Yokosuka's Housing Center

Made my first attempt at finding rental housing in Yokosuka today. A daunting task if you consider that I don't speak or read Japanese (would you feel comfortable signing a lease agreement in a language you don't understand?) or know anything about housing in Yokosuka. But my first search was a breeze, thanks to the Navy's Housing Center on base. They have an incredible program offered not only to enlisted folks, but civilians like me.

The Housing Center compiles all the most recent listings into binders sorted by geographical location. Once you find listings you want to go to see, they make arrangements for bilingual realtors to take you to see them. They have established relationships with most of the realtors in town, and have already pre-negotiated key lease clauses, and will inspect any unit you want to rent to ensure nothing is wrong with it. They even represent you during the lease signing (and the Navy pre-negotiated lease is in English) to ensure everything goes smoothly. After you move in, they'll provide appliances and loaner furniture for free, and intervene on your behalf if you have a problem with your landlord.

Unlike in the States, there is no MLS listing in Japan. There are hundreds of real estate agencies in the city and none of them show the same listings. If you were to try to do a comprehensive search on your own, you'd have to go to every agency in town and ask to see their listings.

When my first bilingual realtor picked me up at the Navy Lodge today, she told me that the 2 bedroom listing that I wanted to see was no longer available. She kept driving, and started talking about another home....I got a little suspicious that she might be trying to pull a bait-and-switch. Instead, she brought me to a beautiful Japanese style, 1600 square foot, 4-bedroom, 2-story house with hardwood floors and parking that just came on the market. It met almost all of my requirements - well within my budget, quiet, reasonable driving distance to work, heater in almost every room, and <10 minute walk to the nearest train station and food market, so my dragon can easily find food.

I'm going to test my luck and continue to looking. I have 6 more units to see this week. Thank you Navy Housing Center, for being such a great resource.