#1 At 28, I decided to buy a 50 million yen used apartment.
The story of how I changed my perspective after viewing three properties, despite only looking at asset value.
Introduction
28 years old, company employee.
Right now, I am seriously looking for a pre-owned condominium priced around 50 million yen.
I haven't bought one yet.
Until now, I had never thought about "buying a home" that seriously.
I currently live in a rental apartment, and the rent is about 120,000 yen.
I can walk to work, so it is a very convenient location if you only consider the commute.
However, it is about a 20-minute walk to the station.
The station itself is convenient, but I also had the feeling that I wasn't fully benefiting from the advantages of living in a place with such high station potential.
In the midst of this, I started thinking about my future life plans, such as marriage and children.
"Where will I live from now on?"
"Is it okay to just keep renting forever?"
Thinking about things like that was what triggered my interest in buying a condominium.
And once I started researching, it was much deeper than I had imagined.
At first, I was quite simple-minded.
"I should just buy a condo near the station that seems to have high asset value."
That is what I thought.
But after actually viewing three condominiums, my way of thinking changed significantly.
Distance to the station.
Commute time.
Maintenance status.
Condition of the interior.
Renovation costs.
And, the opinion of my girlfriend who will be living with me.
Things I couldn't understand just by looking at property listings online became clear one after another once I actually visited the sites.
In this article, I will write about why I decided to buy a condominium, why the budget is 50 million yen, and how my way of thinking about choosing a condominium changed through three property viewings.
I currently live in a rental with a "120,000 yen monthly rent"
My current home is a 1LDK.
The rent is about 120,000 yen.
I can walk to my workplace, so I quite like it in terms of commuting.
On the other hand, it is about a 20-minute walk to the station.
The convenience of the station itself is not bad.
However, while living here,
"Wouldn't it be nice to live in a place where I can benefit more from being close to the station?"
I started to think that way.
If I were to buy a condominium, I would want to live in a place that is larger than my current home and has higher living convenience.
That feeling also gradually grew stronger.
Of course, there are also advantages to renting.
It is relatively easy to move if I want to, and I don't have to bear the burden of large-scale building repairs myself.
Therefore,
"Rent is a complete waste"
is not how I think about it.
Even so,
"If I'm paying around 120,000 yen a month for housing, shouldn't I at least seriously consider the option of buying?"
I started to think.
What made me start thinking about "buying a home"
One of the triggers for me to start considering buying an apartment was learning about Yuma Kawasaki, who shares real estate information on social media.
Until then, for me,
"A home is for living in"
was a very strong feeling.
However, as I researched real estate,
"Thinking of a home as an asset"
was a perspective I learned about.
Buying an apartment using a mortgage.
While living in it myself, I also hold the apartment itself as an asset.
If I end up moving in the future, there is also the option of selling it.
Of course, buying an apartment doesn't guarantee a profit.
There is a possibility that the price will go down.
There are also incidental expenses when purchasing.
Management fees, repair reserve funds, and property taxes are also necessary.
There are also costs involved when selling.
Even so,
I started to think, "If I'm going to pay for housing every month anyway, can't I improve my living environment while also building assets for the future?"
That is what I began to think.
And another big factor was my future life plan.
Turning 28, I had more opportunities to think about my future life, such as marriage and children.
"Maybe it's time to seriously think about where I live."
Thinking that, I decided to start looking for a condominium.
Why 50 million yen?
"What kind of annual income allows for a 50 million yen condominium?"
Some people might think that at first.
However, the figure of 50 million yen,
"It seems I can borrow it because it's 7 to 10 times my annual income of XX yen"
was not decided solely for that reason.
I calculated it by working backward from the amount I can comfortably pay every month.
Currently,
・0 yen down payment
・50-year full loan
I am considering these as a premise.
When borrowing around 50 million yen, I use the guideline that the monthly payment will be about 150,000 yen, including the mortgage (including initial costs) as well as management fees and repair reserve funds.
My current rent is about 120,000 yen.
Therefore,
"Rent: approx. 120,000 yen"
and
"Purchase: approx. 150,000 yen"
were considered as one axis of comparison.
In reality,
・Fixed asset tax
・Initial purchase costs
・Interest rates
・Management fees
・Repair reserve funds
・Future repair costs
・Selling costs
also need to be considered.
So, 50 million yen is just a "budget/estimate" at this point.
I haven't absolutely decided to buy a 50 million yen condominium.
Why a used condominium instead of a new one?
Actually, I didn't think a used condominium was the best choice from the start.
If you think about it normally,
"If I'm going to buy a house, I want it to be new"
is also a feeling I have.
However, when I looked into new condominiums,
"Desired location"
"Desired size"
"Distance to the station"
It was difficult to find a property that met all the "price" requirements.
That's when I started looking at used condominiums.
Then, my way of thinking started to change little by little.
With used condominiums, there is a wider range of choices than with new ones.
It is also easier to find condominiums in good locations.
If it has already been renovated, the interior is also quite clean.
And, when choosing a property, you can also prioritize "asset value".
At first,
"Used equals old"
I also had that image.
But when I actually looked at the properties,
"Precisely because it is used, I can prioritize location and asset value when choosing"
I realized that this way of thinking is also possible.
At first, I was only looking at "asset value"
When I first started looking for a condominium, what I prioritized was quite simple.
Station power.
Distance from the station.
Surrounding market prices.
Price per square meter.
Price
Management condition.
Whether it will be easy to sell in the future.
In other words,
"Is this condominium easy to sell in the future?"
is the perspective.
Of course, I still think asset value is important.
Since I am spending a large amount of 50 million yen, I want to think not only about livability but also about future resale.
However, once I actually started viewing properties, I realized that I couldn't decide based on that alone.
From here on, I will write about the three properties I actually viewed.
Property 1: Mukogaoka-Yuen View Heights
The first one I viewed was
Mukogaoka-Yuen View Heights
.
The price was 47.9 million yen.
3LDK + WIC.
The area is approximately 64 square meters.
A 7-minute walk from both Mukogaoka-Yuen Station and Noborito Station.
Built in December 1982.
Management fee is 14,000 yen.
Repair reserve fund is 14,500 yen.
Large-scale repairs were completed in June 2025, and the interior had already been renovated.
Honestly, I had a very good impression.
It was close to the station.
It was spacious.
The interior was also clean.
Even from the perspective of "asset value," which I prioritized at the beginning, I felt it met the criteria quite well.
"This is actually pretty good."
That was what I thought at first.
However, when I actually went to the site with my girlfriend, another problem emerged.
Her commute time.
When I was thinking about it by myself, I didn't think it was that big of a problem.
But when thinking about it as a life for the two of us,
"The commute might be further than I thought"
was the conversation we had.
As a result,
"I'd prefer somewhere a little closer"
was the conclusion we reached.
It wasn't that the property itself was bad.
In fact, I personally thought it was a very good property.
However,
A "good condominium for me"
and
a "good condominium for the two of us"
are different.
This was the first time I truly realized this.
What I learned from this one property was that
you cannot choose a condominium without considering not only its asset value but also the two of you's actual life together
is what it meant.
I put the property on hold for now.
Property 2: Juelias Yokohama Shinkoyasu
The second property was
Juelias Yokohama Shinkoyasu
.
The price was 41.8 million yen.
2LDK.
The area was 64.16 square meters.
The walking distance to the station as listed was
・12 minutes walk from Shinkoyasu Station ・15 minutes walk from Keikyu Shinkoyasu Station ・19 minutes walk from Namamugi Station
respectively.
Considering the price and the size, it was a property I was quite interested in.
The interior was particularly beautiful, and the space felt as expansive as a detached house.
However, this made me think about the number representing the 'minutes walk from the station'.
When I actually walked it,
'Was 12 minutes always this far?'
That was the feeling I got.
It felt like it took just under 20 minutes.
Of course, this is just our impression from when we actually walked it.
It is not to say that the listed information is incorrect.
However,
The '12-minute walk' written on property websites is different from the '12-minute walk' one feels when actually walking it.
This was a significant realization.
What is on the way to the station?
Are there any hills?
Are there many traffic lights?
Is the sidewalk easy to walk on?
Do I want to walk this path every day?
Things like this cannot be understood from photos or numbers alone.
Furthermore, with this property, I learned about the condominium's borrowing situation.
Seeing that, I personally felt a bit uneasy about the management aspect.
Here too,
It's not just about "is the room good?"
but also,
I felt the need to look at "what the condition of the entire condominium is like."
I felt the need to look at that.
What I learned from this property is that,
when buying a condominium, you need to look not only at the room, but also at the management and financial aspects of the entire building.
that is what it means.
Property 3: Yokohama All Parks Block 1
The third property is
Yokohama All Parks Block 1
.
The price is approximately 49.5 million yen.
3LDK.
The area is 61.13 square meters.
A 10-minute walk from Hatchonawate Station.
This room had not been renovated.
Here, a different problem than before emerged.
When I actually saw the room, the condition of the interior bothered me more than I had imagined.
Rather than living in it as is,
"If we are going to live here with peace of mind, we want to renovate it."
That is what I felt.
When that happens, your way of thinking changes.
"Can I buy it for 49.5 million yen?"
That is not the question.
"How much will it cost in the end, including the 49.5 million yen plus renovation costs?"
That is the question.
The property price alone is within budget.
But when you include the renovation, the story changes.
As a result, we decided that it did not fit our budget.
And by seeing this property, my way of thinking changed in another way.
That is,
"It's no good because the building is old"
is a way of thinking.
Until I actually went to see the property, I was quite concerned about the age of the building.
But as I kept looking at properties,
"Judging only by the age of the building is wrong"
I started to think.
What is important is
to look comprehensively at things like: - Building condition - Management status - Earthquake resistance - Interior condition - Future asset value
and so on.
Conversely, even if the interior has been beautifully renovated, you must also consider the costs that will be necessary after the purchase.
What I learned from this property was,
that you need to think in terms of the "total cost," including not just the property price but also the expenses required after purchase.
that is what it was.
After viewing three properties, my way of thinking about choosing an apartment changed.
So far, three properties.
At first, I was,
"close to the station"
"asset value"
"easy to sell in the future"
I placed a lot of importance on these things.
But when I actually saw the properties, that alone was not enough.
With the first one,
I realized I needed to consider not just myself, but the commute and lifestyle of two people.
With the second one,
I realized I needed to actually walk the distance, not just rely on the number of minutes from the station.
And with the third one,
I realized I needed to consider not just the property price, but also post-purchase costs like renovations.
In this way, my criteria for choosing an apartment gradually increased.
What I prioritize now is,
Asset value
Convenience of daily life
Commute for both of us
Actual distance to the station
Management status
Renovation status
Total cost after purchase
Earthquake resistance
Building age
These are the factors.
Compared to the beginning, the list has grown quite a bit.
But I think this is probably normal.
If you are just looking for properties online, you only see things like price, distance to the station, and building age.
When you actually go to the site,
"What if I lived here for 10 years?"
When you think about it that way, the things you need to look at keep increasing.
The condominium we are looking for now
If I organize our current criteria, it looks like this.
Life
・Supermarket is nearby
・Easy to do daily shopping
・High convenience of daily life
Commute
・Consider the commute for both me and my girlfriend
・Aim for a commute of about 40 minutes to each of our stations as a benchmark
Distance to station
・Basically within a 10-minute walk
・Up to about 15 minutes is acceptable depending on the station
・Do not rely only on listed information; walk the route yourself to confirm
Asset value
・Well-maintained
・High station appeal
・Close to the station
・Local demand exists
・Easy to sell in the future
Interior
・Renovated is ideal
・If not renovated, judge based on purchase price plus renovation costs
I used to have the mindset of "looking for a condo with high asset value."
Now,
“looking for a condo that is comfortable for us to live in, while also having potential for future asset value.”
This is how my thinking has shifted.
I haven't bought a condo yet.
Despite writing all this, I haven't purchased one yet.
Right now, I am in the middle of
searching for "which condo is the right choice for us."
That is what I am currently doing.
Therefore, I have no intention of teaching "the correct way to buy a condo" in this note.
I am not a real estate expert myself.
I am creating my own criteria by researching, going to actual viewings, and using AI.
Regarding AI as well,
"Should I buy this condo?"
I don't intend to just dump the question on it.
I use it to organize my own judgment, check for points I might have overlooked, and compare multiple properties.
Ultimately, I use it as a tool to assist my own decision-making.
I plan to write about those methods on note as well.
In this note, I will document the entire process of buying a condo.
This article is the first installment of my condo purchase record.
From here on, I plan to write about:
・How to search for a condo
・Asset value of used condos
・Thinking about station power and distance from the station
・How to check management status
・Repair reserve funds
・Building age
・Earthquake resistance
・Mortgage loans
・Total cost of purchase
・Property evaluation using AI
I intend to write about these topics while doing my own research and actually viewing properties.
And finally,
"Which condo did we choose?"
I will record that as well.
My way of thinking might change again along the way.
My budget might change.
My criteria might change.
There is also a non-zero possibility that I will conclude, "I'm not buying it after all."
But I believe that is also part of the reality of buying a condo.
Next time, I will decide on the criteria for "a condo worth buying for 50 million yen."
After finishing three viewings, our criteria for choosing an apartment have changed significantly.
So,
"In the end, what kind of apartment do we think is worth buying?"
I will organize this a bit more concretely next time.
Distance to the station.
Commute time.
Asset value.
Management status.
Building age.
Renovation.
And price.
"If we are buying for 50 million yen, what requirements do we want it to meet?"
We will decide on our own criteria and use them for our future property search.
And we will evaluate actual apartments based on those criteria.
We haven't decided which apartment to buy yet.
That is exactly why the real work starts here.