven around.
-- Don't compromise what you want.--
The process of independent agents:
1. greet client (usually walk in off street)
2. Get tea, if lucky. Usually small staff numbers.
3. Ask what you want.
4. Shows you want you want (if available) or shows closest hit.
5. Calls owners and management staff for conditions and availability.
6. Shows you the places you chose.
7. You are in back seat, door is opened and closed for you, agent just chats.
8. Asks after viewing: "Do you like it?"
Independent agents rock.
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