Post #806897 by SouthSeasKat on Tue, Dec 13, 2022 4:45 PM

Small update: I've officially paid my buyers agent (a real estate agent but even more) the nominal "get started looking" fee.

And already a couple of reality checks have set in from our initial consultation. First and foremost, I will have to be much further from the beach than I expected/wanted, just because of the nature of infrastructure. As soon as I told the agent what I was thinking (either Makuhari or very near/on the Chibafornia coast), I got shot down.

Nothing in Makuhari is going to be in my price range that isn't going to have serious hidden problems. Makuhari, as I've noted in previous posts, is just too trendy right now. I'm priced out. Period. However, the Chibafornia coast has something of the opposite issue. It looks stunning based on trips--but the reality is that major train lines are more inland, making it living very near the coast only possible if you NEVER need to get into Tokyo or the airports. That's not me. I am mostly remote--but I need to go into Tokyo a couple times a month, and I travel internationally multiple times a year. This is why it seems too good to be true with some of these resort style homes priced low in good condition--because it is. You have to solely exist within the immediate area--and very few people fit that. Not even a mostly remote worker like me!

This means, I will also very likely be outside of the thin strip of 9B running around the coast and into 9A. Still good, but not as good for some of my intended outside plants. Maybe Lagoon of Mystery can make some suggestions on what may survive our mild winters with occasional snow.

Therefore, The Makuhari Club is definitely not going to be in Makuhari. It's likely to be somewhere in the area between Mobara and Togane, a major artery with express trains to Tokyo and the airport with a reasonable 90 minute trip (that's equivalent to Makuhari itself on local/non-express trains). It will mean being much closer to nice beaches, driving, but it certainly won't be walkable. It will mean being able to easily go home after sunset rather than staying overnight at the beach (which is what I have been currently doing). It is an improvement.

As to the actual Tiki Bar aspect, most of these houses have dark rooms with wooden beams and wooden paneling and wooden floors that are perfect bases for the tiki bar with minimal renovation. In fact, most of the rooms are like that--so it will actually be the opposite problem: opening up the other rooms and knocking out some non-load-bearing walls elsewhere in the house.

Things can move quickly or slowly based on what is available and how responsive sellers' agents are during what is rapidly becoming the holiday period. I could have a house in a few weeks. It could be months. I'll keep you updated, I know what you all really want to see is work on that bar!