Guide · 2026-10-13

Akiya buying checks in order: which to do first, and when to walk away

Updated 13 October 2026 · Published by the Akiya Check editorial team. General information from public sources, not legal, tax or immigration advice.

Short answer: check the things that can kill the deal for free or near-free first (can you buy, can you rebuild, who owns it, does it flood), and spend money on inspections and surveys only for the house that survives those. Most guides explain each check separately; this one puts them in the order that avoids wasted deposits and lists the answer at each step that should make you stop. It links to the detailed guide for every step. It is general information from public sources, not legal, tax or brokerage advice.

The order, with the stop signals

#	Question	Stop or rethink if	Guide
1	Can I buy, finance and stay as I plan?	You expect the house to give you a right to stay, or a loan you do not qualify for	Can foreigners buy akiya, does buying give a visa, mortgage or cash
2	Can a house legally stand on this lot, and can I rebuild?	The listing says rebuilding is not allowed (再建築不可), or the zoning blocks what you want	Rebuilding prohibited, urbanization control area, farmland
3	Who owns it, and what is registered against it?	The seller is not the registered owner, or there are mortgages, seizures or unresolved co-owners	Registry, inheritance registration, leasehold
4	Does the lot flood, slide, shake or liquefy?	It sits in a high-risk zone you cannot mitigate	Hazard maps, liquefaction, retaining walls, free hazard-map tool
5	Is the access and the land itself clean?	Private road without consent, unconfirmed boundaries	Private road, boundary survey
6	What is wrong with the building, and what does it cost?	Pre-1981 structure with no seismic work, septic or structural problems with no budget	Pre-1981 seismic standard, home inspection, septic tank, renovation cost
7	What does the paperwork and the agent say?	Listing wording you cannot read, or the agent cannot answer in writing	Listing red flags in kanji, important matters explanation, disclosure matters, questions to ask
8	If I sign, what do I lose by backing out?	No loan clause and no time to inspect	Deposit and cancellation
9	What will it cost to own, empty or not?	Total cost over 5 years makes the cheap price meaningless	Taxes and costs, free houses, managing from overseas, insurance, demolition, belongings

How to use the table

1. Start with the free ones. Steps 1 to 4 mostly need public maps, the listing and a registry certificate (a few hundred yen; see the registry guide). They can be done in an evening, before any agent time or fee.
2. Write the questions down. The free 12-point checklist turns steps 2 to 7 into questions you can send the agent.
3. Pay for the survey only on a survivor. A building inspection or a boundary survey costs real money; do it on the one house that passed steps 1 to 5.
4. Do not skip step 8. The deposit is the point of no return; see the deposit guide.

Where the Akiya Check report fits

The Single Report ($49) takes a property listing URL and returns a PDF risk report built from public data: the hazard layers, zoning and legal flags, market data and a list of questions for the agent. It does not replace the building inspection (step 6), a survey, a lawyer or a judicial scrivener, and it does not say whether you should buy. The Compare 3 report ($99) shows up to three listings side by side. See pricing and the sample report.

FAQ

Which check is the most likely to end a deal?

We have no statistics to rank them. Rebuilding restrictions, ownership problems and hazard zones are the checks where a "no" cannot be fixed by a repair, so do them first.

Do I need all nine checks for every house?

No. Skip the ones that clearly do not apply (for example farmland if there is none), but note that you skipped them and why.

Can I do these checks without speaking Japanese?

Many of the sources are in Japanese. The guides explain the terms, and the checklist gives you the questions; a translator or the agent can help with documents.

Is this legal advice?

No. It is general information. For a specific house, confirm with the agent, the municipality and licensed professionals.

Each step links to a guide that cites its own primary sources (e-Gov, MLIT, NTA, municipal pages).

This guide is general information based on public sources cited above. It is not legal, tax, or real-estate brokerage advice. Confirm every item for a specific property with the agent, the municipality, and licensed professionals.