Building a small apartment

[daphne1]

Considering building a 3 story house or 5 story apartment where my family lives on the top two floors.

My wife and I agreed to buy a rectangle 105m piece of land 3-4 minutes from a semi popular station 20 minutes from Nagoya station. Our land is a little closer than most the other apartments that are available. We haven’t done the full math for it yet though or gotten the lay out but it seems like we could have 8-9 small one bedroom apartments on the first three floors and the 4th and 5th would be for us. We would hire a management company to take care of them. Does anyone have experience building apartments? Living as the landlord of the apartment in the apartment you own or just advice for becoming a landlord for an apartment? Any advice would be great. Thanks everyone.

 

[shnn18]

@daphne1 Not too helpful, but I lived in something like this although a little smaller and the older couple who lived above were very happy and lovely people. They treated a lot of common areas like their home and just had a nice atmosphere. The agent was upfront about everything and meeting the landlords was chill. All inquiries went through the agent. I’ve always thought it was a cool thing so wishing you luck and hope it works out.

 

[jbrad01x]

@daphne1 Before you get too far along thinking designs, check on the zoning laws. They may dictate not only the maximum height, but also the shape (with respect to blocking sunlight). Often top floors have to be smaller. Depends on location, of course. A local architect should be able to give you a quick rundown on what's possible.

 

[daphne1]

@jbrad01x There are some limits. But everything we’re looking to make is ok. 80% of the first floor of the land can be used and total area can reach 400%

 

[ethzz]

@daphne1 So 80% of 105 means 84m2 per floor, but the design will need some hallways and stairs on each level, so take 10m2 off per floor for that (ballpark, and the 4th/5th floors could be less).

So 84 - 10 = 74m2 per floor, divide by 2 apts/floor for ~37m2 per 'one bedroom' apartment. Also, ~21m2 of 'land' outside the building's footprint--maybe for a trash bin or bike parking (and/or a car)?

Is this the math you're considering?

 

[jbrad01x]

@ethzz

the design will need some hallways and stairs on each leve

FYI, if they are external hallways open to the elements, they don't count in the total-area calculation.

 

[daphne1]

@jbrad01x This is kinda what I had in my head but hopefully have 3 rooms per floor if possible. I’m hoping the planners can figure something out. I had met though of having outside hallways that would save space. It’s a good idea.

 

[jbrad01x]

@daphne1 Do you have a proper architect? It's pricey (usually 10% of the estimated construction fee), but for a project like this a good architect can make all the difference. My house was a four-story multi-unit deal, with our needs requiring some very unusual design features. We went through an untold number of revisions of the layout, but we're very happy with the result.

 

[daphne1]

@jbrad01x We have only talked to some big companies like daiwa house and Sekisui house. The price was expensive but with a basic budget layout it seemed like we could at least pay for the building and our own apartment from the tenants with hopefully a little profit. We are also going to talk to some local architects and builders though.

 

[jbrad01x]

@daphne1 We had similar limits where I recently built, but there were additional limits related to sunlight. I don't recall exactly, but as you built higher, you had to set back from the street line further and further. This was in central Kyoto City, so YMMV.

 

[ethzz]

@daphne1

and the 4th and 5th would be for us

A good elevator for you, too? (I get tired of our stairs that are just between floors.)

 

[resjudicata]

@ethzz I’m thinking about when OP is old. Maybe move to the lower floors?

 

[mutie]

@daphne1 Sounds good in theory but even living upstairs you are exposed to the downstairs neighbors' noise. We are dealing with that right now and there's fuck all you can do. Could be ok if the fourth floor is for daytime activities and you do your night time living in the fifth.

 

[daphne1]

@mutie I have thought of this not only for my family but also the tenants. We would make sure that the builders really focused on as little sound leakage as possible.

 

[gert]

@daphne1 Definitely use a management company. They will come and tell you every 5-10 years that you need to reform the apartment or paint outside to keep easily getting the tenants. They will also tell you what you can rent it for.

My family just built and apartment with 24 units at around the same distance and we had 100% occupancy from day 1

 

[jacob_mah]

@gert I have been thinking about doing something similar. How were you able to finance the project if you don't mind me asking?

 

[gert]

@jacob_mah bank loan basically. Nothing special.

 

[bucky123]

@daphne1 my only advice = be careful with your financial projections, especially if you take a loan.
the population in Japan will be declining a LOT in the coming years. like 30% in the next years. it means there will be a lot of empty properties, ESPECIALLY IF you continue to see people keeping on building new properties (like you do)... that means you face a very likely risk of rents going down and/or having 30% or more of your properties without any tenants 10 or 20 years from here. are you sure you can survive financially in such a scenario ?

 

[tomcatpc]

@daphne1 Determine whether 1 bdrm apartments are what are in demand for that area or if there are families or if you are considering moving into them in the future. Depending on if you have an elevator, might be better to live on the lower floors. Get an estimate of projected profit/income/loan payment. Sometimes tenants will complain to you directly and not through the management company, so prepare for that. Since you’d be living there, I would consider a “マンション” type building made out of R/C and not an “アパート” which are wood to reduce sound. Think about the layout real hard, and then think some more.

 

[wanweier2011]

@daphne1 Please consider population decline in your calculations, even being so close to the station.

Will your rent be able handle an abundance of upcoming apartments?

Will your apartments be able to outshine others so much that your apartments are preferred?