Abandoned House to AirBnB » Process, Expense, Return on Investment: Akiya to Guesthouse » Japan Data

Now that Benton Guesthouse is open and we have been welcoming guest for a few months, let’s reflect back on how far we’ve come. It really is hard to believe that we managed to pull this off in six short months, in order to stay on the Startup visa schedule. But we did it! We poured our heart and soul into transforming an ‘akiya’ from a state of abandonment for over a decade, into our cute little guesthouse on Ōmishima island. For this installment, I don’t intend to cover every step of the real estate purchase or rental license process, as those will eventually be their own blog posts. Instead, I’d like to give an overview of the general process, discuss our timeline, our expenses, and how long we estimate it will take to recoup our investment. It might surprise you! Thanks again for tuning in, and I hope this helped to answer some of the more common questions. What do you think… are you in the market for a house in Japan? Would you consider purchasing an abandoned house, and bringing it back to life? Would you prefer to restore to the original character, or renovate into something more modern? Looking to travel or move to the Shimanami Kaido area, or even Ōmishima specifically? You’re not the only one! It seems like I’m contacted at least weekly by someone looking to move here from out side Japan. I’d love to connect and help however possible. Benton Guesthouse on AirBnB: http://airbnb.com/h/BentonGuesthouse Accompanying Full Blog "Japan Data: “Akiya to AirBnB” General Process & Total Expense": https://bentonhomestead.com/archives/... Related Video "Japan Data: Startup visa to Business Manager visa Complete Process:    • Startup Visa to Business Manager Visa Comp...   Related Full Blog "Benton Guesthouse: Now Open!": https://bentonhomestead.com/archives/... Related Video "From Abandoned House to Guesthouse":    • From Abandoned House to Guesthouse » Ōmish...   Related Video "Photo Slideshow: Benton Guesthouse Preview":    • Benton Guesthouse Preview » Akiya Renovati...   Related Video "Remodel Finishing Touches: Phase One":    • Remodel Finishing Touches; End of 'Phase 1...   Related Video "Responsible Akiya Cleanup":    • Responsible Akiya Cleanup » Rural Japan » ...   Related Video "Repairing all the Screens and Doors":    • Repairing all the Screens and Doors » Akiy...   Related Video "Sorting Items Left Behind":    • Akiya Renovation » Photo Slideshow: Sortin...   Related Full Blog: "What We're Looking For in Mexico or Japan": https://bentonhomestead.com/archives/564 * * * * Stay with us! » https://www.airbnb.com/h/bentonguesth... * * * * Japan has an estimated 10-12 million akiya (abandoned homes), and we've purchased * two * of them! The akiya we've just finished renovating into Benton Guesthouse was purchased for ¥1 Million ($7500 USD) and abandoned for 10 years. We also have a second nearby akiya, a former 'ryokan' inn abandoned for an estimated 40 years. This house came with two pieces of nearby farm and forest land, sitting unused longer than anyone can remember. I’m documenting everything. If you’re curious to see life behind-the-scenes, I’m sharing daily updates on our Benton Homestead social media “stories”. How do we live in Japan as two foreigners? We received a 6-month Startup Business Visa in cooperation with Imabari city, which then earned us a 1-year Business Manager Visa, to essentially sponsor our own residency in Japan. * * * * HOW CAN YOU HELP? Please subscribe! We need to reach 1,000 subscribers before YouTube will let us start monetizing these videos we love creating. We currently have a GoFundMe to help ship a few boxes of belongings from the US to Japan: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ship-preci... You could consider becoming a supporter on our Buy Me a Coffee page, which is like Patreon. DONATIONS: Venmo » @Dani-Evan-Benton BuyMeACoffee » https://www.buymeacoffee.com/bentonho... GoFundMe » https://www.gofundme.com/f/ship-preci... ON THE WEB: Photo Blogs » https://www.www.bentonhomestead.com Stay with us! » https://www.airbnb.com/h/bentonguesth...    / @bentonhomestead     / bentonhomestead     / bentonhomestead   * * * *