Buying a cottage

[mighty58]

( live there permanently).

I think this is the key statement for making a cottage purchase work financially. When people think cottage (besso), most are thinking of a second/vacation home that you own, and in that situation the economics of it all go south real quick.

[Zara]

I'm just wondering why the plot of land owned by RetireJapan's in-laws is worthless. Is it because the area isn't popular anymore?

[RetireJapan]

Because no one wants to buy it! It's in a development in a forest, and maybe 1/4 of the plots have been built on, and the rest haven't. Pretty much all the unbuilt ones are for sale...

My in-laws bought it in the 80s and have been paying tax on it ever since

[Kanto]

Because no one wants to buy it! It's in a development in a forest, and maybe 1/4 of the plots have been built on, and the rest haven't. Pretty much all the unbuilt ones are for sale...

My in-laws bought it in the 80s and have been paying tax on it ever since

AirBnB? Might at least cover the upkeep.

Just ask them to bequeath it to a hated relative and not you!

[RetireJapan]

It's just an overgrown plot of land, no building. And it's miles from anywhere. Truly worthless.

They keep trying to give it to my wife, her brother, our daughters, the neighbour's cat, but of course no one wants it.

[Zara]

When your in-laws bought the land, did they plan to build on it and then changed their mind? Did the development as a whole not, uh, develop and your in-laws had no good reason to build a cottage there?

[RetireJapan]

When your in-laws bought the land, did they plan to build on it and then changed their mind? Did the development as a whole not, uh, develop and your in-laws had no good reason to build a cottage there?

I think my mother in law bought it as an investment just before the bubble burst. I have no idea why she might have thought that was a good idea (she's not very financially literate).

[captainspoke]

There are others, but one 'second home' kind of place is where one of our kids lives, just inland a little from Odawara in the hills there (kind of an "almost" as far as Hakone goes--not quite there). The place they bought had been a second home (they live and work there). Newer and in excellent shape but cost half what our place did. From my POV tho, too much garden to maintain, and something like 55-60 steps from the garage up to the front door. Big porch and good view, but no water or fuji.

A fellow who retired the year before me rented a small apartment not far from his house for his "office" (kids had not quite left home). A place to put all his books, hobby stuff, and other office remainders. I considered the same, it had a lot of appeal--A Room of One's Own (woolf)--but chose to trash more stuff. And our kids were gone, and my wife was really generous about what space(s) I could use at home.

Now she's retiring, but her mother's place is empty as of last summer (moved to assisted living). She's had one room remodeled, and intends to use that place as her own space--music, some tutoring, has moved some of her office stuff there already, and so on.

*

So this is not pointed at a country cottage, but towards added/alternative space. None of this was brought about or impacted by corona, but is kind of the similar in people seeing the need or having the desire for some extra, personal room, apart from what they'd been using for living.

[RetireJapan]

So this is not pointed at a country cottage, but towards added/alternative space.

Right now I have use of one of the classrooms in my wife's English school, but if we shut that down in the future I will certainly get a small office or manshon to have a separate space from home to work in

[reggie_f]

Some properties are in gated or semi-gated communities (別荘地). These tend to come with monthly/annual fees, but also some bonuses like private beaches, tennis courts etc. They also may have strict rules that could affect how you use the place, such as requiring overnight guests to be registered. Real estate sites sometimes make it a little hard to tell if a property is in a 別荘地 or not, so bear that in mind as you search around.

The people I know who have made a success of a countryside home are the ones who understand that is a project and it will cost money. They bought a place because they wanted to spend multiple years painting walls, cutting trees, replacing windows, reflooring rooms etc. If this appeals to you then I think it is an excellent way to spend your time and money. However, if you just want to visit occasionally and relax in a place, AirBnbs/hotels might be the way to go.