BEST ESTATE.JP: Apartment Hunting Done Easily! Find a Home in Japan

Stressed About Apartment Hunting? Use BEST ESTATE.JP!

Picture courtesy of BEST ESTATE.JP

Finding a home is a crucial step for international residents regardless if you’re in Japan for school, work, or on a working holiday visa.

Upon searching for an apartment, you may quickly feel the strain of how difficult and complicated the process is. We recommend using BEST ESTATE.JP, a website that specializes in rental property listings for foreign residents. All properties listed on the website are open to foreigners for move-in consultations.

BEST ESTATE.JP is provided by GTN (Global Trust Networks), a company that offers lifestyle services for international residents. Thanks to their multilingual support and meticulous services catered to foreign residents, you can progress effortlessly from the searching process to signing the apartment lease!

Let’s take a look at the features of BEST ESTATE.JP and the property lease signing process.

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6 Advantages of Using BEST ESTATE.JP

There are six advantages to using BEST ESTATE.JP as listed below.

1. You Can Look for Apartments While Overseas

BEST ESTATE.JP makes it possible to search for apartments even while you’re overseas. This will likely give some peace of mind to those who wish to have housing when they arrive in Japan or wish for everything to be arranged beforehand.

There are cases when you cannot sign an apartment lease in Japan without a Japanese phone number. However, by using BEST ESTATE.JP, you can find apartments that allow tenants to sign a lease without a Japanese phone number!

There’s also the great option of a virtual showing in real-time using Zoom to view the inside of the apartment! Find an apartment you’re interested in during the showing? You can sign the lease immediately!

2. Receive Multilingual Support

GTN is a multinational corporation. They provide support in languages such as Japanese, Chinese, English, Korean, and Vietnamese.

For this reason, you don’t need to memorize difficult real estate jargon in Japanese. You can simply proceed with the lease signing without any issues.

3. Ample Information on Properties

BEST ESTATE.JP is able to provide ample information on rental properties because it works with well-known real estate agents in Japan. The listings available adhere to comfortable living standards according to the law. You can also rest assured as the signing process is legal.

4. No Joint Guarantor Required

In Japan, a joint guarantor who resides in Japan is required for renting real estate. But with this service, a joint guarantor isn’t required when signing your lease if you use GTN’s rent guarantor service.

Using the rent guarantor service requires a separate charge and will have a guarantor service fee.

5. Free Tenant Consultations

By signing a rental lease on BEST ESTATE.JP, you can continue to ask questions about everyday life for free even after your move. You are welcome to ask staff about the procedures on how to separate your trash, pay rent through bank transfers, and much more.

The BEST ESTATE.JP website introduces useful information on finding housing in Japan. It’s a good reference to have on hand.

BEST ESTATE.JP Official Website: https://www.best-estate.jp/en/

6. Connect Easily on Social Media

You can ask questions or send inquiries to BEST ESTATE.JP via social media or chatting apps. They provide support through these seven channels: LINE, WeChat, WhatsApp, Kakao Talk, Viber, Facebook, and Zalo. All you have to do is send in a question or inquiry and a staff member will reply in your desired language.

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The Process to Renting an Apartment

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The apartment hunting process typically goes as follows.

1. Contact through social media or other channels
2. You will be contacted by a staff member and interviewed on your desired features in an apartment
3. Virtual showings (for in-person showings, an agent will meet you at the station closest to the applicable listing. You will head to the property on foot)
4. Apply
5. Review (reviews by the property management company, owner, and guarantor company)
6. Go over important documents at the office *Can also be done online (the rental contract will be sent to your address)
7. Payment of upfront costs (You may need to pay upfront costs before signing the lease based on your move-in date)
8. Receive the key and move in

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Precautions

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You must prepare several documents beforehand when signing a rental contract. Also do note that you will need to pay upfront costs before moving in.

Here is a list of things to note and precautions you should know before signing your lease.

1. The following documents must be prepared for review: passport, residence card (or a Certificate of Eligibility for Resident Status), employment contract (or documentation of income), emergency contact in Japan (can be another international resident), contact in your home country (contact number of family in your home country).
2. Upfront costs are usually 3.5 to five times your rent.
3. It is best to begin looking for apartments around two months before moving.
4. The moving season in Japan is typically February and March (beginning of the school year, finding employment, graduation season, company transfers, etc.) or August and September (annual company personnel reassignments). If you find your ideal apartment during this period, then we recommend signing the lease as soon as possible before someone else snatches it.

Physical Offices in Tokyo and Osaka

Shin-Okubo Office

The entire process from searching for an apartment to signing the apartment lease can be done entirely online. Nevertheless, some people may prefer looking for an apartment in person while consulting with staff at the office.

The option to search for an apartment together with multinational staff is available at the Shin-Okubo office in Tokyo or Namba Marui office in Osaka. Both offices are centrally located in the city and have convenient access.

Global Trust Networks Co., Ltd. (GTN) Shin-Okubo Branch

169-0072 Akiyama Building 2F, 1-15-15 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

Participants in the campaign have the chance to win an Amazon gift card worth 10,000 yen!

30 Amazon gift certificates will also be given out each month via a lottery to campaign participants who answer the questionnaire!
In order to participate, you have to be using GTN’s rent compensation service and to be living in a property located close to a station along the Seibu Line that you found via BEST-ESTATE.JP, GTN’s website aimed at assisting non-Japanese residents with finding housing in Japan.
The campaign period is from August 1, 2022, until March 27, 2023.
Those who enter the campaign must meet the following conditions:
1. They are not Japanese nationals
2. Their nearest station is along the Seibu Line
3. They have a new rental contract
4. They use GTN’s rental guarantor service
5. They answer the GTN questionnaire
Please note that the following stations are NOT included in the campaign: Ikebukuro Station, Takadanobaba Station, and Seibu Shinjuku Station.

Campaign:https://www.best-estate.jp/en/seibu/?source=gtn_seibu

Good Luck With Finding Your Dream Apartment in Japan!

Now, foreign residents, too, can easily rent an apartment in Japan with the help of BEST ESTATE.JP.

GTN offers a wide variety of services for international residents in addition to their real estate website such as mobile phone services, credit cards, and job placement services. Be sure to check out GTN’s website if you ever find yourself worried about life in Japan.

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