Accumulating Japan properties with investment loans before departing
My spouse (Japanese national) and I (on visa) are planning to leave Japan by end of year, right before the 5 year residency mark for worldwide tax and exit tax avoidance reasons (we’re in the highest tax bracket with significant worldwide assets).
Before we go, we’re trying to lock in a few more properties while our loan eligibility is strong, and sort out the existing ones.
Current situation:
- Spouse holds a few rental properties on an investment loan (used as a tax reduction vehicle). We’ll try to sell these.
- I hold one Tokyo property, a home we love, on a primary residence loan — planning to ask the bank to convert it to an investment loan before we leave, renting it out on a 5 year fixed term, so we can keep it and live here in the future.
- Planning on buying a Minpaku-approved ikkodate in a major city (investment loan).
- Maybe another small mansion in Sapporo. Loan TBD.
The goal is to build out our Japan property portfolio before leaving, then return in roughly 5-7 years in a semi-retirement capacity once we hit our financial goals earning higher salary abroad.
Questions:
Has anyone successfully converted a primary residence loan to an investment loan before moving abroad? Or do banks generally allow you to keep it as-is if you plan to return within a few years?
In your experiences, are Japanese banks typically okay maintaining investment loans for borrowers who relocate overseas? Anything needing to prove future income to qualify?
Does having a Japanese spouse meaningfully help with bank negotiations around intent to return? We will try to purchase any new property under her name since we assume Japanese banks will be more flexible with a Japanese national.
On residency: we’re planning a clean exit and won’t be maintaining Japan residency — not looking to pay another year of Juminzei for a partial year.
Any experiences or advice appreciated.