McAskill standing on the side of the akiya.
Eric McAskill
Eric McAskill, bought an abandoned house, or akiya, in rural Japan through an akiya bank for $23,600.
The 38-year-old father of two says navigating the various databases of abandoned homes can be confusing.
“While there are some websites trying to aggregate this information, it’s often all over the place,” he said.
Eric McAskill bought an abandoned house in Japan for 3.5 million Japanese yen, or about $23,600, in March 2021.
Back then, the 38-year-old Canadian father of two was living in Bali, Indonesia, with his family.
Despite not being able to travel to Japan to take a look at the abandoned home — or akiya — in person due to border restrictions, McAskill ended up making his purchase based on a GoPro house tour video that a friend had filmed.
“It had been actually a dream of mine for quite a long time,” McAskill told Insider. “I spent — I don’t know how many hours — just daydreaming of living in Japan and purchasing one of these houses.”
McAskill shares pointers on how he bought his old abandoned house in Japan.
Foreigners can obtain Japanese real estate
One of the best parts of Japan is that foreigners can own property, McAskill said.
“It’s unlike say, Bali, where foreigners can never own property. You can kind of own a company that owns property, but otherwise, you don’t own it,” he added. “But in Japan, foreigners can actually legally own it in their name forever.”
Use akiya banks to find old houses
McAskill bought his akiya through an akiya bank, which is a database maintained by the local municipalities for abandoned or vacant houses.
But navigating akiya banks can be confusing because every community in Japan manages its own directory of abandoned houses, McAskill said.
“There’s not a single database where you can search for properties. While there are some websites trying to aggregate this information, it’s often all over the place,” he said. “Contact information is usually difficult, and then usually it’s somebody within a village who manages it.”
While Nozawaonsen — the village where he bought his akiya — did a good job maintaining its database, that might not always be the case in different areas.
He pointed out that the databases in some neighborhoods haven’t been updated in years.
The renovated exterior of the akiya that McAskill bought.
Eric McAskill
Being the first person to bid is key
The purchasing process in Japan was slightly different from what McAskill was used to back in Canada.
After the listing goes live on the akiya bank, the first person to bid on the property will enter into negotiations with the owner, McAskill said.
“So it’s not like a bidding war where multiple people get to bid — you just have to be in first place,” he said.
On the day that the akiya he was eyeing went on the market, McAskill managed to put in his offer barely a minute after the listing went live, he said.
“So because I was the first in line, then we could start to negotiate and go back and forth,” he added.
The local akiya bank then removes itself from the transaction process, McAskill said. The rest of the transaction will be conducted between the buyer and the seller — and their real-estate agents if they’ve been engaged.
The transaction can take place overseas
The legal side of things was completed through a notary, and the process was fairly straightforward, he said.
“The real-estate agents worked with the notary here to prepare the documents and sent me a copy in Bali,” McAskill said. “I had to sign it in Bali, and then I had to have a notary in Bali verify my ID that I was this person, and then that was it.”
The transaction was finalized without a hitch, and McAskill’s currently in the midst of restoring the abandoned property.
When looking for an akiya, decide on the location first
One tip McAskill has for those who want to buy an akiya is to decide on a location first, and then narrow down the list of homes based on other criteria.
“So say I like a certain province, I’ll look within this province and then start looking within the towns,” he said. “Then you work on your other criteria such as whether there’s a convenience store, a grocery store, or an elementary school nearby.”
It’s easier to find an akiya when you know what kind of environment you want to live in, McAskill said. After narrowing down the area, the next step is to visit the community and get to know the people who live there.
When it comes to the akiya itself, it should also meet certain quality standards, especially if the renovation budget is tight, he said.
“Some of the akiyas you get on the market, when you hear about these free houses in Japan, you walk in, and then sometimes it’s like, ‘Oh, I see why this is free,'” he added.