Officially Signed with the Construction Company! The Story of the Day, Plus Updates on Floor Plans, Subsidies, and Loans | House Hunting #13

Introduction

Finally, we have signed the contract.

On May 30, 2026, we finally signed the official contract with the construction company.
A total of 60,000 yen, consisting of a 10,000 yen stamp duty and a 50,000 yen contract fee.
It sounds simple when put into numbers, but thinking about the journey to reach this day... it was deeply moving.

A quick re-introduction: I am a wife in a childless couple, around 40, working fully remotely, and living in the Tohoku region (in an area that gets snow, but not heavy snowfall).

In the previous article, I wrote about:

• The results of our preliminary mortgage loan screening (3 banks)

• The completion of our provisional land application

• The process of receiving the first-floor soundproof room plans from the construction company and deciding on the company

up to that point.

This time, I will summarize:

• What happened on the day of the official contract

• Points for floor plan revisions

• The outcome regarding subsidies (GX and Long-Term Quality Housing)

• Our current status in choosing a loan

as well.

We are moving forward little by little, but surely.
I hope this will be helpful to those who are also in the middle of house hunting.

Signing with the construction company. The moment I pressed my seal.

On May 30, we went to the construction company's headquarters.

We received explanations for various contracts, signed them, pressed our seals, and paid the 60,000 yen contract fee.

The feeling of 'Oh, we are really building this' gradually started to sink in.
Until we signed the contract, I was full of anxiety, wondering, 'Is it really okay to take on a 40-year loan, especially a 45-million-yen one? Can we really pay it off?' and 'Is this really the right construction company?'
Honestly, there were many nights this past week when I couldn't fall asleep easily.

However, surprisingly, I was very calm on this day.
Having gone through the process of dealing with so many companies, I felt like I had steeled myself.
The sales representative was also very sincere, and it was a big help that they carefully addressed the points we were anxious about.

Perhaps because the sales representative also felt that we had 'chosen them,' they were the most cheerful I had seen them in all our meetings so far.
It was a very peaceful meeting, chatting while also discussing how to keep costs down.

💡 By the way, at this stage, we only pay the 'contract deposit (like a down payment).' Since the large loan payments start after construction begins, our current life of paying rent will continue for a while longer.

Three points for floor plan revisions

We discussed several things regarding the floor plan before and after the contract.

The problem of not being able to see the TV from the dining area

This was our biggest concern.
Because if we changed this, the floor plan would also change significantly.

Until now, I thought the floor plan was perfectly fine, but due to the LDK layout, we discovered that 'we can't see the living room TV from the dining table position...!?!?'
I had always said, 'I want to be able to see the TV from the kitchen,' but not being able to see it from the dining area was a blind spot...!
My husband and I often watch TV while eating, too!

We received a handwritten revision proposal for the floor plan, but after considering the flow and other factors, we decided not to change the floor plan but to add a TV.
My husband and I often work on our computers at the dining table, and we had talked about wanting an external monitor.
When I thought about it, the dramas and variety shows we watch are almost all streamed on TVer, so we concluded that we could just buy a monitor for computer work and use it as a TV as well!
We can't watch NHK, but I think watching it on the living room TV is enough.

We decided to keep the balcony

There was an option to 'get rid of the balcony' to cut costs, but we decided to keep it at my husband's request.

'Since we went to the trouble of choosing land with a good view, I want a place where we can go outside.' I totally get that feeling!
I was prioritizing costs and thought it would be convenient not to have to clean it, but I agreed that he was right.
It's my dream to drink coffee and work on my computer on a spacious balcony while looking outside.

We swapped the flow between the WIC and the bedroom

The original floor plan had a flow of 'stairs -> bedroom -> WIC,' and I thought it might be inconvenient that the distance from the first-floor washbasin to the WIC was far.

We consulted with the construction company and were able to change the order to 'stairs -> WIC (walk-through) -> bedroom.'
Furthermore, by adding a window to the bedroom, we can take advantage of the view of this land. Wow, I'm looking forward to it.
Plus, it seems like the storage capacity of the WIC will increase, which makes me happy.

In exchange, the distance from the bedroom to the first-floor toilet will be further, but that should be fine.
Ideally, it would be nice to have the WIC near the washroom. In our case, we also have a soundproof room on the first floor and can't add any more to the first floor, and since we work fully remotely and aren't in a rush to get ready every day, we set priorities and made this decision.

Regarding floor plans, the optimal plan changes for every family.

Subsidies, oh no! A reversal of fortune!?

'It's already full, so it looks difficult...'

During the meeting, we talked about subsidies.
The construction company representative said, 'GX is already over, and long-term high-quality housing is already more than 70% full, so it looks difficult.'

Oh no!!!

With the situation in the Middle East driving up the price of naphtha (a raw material for petroleum-based building materials), I didn't think that many people were building houses, but is it already that booked up...!? It's only the end of May...!?
I felt a creeping sense of panic, thinking I should have moved a little faster.

Wait, while writing my note...

However, while I was researching subsidies for this article, something seemed off.

Wait, isn't there still availability???

Looking into it more closely, I realized that the housing energy-saving subsidies change every fiscal year along with the program names.

• FY2025: Child-rearing Green Housing Support Project (→ Indeed, already ended)

• FY2026: Mirai Eco Housing 2026 (→ Currently ongoing!)

The construction company representative was likely referring to the ended FY2025 website. It seems they overlooked the new FY2026 program.

As of now, only 25% of the budget for FY2026 GX-oriented housing has been used. The subsidy amount is around 1.1 million yen.

Furthermore, the subsidy for long-term quality housing is also available for "households with children or young married couples (where at least one spouse is 39 or younger)," and at 37, we definitely qualify. However, since there are running costs involved, such as mandatory maintenance reports after acquisition and specification restrictions, I will confirm at the next meeting whether it is worth the subsidy amount.

Additionally, I found out that there are subsidies unique to local governments in addition to the national ones. If you meet the conditions, you can combine multiple ones, and if things go well, it seems there is a possibility of exceeding a total of 2 million yen...!

Reconfirming the importance of researching for yourself

It's not good to take everything at face value. It's important to check things yourself.

If I hadn't been writing reflections or note articles, I might not have noticed, so I'm seriously grateful to myself for writing that note!!!

I'll confirm this at the next meeting. If we can get it, that's huge...! My heart is racing.

Regardless of subsidies, don't take things at face value; research them yourself. This was the biggest lesson learned this time.
Especially if the company doesn't prioritize subsidies, there's a possibility that their research in this area might be lax, so definitely look into it yourself!

Talking about maybe going with a 10-year fixed-rate loan

I'm still considering the loan, but I'll organize my thoughts as of now.

The candidate is a JA housing loan (via the construction company).

I was torn between a variable rate and a 10-year fixed rate, but given the current trend of rising interest rates, I think it might be worth buying some peace of mind with a fixed rate for a while.
I compared online banks as well, but the 10-year fixed rate from JA was at a significantly more favorable level compared to online banks.

💡 By the way, even though it's called a "10-year fixed rate," it's actually structured so that the interest rate "rises slightly" after 5 years. Since I will have to choose between a "10-year fixed or variable rate" again after 10 years, I plan to re-evaluate refinancing to an online bank at that time, depending on the interest rate situation.

The final decision on the bank is scheduled for around August. I will gather a bit more information until then.

The peace of mind of "the estimate will not change for one year"

Finally, one thing the construction company told me.

"The current estimated amount will not increase for one year."

With the current instability in building material procurement due to the situation in the Middle East and other factors, this statement was honestly very reassuring.
They said, "I don't think so, but..." regarding the possibility of the construction period shifting, but I will assume it might happen just in case.
If the construction period shifts, it means the period where my current apartment rent and the loan overlap will increase, which would be too tough, so I think I'll pray every night before going to sleep.

Future Schedule

Having signed the contract with the construction company, I feel like I've finished one big task.
I'm happy that from now on, I can focus on actually deciding on various things.
The future schedule looks something like this for now.

• Review the revised floor plan

• Sign the land contract (planning to pay a 100,000 yen deposit + 10,000 yen for stamp duty)

• Decide what to do about subsidies

• Have them provide figures for "how many yen will be saved by cutting where" based on combinations of lowering insulation grades and equipment grades

Next time is finally the land contract...!
Detailed adjustments to the amount will likely be from the next meeting onwards, but the direction has become quite solid.

The journey of house hunting still continues!
If you are interested in what happens next, please follow me~

▼ Articles about buying a house

▼ Books I read when buying a house

Since the number has increased, I have narrowed it down to only highly-rated books!

Books that triggered my home building

Books on home building

Books on financial planning

Books on land searching

Books on soundproof rooms

Books on floor plans

*This article contains Amazon Associate links. As an Amazon Associate, Mii earns from qualifying purchases.

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