A Filipina who made it (?) in Japan

[publicduende]

Looks like OFWs (Filipinas working and living abroad) love to show off their achievements. This below is a "top end" case, a Filipina, a single mo of all people, who has been living in Japan for, I guess, at least a couple of years and got enough money and visa status to start a mortgage and buy herself a lovely cookie-cutter detached home in an undefined place in Japan.

The article doesn't fail to mention that she paid 20M Yen (around 135K USD) for the house and that "before becoming an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT), [she] worked evenings part-time at a Philippine club, and then she would work mornings at a factory, sewing car seats. She also worked peeling vegetables and crops such as potatoes and handling garbage".

Another acid reflux of cynicism, maybe, but I have the feeling that someone at that "Philippine club" might have been quite generous to her At 36 years old, she looks quite well-kept and pretty.

https://www.msn.com/en-ph/lifestyle/oth ... f8f573f8a3

[galii]

Looks like OFWs (Filipinas working and living abroad) love to show off their achievements. This below is a "top end" case, a Filipina, a single mo of all people, who has been living in Japan for, I guess, at least a couple of years and got enough money and visa status to start a mortgage and buy herself a lovely cookie-cutter detached home in an undefined place in Japan.

The article doesn't fail to mention that she paid 20M Yen (around 135K USD) for the house and that "before becoming an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT), [she] worked evenings part-time at a Philippine club, and then she would work mornings at a factory, sewing car seats. She also worked peeling vegetables and crops such as potatoes and handling garbage".

Another acid reflux of cynicism, maybe, but I have the feeling that someone at that "Philippine club" might have been quite generous to her At 36 years old, she looks quite well-kept and pretty.

https://www.msn.com/en-ph/lifestyle/oth ... f8f573f8a3

135k seems quite cheap for Japan.

[publicduende]

135k seems quite cheap for Japan.

It's not considering that it's in the middle of nowhere. The agencies that place these cute Filipinas to work as hostesses in Japan usually don't serve big cities, where supply from local stock abounds, but the tier 3 and 4 cities, where life is as boring as in the neck of the US deep south

[Yohan]

... a Filipina, a single mo of all people, who has been living in Japan for, I guess, at least a couple of years and got enough money and visa status to start a mortgage and buy herself a lovely cookie-cutter detached home in an undefined place in Japan.
.....
..... I have the feeling that someone at that "Philippine club" might have been quite generous to her. At 36 years old, she looks quite well-kept and pretty.

There are about 300.000 Filipinos in Japan, the fourth-largest foreign community.

Many of them send all money back home and spend the rest for air-tickets and many Christmas gifts for all children of their village etc. - Even after working many years they own nothing and getting older they are back in poverty in the Philippines and their 'income' as elderly people is depending on their children.

Some others however are without any strong family links, are not interested anymore to return to Philippines and prefer to stay and to save up as much as they can, living 10 years in cheapest narrow old accommodation, trying to change their visa status into long-stay without working restrictions, starting to learn Japanese and to improve their English etc.

Undefined place in Japan? No, this house is located in Ibaraki-prefecture, around Tsukuba in a developing area, made out of rice-fields, which are not in use anymore and converted into a low-cost housing zone.

Mortgage is not possible for a foreign citizen in Japan. It must be paid, full amount in cash.

There is no restriction to buy a condominium unit for a foreigner, (no quota like 49 percent etc.) regardless the visa status - even a tourist can buy one.

However to buy house/land requires at least a long-stay resident permit. I guess she is already many years in Japan, paying taxes, holding national health insurance cover, paying into the retirement fund, and doing some regular job in a company (not a night-club) which is able and willing to sponsor her visa before she got a long-stay permit.

Single mother? Question is who is the father....

About the money, it is not impossible for a Filipina couple to save up USD 135.000 within 10 years, if BOTH of them are doing a regular job, but I doubt if she can do that alone... Likely she was living with somebody before (in Japan) - the child must come from 'somewhere'...

galii » Thu Oct 27, 2022 4:58 am
135k seems quite cheap for Japan.

Not really, it depend on the location and the size of the house. This house is outside in Ibaraki Province, 50 miles out of Tokyo, land is very cheap there, often from old farmers who died etc. and her house is very small, not over 70 m2 - and yes you can easily buy such a house for this price there.

Such houses are pro-fabricated and can be used immediately after moving in - all what you basically need, like kitchen, bath, toilet, air-con, lights and other requirements are already installed. The price of 20 million yen (now something about USD 135.000) is very realistic.

Take a look to a housing construction company/real estate broker of that area, 20.5 million yen, all included
https://suumo.jp/ikkodate/ibaraki/sc_ts ... _70400721/

However it is known that the quality of such houses is not the best, everything inside and outside is cheap and never complete. As you see, there is no garden, just a plastic grass mat, a 'wide' (=empty, unused) parking lot without roof and storage (just unused land...) and the house is a wooden construction, except the foundation.

You have other issues, not mentioned - in such a rather remote low-cost area you need your own little car, at least the cheapest one, as public transport is not like in the cities. Jobs are often difficult to find, especially for foreigners.

Also unclear is the price of the new furniture, like sofa, bed, TV on the wall, tables, chairs, electric appliances etc. This cannot be included in the price of the house/land, has to be paid extra, it is often provided by an interior shop/homecenter to a fix price, all in one with good discount. Likely she bought something what we call a 'model house' from the developer which is shown to customers.

So all together, totally, including the small car, land/house transfer fees and taxes, real estate broker fees, furniture - it should be around yen 23 million...something around USD 155.000 - I guess.

[publicduende]

Many of them send all money back home and spend the rest for air-tickets and many Christmas gifts for all children of their village etc. - Even after working many years they own nothing and getting older they are back in poverty in the Philippines and their 'income' as elderly people is depending on their children.

Some others however are without any strong family links, are not interested anymore to return to Philippines and prefer to stay and to save up as much as they can, living 10 years in cheapest narrow old accommodation, trying to change their visa status into long-stay without working restrictions, starting to learn Japanese and to improve their English etc.

Yep, those are the stories I heard, when I was in Davao, from Japanese girls who go to Japan on "karaoke visas", which are second-class to the more coveted visas for professional and semi-pro singers who get to sing in bands or piano bars. As youn say, they don't have it easy there, their only ticket out of a life of mere survival and drunken locals mocking and fondling them being...marrying one of those boozy locals.

Undefined place in Japan? No, this house is located in Ibaraki-prefecture, around Tsukuba in a developing area, made out of rice-fields, which are not in use anymore and converted into a low-cost housing zone.

Yes, what I meant is, it's not exactly a central place in Japan. And, not to detract from her dream home but, the construction itself looks low-cost. They didn't even have budget for a real lawn?

Mortgage is not possible for a foreign citizen in Japan. It must be paid, full amount in cash.

There is no restriction to buy a condominium unit for a foreigner, (no quota like 49 percent etc.) regardless the visa status - even a tourist can buy one.

However to buy house/land requires at least a long-stay resident permit. I guess she is already many years in Japan, paying taxes, holding national health insurance cover, paying into the retirement fund, and doing some regular job in a company (not a night-club) which is able and willing to sponsor her visa before she got a long-stay permit.

Single mother? Question is who is the father....

About the money, it is not impossible for a Filipina couple to save up USD 135.000 within 10 years, if BOTH of them are doing a regular job, but I doubt if she can do that alone... Likely she was living with somebody before (in Japan) - the child must come from 'somewhere'...

That's what triggered my cynicism radar...someone must have knocked her up and left her, maybe after giving her a little pocket money to raise her child. Of course, she is proud of having managed to buy a house in Japan all of her own. Filipinos are resourceful and very adaptable. She probably has no shame about her life and how she got there, taking care of a child from another man (possibly married), etc.

[Yohan]

135k seems quite cheap for Japan.

It's not considering that it's in the middle of nowhere. The agencies that place these cute Filipinas to work as hostesses in Japan usually don't serve big cities, where supply from local stock abounds, but the tier 3 and 4 cities, where life is as boring as in the neck of the US deep south

This place is located somewhere in Tsukuba, Ibaraki-Province about 30 to 50 miles out of Tokyo - however there are plenty of schools/universities/research centers/factories in that area, called 'Tsukuba Science City', plenty of foreigners are living there.
Not a cheap place!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsukuba

However I guess, this place in this video is taken in TsukubaMirai, which is nearer to Tokyo, but much cheaper.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsukubamirai,_Ibaraki

Tsukubamirai was a purely agricultural area until large scale housing development began after the 1960s, and by the 1980s, with the opening of the Joban Expressway and several industrial parks, the area increasingly became a commuter town for the Tokyo Metropolis. This tend intensified after 2005 with the opening of the Tsukuba Express

[publicduende]

Tsukubamirai was a purely agricultural area until large scale housing development began after the 1960s, and by the 1980s, with the opening of the Joban Expressway and several industrial parks, the area increasingly became a commuter town for the Tokyo Metropolis. This tend intensified after 2005 with the opening of the Tsukuba Express

Funny how, whenever in Japan they call an area "shin" (new) or "mirai" (future), it's usually a caricature of the "old" or "current" thing

[Yohan]

Funny how, whenever in Japan they call an area "shin" (new) or "mirai" (future), it's usually a caricature of the "old" or "current" thing

About the so-called 'new towns'

A Filipina (still young 36 y/o) who pays 20 million yen for a new house in a so-called 'new town' - she really must feel she is something special if she looks around in some Japanese villages, which its elderly people living not so far away from her new home.

The good thing with these 'new houses' in a 'new town' is that everything is ready to move in, also easy access by your own ordinary small car - no 4WD required, no problem during rain or snow in general.

-----

However if you buy something really cheap, any old house, expect immediate repairings, even plannung of a new construction required, and often expensive investment like water supply, canalisation, connection of electricity/internet, and also transport of materials from a home center to such a remote location is not for free, this costs often more totally than to buy a new pre-fabricated house ready to move in.

Such areas outside of the cities do not offer any condominium building, in general only wooden structure houses are available.

Here in Japan, in rural areas, there is the same situation almost everywhere.
A lot of land is totally unuseable, like steep forests prone to landslides etc.

Available land which is located in a flat area is limited and the fields are small, often old people taking care of farming. After their death, children or other relatives, if any, many times refuse to take over such inheritance and ask a real estate broker to find somebody willing to buy for an incredibly low price, starting around USD 6000,- - but such houses are often a horrible mess. It takes many years to find a buyer, sometimes such desolate houses in remote areas are never sold....and abandoned.

To give you an idea, check out
https://suumo.jp/chukoikkodate/ibaraki/ ... _70599339/

about USD 8000,-
-----
The real estate broker writes about the following:
Great nature around, ideal for hiking, beautiful river nearby. Ideal for 'do it yourself', there is no floor anymore, totally broken.
10 Minutes only by car to some shops, next railway station 2 km away.

If you still think, it's too expensive, there is a cheaper one too, but it writes 80 minutes to go there by feet from the next public transport.
By feet, so it means you need a 4WD car to go there if you don't want to walk.

about USD 6.700,-
https://suumo.jp/chukoikkodate/ibaraki/ ... _70859143/
-----

If you look for 'nice accommodation' in a real Japanese nobody place, what about that in Hokkaido (a bit cold however during winter time)

LOL,

USD 3000,- for house and land, 260m2, really the lowest offer I guess.

https://suumo.jp/tochi/hokkaido_/sc_shi ... _70402808/

[publicduende]

About the so-called 'new towns'

A Filipina (still young 36 y/o) who pays 20 million yen for a new house in a so-called 'new town' - she really must feel she is something special if she looks around in some Japanese villages, which its elderly people living not so far away from her new home.

The good thing with these 'new houses' in a 'new town' is that everything is ready to move in, also easy access by your own ordinary small car - no 4WD required, no problem during rain or snow in general.

-----

However if you buy something really cheap, any old house, expect immediate repairings, even plannung of a new construction required, and often expensive investment like water supply, canalisation, connection of electricity/internet, and also transport of materials from a home center to such a remote location is not for free, this costs often more totally than to buy a new pre-fabricated house ready to move in.

Such areas outside of the cities do not offer any condominium building, in general only wooden structure houses are available.

Here in Japan, in rural areas, there is the same situation almost everywhere.
A lot of land is totally unuseable, like steep forests prone to landslides etc.

Available land which is located in a flat area is limited and the fields are small, often old people taking care of farming. After their death, children or other relatives, if any, many times refuse to take over such inheritance and ask a real estate broker to find somebody willing to buy for an incredibly low price, starting around USD 6000,- - but such houses are often a horrible mess. It takes many years to find a buyer, sometimes such desolate houses in remote areas are never sold....and abandoned.

To give you an idea, check out
https://suumo.jp/chukoikkodate/ibaraki/ ... _70599339/

about USD 8000,-
-----
The real estate broker writes about the following:
Great nature around, ideal for hiking, beautiful river nearby. Ideal for 'do it yourself', there is no floor anymore, totally broken.
10 Minutes only by car to some shops, next railway station 2 km away.

If you still think, it's too expensive, there is a cheaper one too, but it writes 80 minutes to go there by feet from the next public transport.
By feet, so it means you need a 4WD car to go there if you don't want to walk.

about USD 6.700,-
https://suumo.jp/chukoikkodate/ibaraki/ ... _70859143/
-----

If you look for 'nice accommodation' in a real Japanese nobody place, what about that in Hokkaido (a bit cold however during winter time)

LOL,

USD 3000,- for house and land, 260m2, really the lowest offer I guess.

https://suumo.jp/tochi/hokkaido_/sc_shi ... _70402808/

Always a treat having insider information about everyday life in Japan from you, @Yohan, even if it goes OT (not that the original topic was much to talk about )

I read about the phenomenon of rural Japan depopulating and whatever efforts the local governments, or often some dollar-sign-eyed developers, are doing to convert old rice farms or hard-to-reach areas into half-decent suburban communities, seem to fall short.

In this particular case, our Filipina hero is an independent, work-from-home English teacher and her life is probably centred around her daughter and her home anyway. She looks like she does have a car and she doesn't mind living in a relatively far-flung area. If she had no better choice than becoming a hostess in some small Japanese town, to entertain the nights of post office clerks and unemployed youngsters, then that lifestyle must really be the peak of achievement for her. For me, it would be, literally, Purgatory.

[Yohan]

@publicduende

It's not really off topic, you see, Galii was asking why this price of a house is rather cheap in Japan.
Why not to explain the situation about housing in Japan to him?

-----

About this Filipina, for sure she cannot earn and save that money only by her work, including her work at a Filipina Club.

BTW, her own youtube channel talks about Rolex, Dior, Lost in Paris, Bungee Jump in Macau,
and she also talks about her braces for her teeth...

Rhia Cruz 3 months ago
Hi sis! I think its the same here or maybe more expensive, from the base of 2,000 dollars depending on the treatment plan. Mine for both arches upper lower costs 7,000 dollars.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVkCBV ... rcA/videos



and beauty care...

[publicduende]

@publicduende

It's not really off topic, you see, Galii was asking why this price of a house is rather cheap in Japan.
Why not to explain the situation about housing in Japan to him?

That's true.

About this Filipina, for sure she cannot earn and save that money only by her work, including her work at a Filipina Club.

BTW, her own youtube channel talks about Rolex, Dior, Lost in Paris, Bungee Jump in Macau,
and she also talks about her braces for her teeth...

Well, case closed then. She's the typical "Japayuki" (as they call them over here) who opened her legs to multiple Japanese men (and got pregnant by one) until she managed to save enough to buy a home. I would say she is luckier than most.

On a Manila-Davao flight, I set next to a newlywed couple, a FIlipina from near Davao and her husband, a young, nerdy-looking Japanese guy. We started conversing. She was over the moon because she got married to a Japanese and would now be able to travel back and forth drama-free. This was husband's first trip to the Philippines, they were going home to meet the parents, a little beach vacation, the usual stuff.

The husband didn't speak a word of English, nor I think he was able to understand what we were saying. He must have thought I was hitting on his wife because, as soon as we landed, he grabbed her arm and dragged her ahead of him, he bowed to me very nervously mumbling some variation of "yoroshiku onegaishimasu", and stormed off. I didn't see them at the baggage conveyor belts, so I imagine they went somewhere where they could argue in peace

See, as she told me, confirming what I already knew, these Filipinas get dispatched to small boring towns where "the karaoke bar with the girls" is peak nightlife. Her hubby apparently was one of the most assiduous punters, a lowly post office clerk who never had a gf in his life. She was another one of the lucky ones, despite her man being neither handsome nor wealthy.

For most people here, life is so devoid of joy and opportunities, barely anything at all qualifies as an improvement.

[Cornfed]

I guess that is yet another advantage of being female. Banks can give you a mortgage on the basis that if your day job falls through you can always whore your ass out. This wouldn't apply to Western pig females who can transform into hideous monsters at the drop of a hat.

[Yohan]

I guess that is yet another advantage of being female....

This is true, in Western society in general it is much easier to be a woman than a man. Women have plenty of options and advantages.

[publicduende]

I guess that is yet another advantage of being female. Banks can give you a mortgage on the basis that if your day job falls through you can always whore your ass out. This wouldn't apply to Western pig females who can transform into hideous monsters at the drop of a hat.

As @Yohan said, she is unlikely to have been able to start a mortgage. She is more likely to have obtained the cash to buy her home. How and where...we can only imagine.

[Yohan]

@publicduende

As @Yohan said, she is unlikely to have been able to start a mortgage. She is more likely to have obtained the cash to buy her home. How and where...we can only imagine.

It has nothing to do with being man or woman - the criteria which qualifies you for ownership by using loans/mortgage is the Japanese citizenship only.

In Japan as a foreigner you can buy your own land/house or condominium unit but you will have to pay the full amount in cash before you can register it in your own name in the land title. Even if you are married to a Japanese national, it is not possible to do it (even not register it as 50/50) and banks know about that and in general refuse to offer any loan.

Thailand has similar requirements, but condominium only. No debts allowed for foreign owners to be registered in the land title. It is not allowed for a Thai bank or individual Thai national (including Thai wife and other family members) to offer money or even being a guarantor for a loan to a foreign national and register his or her name in the land title. In case of a foreigner, the property has to be paid in cash using foreign currency.

In both countries, Japan and Thailand, if a foreign citizen buys a property it must be free from encumbrances.

-----

About Philippines I do not know. Likley similar regulation too?