Kichijoji Homes CEO Takuji Hotta.
Encountering the way to provide the service he wanted.
I spoke with CEO of Kichijoji Homes, the company responsible for houses such as Residence Shinanomachi, about sharehouse management.
Mr. Hotta manages cheerful and entertaining houses with a style based on ‘security’, ‘cleanliness’ and ‘reasonable rates’ while placing great value on the relationship between the tenants and management, and his earnestness shines through in this interview. Please read on.
- ---Thank you for your time today. I understand Kichijoji Homes currently operates sharehouses in Ebisu, Yotsuya and Shinanomachi, but why did you originally start out in the industry?
- Mr. Hotta
-
Well, it began with apartment management in Chiba back in 2004, but I was originally not in real estate but the communications industry. I had doubts about the state of the real estate industry, hearing about laws overwhelmingly unfavorable for landlords and ridiculous costs like key money, renewal feels and cleaning expenses being billed to tenants. It was then that I became aware of sharehouses.
- ---And so you decided to develop your own sharehouse?
- Mr. Hotta
-
Yes, there aren’t any obscure, excessive costs such as key money, renewal or agency fees and landlords and tenants can enter into an equal agreement together so I thought, “This is it!”, this is the way I can provide the kind of service I want to in my own way. All furniture and electric appliances are provided so those initial costs of moving are kept overwhelmingly low, and I thought that sharehouses were full of hope in an intense rental market with increasing rent and occupancy rates.
- ---I see. What do you think the advantages and merits of a sharehouse are now from a management perspective?
- Mr. Hotta
-
Initial feels are reduced from 1/3 to 1/5 of the cost compared to a normal apartment so one big advantage is that sharehouses are economical. With our house, if you choose one of the dormitory-style rooms you can live in a great location in the city like Ebisu or Yotsuya from 30,000 Japanese yen.
Also, sharehouses remove of the loneliness of living alone and adds a sense of security, as well as being a fun environment. I believe that this lifestyle is really blessed with opportunities to respect each other and enhance one’s communication skills through living with people you will grow to consider a second-family while you are still young.
A comfortable, lived-in atmosphere
- ---That is true, sharehouses do abound with opportunities to create connections with others, don’t they? Mr. Hotta, what do you pay particular attention to when developing sharehouses?
- Mr. Hotta
-
I really pay attention to location, I guess. Yotsuya and Shinanomachi are pretty much in the middle of the Yamanote train line and Ebisu is a popular area within walking distance to Daikanyama, Shibuya and Hiroo. These locations have great public transport access and are nice, safe areas. Just repeating what I said earlier, if you choose a dormitory room rent starts from 30,000 yen. Add to that a clean, comfortable and secure interior and facilities and it’s all tenants could ever need.
I personally seek to keep costs low for tenants by creating houses with an ‘at-home’ feel rather than waste money on a stylish exterior and facilities. I’ve heard stories of sharehouses with a lot of short-term tenants, but at our house we have many long-term tenants so we want them to feel comfortable and at home. - --I see, I can understand how a house with an ‘at-home- feel would make tenants want to live there for a long time. Changing the subject, you’re called Kichijoji Homes, yet you don’t have any properties in the area of Kichijoji, do you?
- Mr. Hotta
-
That’s correct, we wanted to develop in Kichijoji but we were fussy about location so before we knew it all our houses had been opened in the city. (laughs)
- ---I see. (laughs) And lastly, tell us about your plans and developments in the future.
- Mr. Hotta
-
Our company vision is to support young men and women working in the city by providing a comfortable place to live. There may be young professionals in Tokyo working on their careers receiving a high income, but there are also those in unstable jobs with, casual, contract and temporary positions. Even people low wages can live in great locations with sharehouses. So, we hope to add 1 or 2 properties a year to support these young adults to the best of our ability.
Job circumstances may change suddenly depending on the type of work you are doing, so by living in the city you can easily find a new job should this happen. When I first started living in a sharehouse myself I remember being so thankful that my commute to work was short.
You can find sharehouses by Kichijoji Homes in great locations, and the fact that their tenants are usually long-term really says something about how comfortable it is living there. Those of you seeking a relaxing, low-cost living solution in the middle of the city should definitely check out these houses.
