Getting a Leopalace on your Own?

[Eibig]

A running theme I've noticed with the private ALT companies is that they like to put teachers into apartments owned by the company Leopalace. Does anyone have any idea why that may be the case? Are these companies getting kickbacks or something?

The reason I ask is because after looking at Leopalace's website, their claim to fame seems to be that they do not require renters to have guarantors, nor do they discriminate against people who aren't "Japanese" (I've heard that it's not uncommon for landlords in Japan to not deal with foreigners, but whether that means people who don't have guarantors, people without citizenship/perm res status, or just people who don't look Asian, I'm not sure). In short, Leopalace will rent to anyone who has the money.

If I'm understanding the website correctly, it shouldn't be hard for most ALTs to get their own set-up with Leopalace, without having to rely on their employer to be a middleman/guarantor, which would be less stressful. Can anyone who's dealt with Leopalace clarify if there's a reason why more people don't get their own Leopalaces, other than language barrier?

[Easy_money]

It's easy to get a Leopalace on your own. They have translated documentation and English support. A guy I knew in the city I used to work in was put into a Leopalace by Heart English School at 60,000 a month. However, I knew another guy in the same block of apartments who set it up himself and the actual rent was 41,000, the price that was also advertised on their website (both included bills). In my opinion, you're better off setting it up yourself if going with Leopalace especially if you are with a dispatch ALT company.

I think the reason most people don't do it themselves is because their dispatch company strongarms them into using whatever they want and they don't want to make a fuss or are just generally useless.

[Eibig]

Thanks. Is it really that simple, and they speak English? I wonder if you can request a place without being in the country? 19,000 more a month is a big old premium for no particular benefit from the company like being more lenient on late payments or key money or something.

[Easy_money]

Yes, it is really simple. Leopalace houses many international students / ALTs and they have a pretty good system for setting people up from overseas. They even have month by month contracts for people staying short term iirc. I went with someone to a fairly rural Leopalace office to help translate but the woman had all the documentation in English that corresponded to the Japanese documents. The Leopalace lady herself didn't speak English but she offered to get someone on the phone who did. It seemed pretty straightforward. They have English speaking staff at the major offices and also English phone support. My advice, if going with Leopalace do it yourself.

As for the 60,000 yen rent, it was just pure gouging by Heart and it seemed to happen a lot. If that is who you are going to be working for (read your other thread) I would do as much as possible by yourself to avoid it. I don't think Leopalace do key money but there are other fees (lock changing, deposit, cleaning etc.) that both the guy with Heart and the guy who did it himself had to pay. So it wasn't like Heart were covering the initial costs and then being paid back over time with the extra 19,000 a month.

[Eibig]

I haven't applied to Heart, I was thinking about it though. I just know about the Leopalace thing from researching it and similar companies like Interac and RCS.

Sounds like doing Leopalace solo is the best way to go. You'd think these companies would charge extra only if they had to actually be a guarantor, which isn't the case with Leopalace. Oh well.

Did you get a Leopalace at one point? If so, did you have to have a Japanese sign any contracts or put themselves down as a contact? That's the only thing I heard about that could prevent me from doing Leopalace without help. I can speak decent Japanese and can read a little, so maybe if I cram apartment vocabulary I won't need to have a Japanese sign that they'll be my translator or anything.

[Easy_money]

I lived in a Leopalace short term when I was doing an internship in Japan, but not for an extended period when I was on JET. It was super easy to set up. Also, I and everyone I know never had to have a Japanese person sign anything but I may have given my work's number as an emergency contact, can't really remember. When I was on JET my BoE would not guarantor for other places and that was the reason I considered Leopalace as I knew they didn't need one. I wouldn't worry too much about the translation issue. They are pretty good at helping you out, even if it requires talking to someone on the phone at one of their offices.

[Wasabi]

I'm moving into a leopalace for one month very soon. I'm switching from JET to a smallish dispatch company and since I didn't have time/resources to go to my new city from my current placement I did it all online and over the phone. It was a bit annoying because some of the English speaking employees are better than others and it's luck of the draw who you get.

Since they have a (Japanese only) apartment search feature, the guy I worked with gave me 3 options at a time by sending links in an email. He based themoff of location, price, and anything else I needed. I could look at the pictures on their site, and I do know a bit of Japanese so I could understand some of the page myself. But it was annoying that I couldn't do the search myself.

[Eibig]

I lived in a Leopalace short term when I was doing an internship in Japan, but not for an extended period when I was on JET. It was super easy to set up. Also, I and everyone I know never had to have a Japanese person sign anything but I may have given my work's number as an emergency contact, can't really remember. When I was on JET my BoE would not guarantor for other places and that was the reason I considered Leopalace as I knew they didn't need one. I wouldn't worry too much about the translation issue. They are pretty good at helping you out, even if it requires talking to someone on the phone at one of their offices.

That's good to hear. I'll look into it, then. I just had no idea it would be that straightforward if so many were overlooking the option.

I'm moving into a leopalace for one month very soon. I'm switching from JET to a smallish dispatch company and since I didn't have time/resources to go to my new city from my current placement I did it all online and over the phone. It was a bit annoying because some of the English speaking employees are better than others and it's luck of the draw who you get.

Since they have a (Japanese only) apartment search feature, the guy I worked with gave me 3 options at a time by sending links in an email. He based themoff of location, price, and anything else I needed. I could look at the pictures on their site, and I do know a bit of Japanese so I could understand some of the page myself. But it was annoying that I couldn't do the search myself.

I've been looking at the apartments available on the Japanese website, too. Maybe it's a little late, but I could tell you how to search the website yourself. I just know basic Japanese and have Rikai-chan, but I'm able to navigate it okay.

Being able to have the apartment ready for you before you get there is something that I love about Leopalace.

[Eibig]

[double post]