Anticipating an international transfer to Tokyo, Japan but unsure of where to begin with arranging housing?\u00a0<\/p>\n
How about a corporate leasing package through our bilingual real estate agency?<\/p>\n
At FREA, we provide complete guidance for incoming international staff seeking furnished corporate housing in Tokyo from start to finish!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Read on for insight on the ongoing timeline of one of our current corporate clients, and learn how our streamlined housing process saves valuable time and effort for both the incoming staff and company.<\/p>\n
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You may be wondering:<\/p>\n
Rental leasing in Japan primarily falls into two categories: personal (leased directly by one or more individuals) and corporate (leased under a company name).\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leasing through an established company offers some notable advantages for incoming foreigner staff. Perhaps most significant is the added flexibility of finalizing housing prior to the designated resident\u2019s actual arrival in Japan\u2014for personal contracts the resident card is required at application time, but these are not issued until the individual physically arrives in Japan with their active entry visa.<\/p>\n
Additionally, a corporate contract can boost acceptance rates in cases where the employee themselves lacks Japanese ability\u2014one of the most frequent reasons we see clients struggle with securing a personal lease is the language barrier concern, as landlords heavily prefer a reliable means to communicate with the tenant.\u00a0 In such cases, a corporate presence can often act as a liaison for the employee.<\/p>\n
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Once the budget and leasing timeline have been established, our bilingual agents establish contact with the individual employee to proceed with the housing search.\u00a0 Initial criteria typically includes unit floorplan, desired size, and other building\/area preferences.<\/p>\n
Our client was scheduled to replace the previous overseas transfer who had selected a tower residence in the urban Shibuya area, and spoke positively of the \u201c30 minute door-to-door commute\u201d involving only a single train line.<\/p>\n
Although the apartment had a sleek, modern interior and was conveniently located, our client admitted he was not all that fond of the constantly high-traffic feel of Shibuya.\u00a0 He expressed interest in several areas further west, which his HR contact had mentioned were \u201cless touristy.\u201d<\/p>\n
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These \u201cless touristy\u201d areas happened to fall on extremely commuter-heavy lines (Tokyo boasts some of the most crowded morning rush hour train cars in the world), and would also require additional transferring between rail companies on a daily basis.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We agreed to guide our client around those areas as requested but also suggested some additional locations proceeding in the direction of his future office location for comparison.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ultimately, our client ended up selecting Ebisu, which is well-regarded for its reserved, sophisticated city atmosphere. The station placement even knocked a few minutes off the previous Shibuya commute time, to boot.\u00a0 Our client mused that he would have never thought to consider the Ebisu area, which is actually located only one train stop away from Shibuya on the JR Yamanote line.<\/p>\n
Tokyo\u2019s wide range of distinct and sharply differing areas located in close proximity of each other demands a keen grasp of both the city\u2019s diverse characteristics as well as the finer workings of its sprawling transportation system. \u00a0Our staff had prepared area recommendations not only for the convenient workplace commute, but also because they felt the atmosphere of those neighborhoods would be suited to our client\u2019s liking.<\/p>\n
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At FREA, our services extend beyond just the basic housing search services offered by most real estate agencies in Japan, with additional relocation services.\u00a0\u00a0 In our next article, we will cover the second key aspect of our corporate relocation process in detail: customizable leasing of furnishings for a comfortable and cost-effective residence immediately upon arrival!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"