Buying house in Japan with money from home sale...newbie questions.

[solo7100]

2. Failing #1, if my mom was a resident here in Japan with a valid working visa or religious or any other visa beside temp, could she flat out buy a house with HER own money that she transfers to herself from the US bank to her Japanese bank (when she sets up one)? Of course, then when she goes the way of the earth (I'm old school), the house would be transferred to my name which I'm sure would incur other types of taxes (inheritance, etc)?

Your mum wouldn't need to be a resident of Japan to buy a house here. It's pefectly doable as a non-resident - I purchased the house I now live while being non-resident in Japan.. even with a mortgage at the time. If your Mum can buy with cash, so much the easier.

Wait, wouldn't she need a non-tourist visa to make the purchase? Or do any type of transaction like that? Could a person just come to Japan on vacation (tourist visa), drop a load of cash and buy a house/land/property/build?

If so, I guess money does really talk..

[Deep Blue]

Yes, non-resident foreigners can buy land in Japan with no restrictions, I think there might be some review process if it’s near a military site but other than that, it’s pretty straight forward.

[solo7100]

Thanks everyone for the helpful replies. We are just getting started with the transition….fingers crossed.