Moving

We’re almost certainly moving flat in the near future.

This has come about rather suddenly; the leaflet about it appeared in our mailbox a couple of weeks ago, we went to see it a little more than a week ago, and we did the contracts on Saturday. The flat in question is in a danchi, one of the complexes of flats built in the 70s to accommodate all the Japanese people moving to the cities as the economy took off. Thus, it’s rather older than our current place, but it’s also rather larger, with an extra room. That’s the important thing; we need another room so that Mayuki can have her own room when she gets a bit older.

The other key point is that selling this flat should cover the cost of buying the new (old?) one. We do need to apply for a mortgage to cover the interim, but the estate agents, after consulting with the banks, didn’t anticipate any problems with that, even though I don’t have permanent residence yet. That did cut down on the options a bit, as many places will not lend that much to resident foreigners without permanent residence. So, it could still all fall through, if, on the actual investigation, the bank decides not to lend us the money. But, on the balance of probabilities, it looks like it’s going to happen.

We aren’t moving far, incidentally. You can see the new place from outside our front door. That’s another important factor; it means that I won’t lose my students.

This morning, another leaflet arrived, advertising a flat equally close, slightly larger, much newer, with a better view. And two and a half times the price. That’s really not practical…