Apartments in Takadanobaba, Waseda – Housing Tokyo

What makes the experience at Plaza Housing great? What do we offer our customers that they can't find at other Real Estate Agencies? How does the staff at Plaza Housing guide our customers through the arduous process of finding an apartment in Tokyo? Read from some of our customers below to find out more!!

"The main difference between Housing Plaza and other companies is the relationship customers have with the workers here."

Stevie
Researcher
Ireland




Q1. Did you encounter any difficulties when searching for an apartment? If so, please describe them.

When searching for an apartment we initially found it difficult to orientate ourselves in Tokyo. We were not sure about which areas were good to live in but did have an idea of our maximum commute to work. It was difficult searching online as the English websites catered mainly for high earners or lower end shared housing.


Q2. What attracted you to Plaza Housing?

The main thing that attracted us to Plaza housing was Alex's amazing street sign - only joking, ignore that. We found a recommendation online that spoke of the good service and the English speaking ability at the agent. Actually, the article came from the Ben's cafe website.


Q3. What made the experience at Plaza Housing good? Briefly describe your experience with us.

We were made to feel welcome when we first arrived at the door of Plaza. Alex and Iwashita-san both tried to get an understanding of our requirements and it was good not to have to use yahoo translate to communicate.


Q4. Were there any differences that you found between Plaza Housing and other Real Estate Agencies?

We did not feel like we were getting the "hard sell" and were comfortable to wait until the right property came up. When we encountered some difficulties with landlords over accepting foreign tenants, Plaza were not put off and tried to resolve the problems by negotiating on our behalf.


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Alex

Sweden

Q1. Stötte du på några svårigheter när du letade efter en lägenhet?

Innan jag kom till Japan försökte jag flera gånger ta kontakt med mäklare, för mig var den lättaste lösningen att personligen ta en titt på lägenheterna och därefter diskutera pris och liknande. På Plaza Housing fick jag personlig service och jag fick inte bara hjälp med själva lägenheten utan också med elräkningar, internetuppkoppling och annat som mäklare vanligtvis inte gör! Det är helt sjukt skönt att sitta och prata med någon som verkligen kan detta med hyreskontrakt och liknande, jag vet inte om jag hade kunna fixa det på egen hand.

Q2. Vad fick dig att komma till Plaza Housing?

Jag letade runt på nätet efter mäklare med erfarenhet av utländska hyresgäster, och såg att det var himla lätt att hitta hit. Kontoret ligger på kanske 2 minuters promenadavstånd från Takadanobaba station, och det är näst intill omöjligt att gå vilse på vägen hit.

Q3. Vad gjorde din upplevelse på Plaza Housing bra?

Allt. Jag blev otroligt vänligt bemött från sekunden jag klev in på kontoret! Jag hade bara en maxgräns för hyran och visste ungefär var jag ville bo, men tillsammans jämförde vi lägenheter och jobbade fram en bild av det ultimata boendet för mig. Det känns lite underligt att sitta här och i princip skriva en reklamslinga för ett företag, men helt ärligt talat så känns det som att de på Plaza Housing har blivit mer än bara mäklare för mig med tanke på hur mycket de har gjort för mig. Ringt till myndigheter när det varit problem med mina papper, tagit mig till postkontoret för att öppna konto, jämfört möbeluthyrningsföretag... listan kan göras hur lång som helst. Alla på kontoret är jättehärliga personer, men Iwashita-san är nog den som jag kan sitta och skoja med mest!

Q4. Var det några skillnader mellan Plaza Housing och andra mäklare?

Definitivt! Som andra har skrivit tidigare så blir man bemött som en person och inte som en kund. Jag var lite skeptisk efter det allra första mötet för att tiden för det nästkommande mötet bestämdes så snabbt, men efteråt insåg jag att de bara var entusiastiska att hjälpa mig och lära känna mig. Jag pratade med chefen och frågade honom hur det kom sig att han startade företaget, och han svarade att han startade det för att han var så trött på att utlänningar i Japan blir diskriminerade och ofta tvingas betala överpris. Som nämnt tidigare har jag ingenting att klaga på, förutom möjligtvis att det är så kul att sitta här och skoja med de som jobbar här att jag använder massa tid jag borde använda på att vara hemma och plugga!

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Shaki
Translator
Canada

Q1. Did you encounter any difficulties when searching for an apartment? If so, please describe them.

I have never personally encountered any difficulties, but that's probably because I avoided real estate agencies. I had heard many horror stories about real estate agents from my friends, both new to Japan and long-time residents.


Q2. What attracted you to Plaza Housing?

It was my coworker personal testimony. My coworker who had had her fair share of bad times in finding residence, recommended Plaza Housing to me. When she did, she told me how kind her agent was and how he worked to find not just a place, but a place that went beyond her expectations.


Q3. What made the experience at Plaza Housing good? Briefly describe your experience with us.

I have to admit that even after my friend's recommendation I was a little apprehensive about going to a real estate agency. But after a few exchanges through email, I went to meet with one of the agents, Iwashitasan.  He kindly listened to me about what I had to have in a new place and even taught me some new things about what I should look for in a good place. What I liked most was that he was straight and honest with me; he told me what he could and couldn't do, but at the same time that he would do whatever possible to find a place that fit my description. A few days later  (did I mention that I needed to find a place in a week?) he had picked out 3 places that  were all good, but one was great. The moment I saw the place I knew that it was the place for me! I didn't think it was possible, but Iwashita-san found a place that had met all my expectations.


Q4. Were there any differences that you found between Plaza Housing and other Real Estate Agencies?

Although I hadn't dealt with a real estate agency before, I had been to one with some friends and one difference I noticed is that at Plaza Housing Iwashitasan talked to me like I was person who needed help in finding a new place and not a customer who didn't know about looking for a place to live. I don't know about you, but to me that is a huge difference. It helped me relax and feel I could openly ask any doubts or questions I had. Not only that, but even now, a year after, they remember and are concerned about how I'm doing, and of course my answer is always "Great"!

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The weatherye
Student
Swizerland

As a foreigner, with a tight budget and even less Japanese, it can be quite an alienating nightmare to find an apartment in Tokyo.
But don't worry, 'cause there's PLAZA HOUSING. They are competent multilingual, easygoing yet very efficient.
I once was homeless but now I'm living in this nice place.

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Vanessa
Etudiante
France

e La premiere difficulte que j`ai rencontre lorsque j`ai decide d`emmenager a Tokyo a ete mon niveau plutot moyen en Japonais. De plus j’etais plus interessee par une collocation et ce n’est pas chose facile a Tokyo, d’une part les appartements du centre sont assez petits et nombreux proprietaires y voient une source d’ennuis!
Les agents immobiliers　de “plaza Housing” parlent pour la plupart en anglais et surtout accueillent les etrangers a bras ouverts, peu importe votre pays d’origine.
Dans un premier temps les employes de Plaza Housing vous acceuillent tres chaleureusement. Et peu importe votre requete ils feront tout ce qui est possible pour coller le plus a vos besoins et exigences ,et toujours avec le sourire!
Pour repondre a cette question il me suffit de raconter quelle a ete ma premiere experience lorsque j`ai commence a chercher un appartement: je suis allee dans une agence immobiliere tout ce qui a de plus normale et l`employe a qui je me suis addressee, en japonais, ne m’a meme pas propose de m’assoir! Il m`a demande si je comptais vivre avec des Japonais? Puis au bout de cinq minutes m`a tout simplement dit qu’il n’avait rien du tout pour moi! Quand je suis allee a Plaza Housing j`ai eu droit a un sourir, un siege puis a un café bien chaud….

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SosO
Student
South Korea

안녕하세요^^ 첫번째로 글을 쓰게ㅤㄷㅚㅆ네요 저는 지금 일본에서 일본어학교를 다니는 한 학생입니다. 우연히 학교 선생님의 소개로 프라자 하우스를 알 게되어서 몇일전에 집을 계약했습니다. 일본에서 혼자 집구하기란 생각보다 그렇게 쉽지 않더라고요 처음에는 레오팔레스를 들어갈까 생각도 했습니다만, 역시 학교와 알바로 집에 있는시간이 별로 없다고 생각하니 레오 가격이 비싸다고 생각이 들었어요 그래서 부동산을 알아보다가 선생님 소개로 이곳을 알게되었습니다. 일본 부동산을 보면 굉장히 많은 집을 소개하고 있지만 그안에서 외국인이 계약 가능한집은 생각보다 많지 않더라고요 계약 서류를 집주인으로 보냈었는데 2번 정도 거절 당해서 마음의 상처도 많이 받았지만 그래도 프라자하우징분들이 기죽은 저를 위해 더 좋은 집을 찾아주실려고 노력해주셔서 마음에 드는 집을 계약해서 정말 기뻤습니다. 일본에서 집을 찾으시는 분들에게 드리고싶은말은 일본에서 집을 찾는것은 어렵지만 그래도 기숙사나 다른 공동생활보다 생활은 확실히 편하다는 점이예요 언제든지 저처럼 프라자하우징 찾아오시면 야사시이하신 분들 정말 마음에 드는 집을 찾아 주실때까지 힘내주실꺼예요 다들 저처럼 좋은 집 찾으시길 바라면서 이만 글 마무리 짓겠습니다.

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Gianni
France
Student

When I came first in Tokyo, I didn’t have any trouble concerning my apartment because I could search it with Housing Plaza’s worker Manabu Takahashi. It really helps to be able to talk about the details such as price or location with someone before starting to rent anything. Now I am renting Housing Plaza’s Flat and I have no regret about it.

I heard about Housing Plaza from a Japanese friend I met before during another trip while I was already planning to go to Japan. He was using it already and recommended it to me.

What I like the most about Housing Plaza is the fact that I can go to see the workers and ask them anything about Japan. After 3 months in Japan I have asked them to look for information about how to get my visa to stay longer, now I’m here for a year. These things make me feel more secure especially before when I didn’t know lots of people and didn’t know who to talk to in case I would have troubles.

The main difference between Housing Plaza and other companies is the relationship customers have with the workers here. I often see other foreigners and even some Japanese asking for information or help and they always leave the office happy.

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Anais
Francaise
Student

Il est difficile de trouver un qppartement dont les proprietaires acceptent des locataires etrangers. Il est aussi communiquer avec les proprietaires lorsqu’on ne parle pas japonais. J’ai trouve Plaza Housing grace a une amie qui avait ete cliente auparavant. L’acceuil etait tres agreable, amical e et professionel.
Tous les employes de Plaza Housing ont pris le temps de comprendre exactetement ce que nous recherchions et ont fait en sorte de trouver le meilleur logement pour nous. Ils ont reussi a faire baisser les prix et nous ont presentees a une entreprise de demenagement. Maintenant encore ils nous aident des que nous avons un probleme que ce soit avec les proprietaires ou l’electricite,…

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