Q：1.Could you tell us a little about yourself and What first sparked your interest in owning and renovating an akiya property here in Japan?
A：Hello, we are Sergio and Liz from Australia. We have 2 sons (22 and 20 years old) and an 11 years old daughter. I think that, like many people around the world, we were always attracted by the Japanese culture and their way of living. Also as many people after our first time visiting this country, we started thinking in a second and then a third trip to keep discovering and experiencing Japan to it’s fullest.
After some considerations, our sons decided to learn Japanese and to embrace the culture and get a better grasp on the language, their idea was to do it in Japan.
We always wanted a holiday home, so buying an akiya just made sense.
Q：2.What were your biggest concerns about the renovation process, and how did you overcome them?
A：We did quite a research job regarding the akiya and the costs involved after the purchase.
We knew there will be renovation costs involved, specially after visiting our house and we saw all the things that photos didn’t show. Our biggest concern was to find a reliable renovation company that could handle the modifications / upgrades we needed with not only the technical requirements but also to the standard we pictured in our minds.
Our friends from Akiya Heaven who helped us with the akiya purchase connected us with AKIYA X MUSUBI and they set up an online group to start conversations. All these coordinations where done while we where still in Australia.
Q：3.How would you describe your overall experience working with AKIYA × MUSUBI, from the first renovation consultation to the project’s completion?
A：Working with AKIYA X MUSUBI has been really easy. After introducing themselves they show us photos of the quality of their workmanship. They where always clear and transparent with the process and quoting. We understand that there was an initial cost for an inspection so they can correctly asses the work involved in the renovation and quote it accordingly. They sent photos, answered any questions while their techs where on site and explained the initial quote (because, as they also explained, there can be unexpected modifications or extra work that only shows up during the renovation process). They stablished the work schedule and kept to it since most of the things in Japan are basically custom made. They sent update photos and videos, they cleaned after themselves and report to us when all the works where finished.
Q：4.What was something you didn’t expect but experienced during the renovation journey?
A：I didn’t expect that the Japanese renovation process was so different that the one here in Australia or other parts of the world like South America. Here we can do a lot of DIY, call a tradie for specific works and basically go to a store, buy any appliance or furniture and install it the same day. In Japan, they take all these more seriously, not only because of the work schedule or many of the furniture is order made, but because there is a project manager for the renovation (disregarding of the size of the project). I know the projects can take more time if we compare them to other countries but, and we are being honest here, it’s worth it.
Q：5.What part of our work left the strongest impression on you? and why?
A：The best impression when dealing with AKIYA X MUSUBI was their level of attention to detail. We saw their past projects photos so we knew their quality was really good, but really at the last day of the project inspection the CEO noticed that the floor trim that divided the renovated kitchen didn’t perfectly aligned with the wall door trim and they fixed it. I mean, I saw the first photos and didn’t catch on that or to my untrained eye it was not really an issue but are those details the ones that makes the difference between a good company and a great one.
Q：6.What lessons from your own experience would you pass on to new akiya buyers?
A：
Lesson 01: Always try to visit the place in person before the buy. Not only because you can really “feel” the house and picture yourself living in it but also you can check the neighbourhood, the streets, really how easy is to get to and from home.
Lesson 02: Always be honest with yourself and your budget. In our case we had to consider at least a 20% extra of the purchase value for the renovations. The older the akiya, the higher the renovation cost.
Lesson 03: If possible, consider a professional inspection of the house before purchase, that would not only give you peace of mind that there are good foundations but also can give you a better picture of the real cost of the house.