Finding a new home, part 2

In part 1 I described the need for tenants to have a co-signor, otherwise known as a 連帯保証人 (rentai hoshounin), or "guarantor." As it turns out, finding a guarantor is not at all easy for anyone that has no Japanese family members with full-time employment. For this very reason, there are guarantor companies (保証会社) which make it their business to provide guarantor services for a (rather hefty) price. Since this turned out to be our only viable option, this is the route we went..... until .... something unexpected happened. The property owner seemed to like the fact that we (and by 'we' I mean my wife) were so punctual and thorough in our completion of the paperwork and documentation. So it was decided that we did not need a guarantor after all, and that my wife could play the role of guarantor for me despite the fact that she is still looking for work. What luck! This not only demonstrates that the owner is making a gesture of trust, but also saves us a big chunk of money!

So far, a considerable amount of time and effort has gone into this process, but the experience has not been overly difficult or harrowing. The fact is that there are certain details and requirements which must be met before one can legally proceed with moving to a new address (especially for someone like me who has just moved into the country), so the best thing to do, obviously, is to accept that and do whatever needs to be done. So far, my wife and I have updated our marriage status on her family register, registered our current (although temporary) address with the local government, registered our hanko with the local government, opened new bank accounts and of course provided the rental agency with documentation and information. As a side-note, I honestly don't know how people with little to no Japanese language skills manage to get by, because even though I have some skills, mine are still very limited to the point where I find all of these legal documents to be very intimidating and difficult to understand. I don't know if I can thank my wife enough for all she's done and continues to do.

OK so now for the best part! Saturday morning, all of the time, effort and investment paid off and we completed the process by reviewing the contract with our rental agent, stamping the documents with our hanko, and receiving the keys to our new home!! Over the next 2 or 3 weeks we'll gradually move in on our own schedule.

Yeahhhh!!! We did it! We still have a lot to do before we can consider ourselves settled in, but we're clearing the hurtles, one by one.