Nanto City — buying kominka and vacant houses

We buy vacant houses in Nanto City as they are.

The gassho houses of Gokayama, the silk-town streets of Johana, the woodcarving of Inami: Nanto is where houses with value in the building itself are concentrated. Fukumitsu and Fukuno too have many farmhouses with fine beam frames. In this heavy-snow region, the cost and liability of roof clearing is usually the main reason people think of selling. We appraise with the building's value in mind.

We buy vacant houses in Nanto City as they are, contents included. No clearing needed.
Gokayama, Johana, Inami and other areas have many buildings of real value, and good craftsmanship is what makes a house worth restoring.
Gokayama is a special heavy-snow area, so we rush the on-site survey in autumn, before the snow comes.
A subsidy is the "Nanto City dilapidated dangerous vacant-house removal support project grant".
Brokerage fee ¥0, free appraisal. As little as 2 weeks from the on-site survey.

Areas of Nanto City we cover

Johana

Inami

Fukumitsu

Fukuno

Kamitaira

Taira

Toga

Inokuchi

and all of Nanto City

We cover other districts too. We are a builder in Yatsuo, Toyama City, and drive to the town centres of Johana and Inami as well as the hills of Gokayama and Toga. Just tell us where the house is and roughly what state it is in. Other municipalities in Toyama Prefecture are listed in Selling a vacant house or kominka in Toyama (overview).

Houses in Nanto City, and why they fall empty

Suganuma gassho village Thatched gassho houses of the Suganuma village, Gokayama, Nanto City

※ Street scene in Nanto, not a property we handle. Photo: Yoshio Kohara "Suganuma, Nanto"(CC BY 3.0), cropped

Nanto holds settlements of completely different character: the stone-paved temple town of Inami, the woodcarving town; the sloping streets of Johana, which prospered on silk; the market towns of Fukumitsu and Fukuno; and the mountain villages of Gokayama. The townhouses of Johana and Inami have cultural value too, and draw newcomers and shop tenants.

For mountain houses, the appraisal hinges on snow load and damp. We are a builder: we look at the roof and the frame and decide whether the house can be repaired and used. If you want to let go before winter, contact us early and we will bring the survey forward.

If you want a broad view of prices before selling, see Using the akiya banks in Toyama. You can keep the house listed on an akiya bank and still ask us to appraise it.

How houses sell in Nanto City

Nanto, with the carving of Inami and the festival floats of Johana, has a deep culture of wood. Many traditional townhouses and farmhouses with a wakunouchi frame remain, and their build quality is restoration value in itself. In the mountain hamlets, on the other hand, snow and depopulation are emptying houses, so how a house sells varies widely within the same city. For a farmhouse with fields or woodland attached, see How to sell a family home with paddies or woodland. If a neighbour has contacted you about overhanging branches, see Overhanging groves and garden trees.

Snow, roads and land in Nanto City

Snow in Nanto is a different world between the plains of Fukuno and Fukumitsu and the mountains of Gokayama and Toga. Gokayama is a nationally designated area of exceptionally heavy snowfall. Leave a vacant house untouched through the winter there, and it won't last. This is an area where we especially push to get the site survey done in autumn, before the snow settles.

Jouhana is a town of slopes, with houses built on stone retaining walls and deep merchant houses typical of a silk-weaving town. For a house on a slope, the condition of the retaining wall or stone wall affects the appraisal. On the other hand, the townscape formed by the slopes and stone walls becomes an asset when you look at it as a shop or guesthouse.

In the temple town of Inami and the market towns of Fukumitsu and Fukuno as well, many Nanto houses are priced as one house within a streetscape. Demolish one and the streetscape loses a piece. We give you the price on a keep-it basis first.

How to manage the snow season from outside the prefecture is set out in A year-round calendar for managing a Toyama vacant house from afar.

Subsidies in Nanto City

Nanto City has subsidies for demolishing or renovating vacant houses. Budget and conditions are set each fiscal year, and starting work before the grant is approved disqualifies you as a rule. Whether selling, renting or repairing is best can depend on the scheme, so we check it alongside the appraisal.

Nanto City subsidy for removing dilapidated dangerous vacant houses
Listed as support for dealing with dangerous, deteriorated vacant houses. Check the city page and the department in charge for details.

* Check the municipality's official page for current availability and requirements.

Nanto City FAQ

Can I really sell a vacant house in Nanto City without clearing it out?＋−

Yes. In Nanto City too, we buy with the contents and the altar still inside; we dispose of them, so no clearing out. Gassho houses in Gokayama, townhouses in Johana and Inami, farmhouses in Fukumitsu and Fukuno — we take them all as they are.

How long from appraisal to handover in Nanto City?＋−

As little as two weeks from the site survey. A few days from your request to the visit, and the price within a week. Many houses here have value in the building itself, so within Nanto City it goes smoothly.

Another firm said it can't be sold without demolishing. Is that true in Nanto City?＋−

We don't assume demolition. We repair the houses we buy and pass them on, so there is no demolition cost to deduct from the price. Many requests here come from heirs living outside the prefecture, and the better the condition, the bigger the difference. Appraisal is free, with no charge if you decline.

Will you value the interior work, such as Inami transoms and fittings?＋−

Yes. Carved transoms, kumiko fittings and the wakunouchi beam frame decide the value of the restored house, and they count in the appraisal. Leave them as they are, contents and all.

Will you buy a house in a mountain hamlet, near Gokayama for instance?＋−

Yes. We look at snow-damaged houses as they are. A gassho house or a designated cultural property needs a check on the rules first, so tell us the location and condition to start.

Will a company from Toyama City come to look at a house in the hills of Nanto?＋−

Yes. We are a builder in Yatsuo, Toyama City, and drive to houses in the hills of Gokayama and Toga too. In winter snow makes the house hard to reach, and a vacant house deteriorates faster. If you ask us in autumn, before the snow settles, we prioritise the site survey.

What should I watch for in choosing a company when selling an old townhouse in Nanto?＋−

A townhouse in Johana or Inami is priced as one house in a streetscape. A company that plans to demolish puts no price on the building, or on its carved transoms and latticework fittings. Check whether they count how the house is built, and whether they price it on the basis of keeping it. We recommend comparing appraisals that cost nothing to refuse.