Articles published in Akiya Lab | Roopt (Makigumi)
Makigumi, which operates Roopt, constantly researches case studies and other information on the revitalization of empty houses and publishes them as columns.
We introduce the experience of a telework migrant who carried out a self-renovation using an empty house. We explain how they searched for an empty house, the process of self-renovation, the costs and time involved in the renovation, and the reasons why we recommend self-renovation.
Noi: Hello everyone, I'm Noi, the host of this channel. In this video, we've been discussing the evaluation of old detached houses for investment in modern times with Mr. Ueda from Gaiax. This time, we'd like to hear from Mr. Yoshii, who has actual renovation experience. Mr. Yoshii, thank you for joining us.
Yoshii: Thank you for having me.
Yoshii: First, I'd like to give a brief self-introduction. In 2017, when I got married, I moved from Tokyo to Tottori, where I had been living until then. Now, I live in Tottori with my wife and child, a family of three. Both my wife and I work with computers, and we work from home. Neither of us has a daily commute, so we use our free time to self-renovate an empty house, and that's where we live now. After that, we utilize the extra space in our house to share it as a vacation rental and workspace.
Noi: You mentioned that you renovated your home, but what kind of place do you actually live in?
Yoshii: I live in Shikano-cho, Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture. This area has a large number of migrants, and empty houses have been utilized for about 20 years now. It's a small town of about 3,400 people. There are magazines for people who want to move to the countryside, and Tottori City has won first place in the category of "countryside where child-rearing families want to live." It's a very popular area for migrants.
Among them, Shikano-cho, Tottori City, is particularly active in utilizing empty houses, and many migrants gather there and live in empty houses as renters. There are many migrants and also many people returning to the area, so human relationships are very good. I moved here from another place, but I find it a very comfortable area to live in, so if you are considering moving to the countryside, I hope you will consider Tottori City.
Yoshii: After moving, I initially lived in a rental, but then I ended up purchasing the empty rental house. Until then, when I was in Tokyo, I had always lived in rental housing, so I didn't really have any intention of owning or purchasing a house. However, after moving to Tottori, the owner of the rental house I was living in changed their mind and wanted to sell the house itself. When I asked how much they would sell it for, the price was quite a bit higher than I had imagined, and I was wondering what to do. But as I mentioned earlier, it's a very popular area for migrants, and properties nearby were being sold for quite high prices, so I thought it would be difficult to continue living there as a renter. Also, living in a rental isn't very stable, and with my son approaching elementary school age, I thought owning a house would provide a more stable life, so I started considering purchasing a house.
Noi: So, various circumstances led to you moving. We've heard about the background of your move and renovation, and next, I'd like to delve a little deeper into the renovation itself, specifically the renovation using an empty house.
Noi: Could you please tell us why you chose to renovate an empty house instead of building a new one?
Yoshii: There are two main reasons. The first is cost. I considered building a new house of the size we wanted, but it seemed like it would cost 30 to 40 million yen, even in the countryside, including the land. With an empty house, I thought I could buy the house itself for a few million yen and complete the renovation for around 10 million yen.
The second point is that from my experience living in an empty house as a renter, I thought that even if an empty house or a house 40 or 50 years old, it could be made livable with a simple renovation. The house I was living in had been empty for several years, so there was some mold, the interior was quite dirty, and the garden was very overgrown. However, after about two or three months of cleaning, and hiring professionals for kitchen and toilet cleaning and wallpapering, it became quite bright and the atmosphere changed completely, even with a relatively simple renovation. So, I thought it would be perfectly fine to live there.
Noi: How did you find the empty house itself?
Yoshii: Initially, I searched online using empty house banks and real estate sales websites. However, even searching across Tottori Prefecture, the number of properties was quite small, and even those listed were often properties that had been unsold for years. The real estate properties themselves were quite old, but the asking prices were unusually high, and that was all that was available.
When I asked various real estate companies about the empty house sales situation, they said that since empty houses don't sell for very high prices, the profit real estate companies can earn is also small, so real estate companies don't really want to handle them. Many empty house owners are elderly, and communicating with them can be quite difficult. If it were about selling an apartment in Tokyo, everyone would be thinking about selling, so communication would be relatively easy. However, when it comes to selling rental properties, or detached houses, not many people are used to it, so real estate companies felt that the effort wasn't worth it, and they didn't want to handle them.
: In the end, I was introduced to an NPO that promotes the utilization of empty houses in the region. Coincidentally, I found the empty house I now live in about 100 meters from the house I was living in at the time. You might be able to find empty houses online, but there are few of them, and many people are looking for them. So, if you have a certain area in mind where you want to live, I think it's best to consult with an organization or company that supports empty house utilization in that region.
: After finding an empty house, you mentioned that you did a self-renovation. Could you tell us more about that? Specifically, why did you choose to do a self-renovation without hiring a contractor?Yoshii
: The first reason is that the initial budget I had in mind, including the purchase price, was 10 million yen for the renovation that my family and I envisioned. However, when I saw the estimates from contractors, it was nowhere near enough. Before the renovation, the house I live in now was a 5LDK with four Japanese-style rooms. I've since converted it to a 3LDK, made everything hardwood flooring, and updated all the plumbing. If I had asked for such a renovation, it felt like it would cost 20 to 30 million yen, not 10 million yen. At that point, it would be almost like a new build, so I realized it was impossible.After that, I was thinking of giving up on buying the house, but the NPO that introduced me to the house said, "If you have the motivation and time, and if you can compromise on the finished state, self-renovation is not impossible, so why not give it a try?" Since the NPO itself had various equipment and tools, and they offered to lend them to me, I decided to give it a try.
After that, I was thinking of giving up on buying the house, but the NPO that introduced me to the house said, "If you have the motivation and time, and if you can compromise on the finished state, self-renovation is not impossible, so why not give it a try?" Since the NPO itself had various equipment and tools, and they offered to lend them to me, I decided to give it a try.
Noi: I see. So, you initially decided to do a self-renovation purely for cost reasons.
Yoshii: That's right. The budget I had anticipated was completely insufficient.
: So, you decided to do a self-renovation for cost reasons, and now that it's finished, how much did it actually cost?Yoshii
: Well, we started with a budget of 10 million yen. Initially, the empty house itself was offered for 7.5 million or 8 million yen, but considering our 10 million yen budget, that wouldn't leave much for renovation costs. So, after various discussions, we ended up purchasing it for 5.5 million yen. That amount is the total for the land and building, but it was almost entirely the assessed value of the land.As for other expenses, repairing walls and ceilings, flooring, plumbing, replacing with new air conditioners, refrigerators, and since we went all-electric, installing an EcoCute, and also a lot of waste disposal, etc., it would have normally cost around 7 million yen. However, by utilizing various applicable subsidies, we were able to keep it to about 4.5 million yen. The interior renovation is all finished, but we are still considering adding a wooden deck, fences, and exterior painting. Including those costs, my own cash outlay for the entire renovation will be around 10 million yen.
As for other expenses, repairing walls and ceilings, flooring, plumbing, replacing with new air conditioners, refrigerators, and since we went all-electric, installing an EcoCute, and also a lot of waste disposal, etc., it would have normally cost around 7 million yen. However, by utilizing various applicable subsidies, we were able to keep it to about 4.5 million yen. The interior renovation is all finished, but we are still considering adding a wooden deck, fences, and exterior painting. Including those costs, my own cash outlay for the entire renovation will be around 10 million yen.
Noi: Wow, did it turn out as you expected?
Yoshii: Yes, it did. If it weren't for the subsidies, we would have had to compromise and lower the quality of various things, but since there were applicable subsidies, we were able to update various facilities and expand the painting areas.
: I can imagine it must have been quite a lot of work doing it yourself. How much time did it take?Yoshii
: My wife and I, and even our child helped, but it took about a year. Both my wife and I work remotely from home, and the house we were living in until then was about 100 meters away from this house, so after work, I would come to this house to do DIY, or paint a little during lunch breaks. We also used mornings, evenings, weekends, and other free time.It's a long and challenging process, and there are many monotonous hours, but during those times, listening to audio content like Audible or Voicy can make it feel less tedious. So, during this year, I listened to a considerable number of audiobooks and podcasts, which not only increased my DIY knowledge but also provided me with various other insights.
It's a long and challenging process, and there are many monotonous hours, but during those times, listening to audio content like Audible or Voicy can make it feel less tedious. So, during this year, I listened to a considerable number of audiobooks and podcasts, which not only increased my DIY knowledge but also provided me with various other insights.
Noi: You're really making good use of your time, that's amazing!
: I imagine you've learned a lot about the costs and time management involved in self-renovation. If you were to recommend it, what would be your reasons?: I imagine you've learned a lot about the costs and time management involved in self-renovation. If you were to recommend it, what would be your reasons?
Yoshii: Yes, there are two main points. The first, as I've mentioned several times, is the cost. The appeal is that you can achieve the ideal facilities you want, even starting from an empty house, for about one-third the cost of a new build.
The second point is the improvement of DIY skills. As your DIY skills improve, you'll be able to modify your current living space as needed in the future. My child is 6 years old now and will be starting elementary school soon, so I'm thinking of creating a children's room. At such times, I can consider adding another room to one of the existing rooms. Also, I've recently started camping, and I'm thinking of creating a place to store DIY tools, outdoor gear, tents, and perhaps a small shed. The advantage is that you can handle such things without spending a lot of money.
Noi: It sounds like a lot of fun to be able to create a children's room and freely change your home according to your own wishes.
Yoshii: That's right. You can do various things according to your life stage, so in that respect, you gain various skills, and I think it's recommendable.
Noi: Thank you very much. This time, Mr. Yoshii shared his experiences as a renovation veteran. Personally, I was very surprised at how much the costs could be reduced. In the next video, we will continue to ask Mr. Yoshii about renovation know-how. Thank you very much, Mr. Yoshii, for today.
Yoshii: Thank you very much.
First published: Akiya Lab (2024 - now integrated into this site)
FIND YOUR STAY
Feel free to contact us for accommodation reservation inquiries, move-in consultations, viewing appointments, media inquiries, etc.
Contact Us
