Why are there so many beautiful, ready-to-live-in homes abandoned in Japan? The root cause of the unresolved vacant home problem: the big problem of “families not being able to make up their minds”

Why is the “vacant house problem” occurring in Japan? Takamitsu Wada, a vacant house consultant, says, “Do you want to sell it, rent it out, or let a relative use it?In the end, families can’t make up their minds, so an increasing number of vacant houses are left abandoned.” –.

*This article was written by Takamitsu Wada.Sell ​​your home nowThis is a re-edited version of a portion of ” (Kobunsha).

Things to do before your parents’ house becomes a “vacant house”

Although they are currently living separately, their parents are still alive. You and your family are buying or renting a home and living a happy life.

Precisely at this timing, measures against vacant homes are effective. If you have elderly parents, start doing what you can now to prepare for the day when your parents’ home becomes vacant. In this book, I would like to suggest this to everyone.

This is because if you prepare before your parents’ house becomes vacant, you won’t have to worry about it when it actually becomes vacant.

You can avoid paying costs (property tax, insurance such as fire insurance, utility charges such as electricity, gas, and water, and management fees such as pruning and cleaning of garden trees) even if no one lives there. It can be done.

From now on, I would like to talk about my prescriptions while considering the situation of my parents’ home or vacant house and the position of the readers. Please refer to Chart 1.

The most important thing is the conversation with your parents

Type 1: The magic bullet is “family conversation”

First of all, I would like those who fall under the situation ① in Figure 1 to practice this. The most important thing to do to avoid leaving your parents’ house empty is to first ask your parents what they want you to do. However, since it is a naive topic, you need to be careful when talking about it.

If you go back to your parents’ home and suddenly say, “Hey, what should we do with this house if Mom and Dad die?”, you’re likely to get scolded and say, “Don’t talk like that!”

What I recommend is to talk about your memories. When they return home, they seize the opportunity to talk about their memories and casually ask what their parents want to do with their land and house. It is especially exciting to talk about childhood memories.

For example, I also have a memorable episode from my elementary school days. When I was little, I hated dark places. But, as a child, I guess I didn’t want to show my weaknesses, so when I went to my room on the second floor, I would let my sister go first and turn on the light, and then I’d go up the stairs myself. is. My family knew that I was scared, and they all pretended not to notice. When I talk about this, my family always gets excited and laughs, saying, “That happened to me too.” The perfect opportunity is when that laughter occurs.

“It’s been 40 years, right? Are you going to rebuild this house?” I casually ask. Then my parents started thinking positively, saying things like, “When we die, we can sell this house,” and “I’ll write in my will how to dispose of the house, but since I have a lot of stuff, I might as well get rid of some of it.” It will be given to you.