Kami-Itabashi share house: snapped up on the last day, ahead of 3 cash buyers
01The Challenge
I flew to Tokyo to view properties in person, spent a full week looking, yet nothing felt right. On the last day, bags packed, I was ready to fly home empty-handed that afternoon.
02The Solution
At 9am on departure day I woke to this freshly-listed property — the basics looked right immediately, so I called the agent and rushed over by noon. With a flight to catch, I only had time for a quick walkthrough, but the voice in my head was clear: "I have to get this one." I locked in intent on the spot. Back in Hong Kong that night, working out details, I learned three buyers were already queued behind me ready to pay cash — fortunately Estate Prime's local agent network was strong enough to hold off the competition and secure it.
03Photos & Tour
The Outcome
"Bought in 2019 for ¥21M. To be clear: the previous owner did the full skeleton-level renovation in April 2017 — we bought it already converted, and that was exactly the appeal. Doing it yourself means finding an architect, supervising the works, and carrying the risk of overruns and delays; buying one freshly renovated is paying money for time and certainty. The trade-off is plain: part of the renovation upside had already been taken by the seller, so our entry price was higher than doing it ourselves. We ran the numbers and still judged it a good investment. What we added was the operating half: an all-utilities-included positioning and our own Hong Kong tenant channel, fully let ever since. From "grab the deal → operate with our own tenants," it is now offered at ¥30M with leases in place: decisiveness, local muscle and operating capability, all indispensable. (An individual past case; past performance is not indicative of future results.)"
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