How to buy one of those cheap, abandoned houses in Japan, according to a Canadian dad of 2 who did it

• Eric McAskill bought an abandoned house in rural Japan for $23,600.
• The father of two says navigating the various databases of abandoned homes can be confusing.

Eric McAskill bought an abandoned house in Japan for 3.5 million Japanese yen, or about $23,600, in March 2021.

Back then, the Canadian father of two was living in Bali, Indonesia, with his family.

Despite not being able to travel to Japan to take a look at the abandoned home — or akiya — in person due to border restrictions, McAskill ended up making his purchase based on a GoPro house tour video a friend had filmed.

"It had been actually a dream of mine for quite a long time," McAskill, 38, told Insider. "I spent — I don't know how many hours — just daydreaming of living in Japan and purchasing one of these houses."

Fortunately for McAskill, foreigners can own property in Japan. He was able to complete the legal side of the transcation through a notary while he was in Bali, and he's is now in the midst of restoring his property.

Below, McAskill shares two pointers that helped him in the process of becoming a homeowner in Japan.

1. Use akiya banks to find old houses

McAskill bought his akiya through an akiya bank, which is a database maintained by the local municipalities for abandoned or vacant houses.

But navigating akiya banks can be confusing because every community in Japan manages its own directory of abandoned houses, McAskill said.

"There's not a single database where you can search for properties. While there are some websites trying to aggregate this information, it's often all over the place," he said. "Contact information is usually difficult, and then usually it's somebody within a village who manages it."

While Nozawaonsen — the village where he bought his akiya — had a well-maintained database, that might not always be the case in different areas. The databases in some neighborhoods haven't been updated in years, he said.

And once you find a listing you like, speed is key: After the listing goes live, the first person to bid on the property will enter into negotiations with the owner, he said.

McAskill said he put in his offer on his akiya of choice barely a minute after the listing went live. "So because I was the first in line, then we could start to negotiate and go back and forth," he added.

2. Decide on location first

McAskill suggested that prospective homebuyers start by choosing a location first, and then narrow down the list of homes based on other criteria.

"So say I like a certain province, I'll look within this province and then start looking within the towns," he said. "Then you work on your other criteria such as whether there's a convenience store, a grocery store, or an elementary school nearby."

It's easier to find an akiya when you know what kind of environment you want to live in, McAskill said. After narrowing down the area, the next step is to visit the community and get to know the people who live there.

When it comes to the akiya itself, it should also meet certain quality standards, especially if your renovation budget is tight, he said.

"Some of the akiyas you get on the market, when you hear about these free houses in Japan, you walk in, and then sometimes it's like, 'Oh, I see why this is free,'" he added.