TOKYO - Real estate company Rewrite has built a business around properties that owners struggle to give away, sometimes listing them for just 1 yen in a strategy that produces virtually no immediate profit but can generate lucrative deals years later through referrals and repeat customers.
President Yuji Tanaka said selling a 1-yen property requires essentially the same work and carries the same responsibility as handling a property worth 100 million yen. The company cannot cut corners simply because the selling price is negligible, making many of the transactions effectively volunteer work.
Rewrite specializes in properties that conventional real estate companies often find difficult to handle. Owners may have inherited land or buildings that generate taxes and maintenance expenses but have little apparent market value, leaving some willing to give them away simply to avoid passing the burden on to their children.
The company's approach begins with researching each property, visiting the site, taking photographs and checking the condition of buildings, land and surrounding areas. Rewrite then prepares detailed property information and lists it online in an effort to reach buyers who may see possibilities that the original owner did not.
Tanaka said even properties regarded by their owners as burdens can have value to someone with a different purpose in mind. Some buyers may want a property for recreational use, while others envision unconventional projects.
One prospective use involved creating a ranch. More recently, Tanaka said inquiries have increased from people seeking rural land suitable for low-voltage battery storage facilities, particularly sites outside areas exposed to natural disaster risks.
Price is often the strongest factor attracting prospective buyers. A property that receives little interest at 500,000 yen may suddenly attract serious attention when offered for a symbolic amount because buyers feel there is little financial risk in considering it.
The unusually low price can itself become a marketing tool. Once people notice the listing, they may begin imagining uses for a property they would otherwise have ignored, such as turning it into a private hideaway or a place to relax and drink coffee.
The 1-yen transaction itself, however, does not make money for Rewrite.
Tanaka describes the strategy as accumulating "savings of trust." Owners and buyers who receive help with a difficult property may later return with conventional real estate transactions or recommend the company to others.
That approach has led to far larger deals. Tanaka said a customer whose property Rewrite had previously handled for 1 yen later inherited real estate and asked him to manage its sale. Rewrite subsequently handled a Tokyo property worth 300 million yen, generating more than 9 million yen in brokerage fees.
The company has also been entrusted with condominium sales that produced around 2 million yen in brokerage fees.
Tanaka said the business is driven less by immediate returns than by a determination to help owners whom other real estate companies have rejected. He recalled being approached by one owner who said 29 companies had already refused the property and Rewrite would be the 30th.
Tanaka said he instead resolved that Rewrite would be the company that sold it. He said the firm has so far succeeded in selling every property it has taken on.
Some assignments have required considerable effort. Tanaka recalled traveling deep into the mountains of Iwate Prefecture to inspect a house that had been vacant for about 20 years in an area inhabited by bears. Entering long-abandoned properties has also meant encountering spiders, bats and other surprises, experiences he now recalls with humor but described as unnerving at the time.
The origins of Rewrite's low-priced property business date back to Tanaka's early period after starting the company, when a former customer asked him to sell land in the Nasu area of Tochigi Prefecture.
The owner said the land could even be given away, but Tanaka initially found it difficult to believe that property in Nasu, including an area associated with hot springs, could be impossible to sell.
He first listed the land for about 2 million yen and gradually lowered the asking price as it failed to attract a buyer. The property was eventually purchased for 50,000 yen by a buyer living in Niigata Prefecture.
Because the seller lived in Yamanashi Prefecture and the transaction required travel for inspections and contract procedures, transportation costs consumed much of the revenue. Tanaka said the brokerage fee amounted to only 2,500 yen from the buyer and 2,500 yen from the seller.
After he shared the unusual transaction on social media, people with similarly difficult properties began contacting the company. As the number of owners willing to give away unwanted real estate increased, Rewrite began handling more properties at the symbolic price of 1 yen.
Tanaka believes population decline is a major reason for the growing number of properties that owners cannot sell. In depopulated areas, he has seen communities filled with sale signs, while property in areas where people continue to congregate generally retains greater value.
Rewrite does not automatically accept every property brought to it. Owners are generally encouraged to approach a local real estate company first. If the property still cannot be sold, Rewrite may step in as a broker or purchase it itself.
The company currently handles around 20 to 30 properties a year.
Tanaka said expanding the business rapidly would be difficult because each property demands extensive hands-on work while some assignments generate little or no compensation. Hiring large numbers of employees to handle more cases could upset the balance between staffing costs and revenue, so the company intends to remain within a manageable scale while continuing to assist owners who have nowhere else to turn.
Tanaka said he also finds personal value in the work because he enjoys traveling. Visiting unfamiliar parts of Japan brings opportunities to discover local sake, scenery and communities while helping owners who may have no nearby real estate company willing to take on their property.
Rewrite has already completed transactions in 42 of Japan's 47 prefectures, and Tanaka said he hopes to expand that record nationwide within three years.
The challenge is likely to grow as Japan's population ages and shrinks. Tanaka said he is already seeing signs that some properties are becoming difficult to transfer even for 1 yen as the number of people seeking to dispose of unwanted real estate rises while the pool of potential buyers declines.
Even so, he said buyers do exist. The company's task is increasingly to identify them and connect properties that appear worthless to owners with people capable of seeing a different use for them.
Source: テレ東BIZ
