Uozu City — buying kominka and vacant houses

We buy vacant houses in Uozu City as they are.

Storehouses and townhouses remain in the old town, and hill hamlets follow the Katakai river upstream. Town houses are mostly narrow and deep, well suited to conversion into shops and inns. Hill hamlets like Matsukura, on the other hand, fall empty through depopulation and snow. We buy both types.

We buy vacant houses in Uozu City as they are, contents included. No clearing needed.
The old town was rebuilt after the Uozu fire of 1956 (Showa 31), and wooden houses of the same age stand close together.
Matsukura in the hills gets deep snow, and if you contact us in autumn we speed up the on-site survey.
Subsidies include the "Uozu City dangerous dilapidated vacant-house measures support project subsidy".
Brokerage fee ¥0, free appraisal. As little as 2 weeks from the on-site survey.

Areas of Uozu City we cover

Uozu town centre

Kyoden

Katakai

Matsukura

Kaminakajima

Tenjin

Nishifuse

Kazumi

and all of Uozu City

We cover other districts too. We are a builder in Yatsuo, Toyama City, and drive to the old town as well as up the Katakai River to the hamlets of Matsukura. 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 Uozu City, and why they fall empty

Uozu town

※ Street scene in Uozu, not a property we handle. Photo: 蜃氣楼 "Uozu-tateyama"(CC BY 3.0), cropped

Old houses are packed into the seaside old town of Uozu, famous for its mirages, and farmhouses dot the hills along the Katakai and Fuse rivers. The old town has narrow lanes, and many houses with narrow frontages or poor road access.

In practice, a house like this tends to cost more to demolish and is hard to move even by ordinary sale. We buy it as it is, contents included. For a house near the coast, we also look at the effect of salt damage and wind before giving you a reasoned figure in writing.

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 talk to us about a direct purchase.

How houses sell in Uozu City

In Uozu, townhouses in the old town and farmhouses in hill hamlets like Matsukura sell in different ways. The old town can expect demand for shops and inns, while in the hills finding a buyer tends to drag on. The harder a house is to move, the more we price it with renting or running it as an inn in mind.

Snow, roads and land in Uozu City

The old town of Uozu was rebuilt all at once after the great fire of 1956, so wooden houses of the same age crowd along narrow lanes. Frontages are narrow and a car often cannot reach the back of the plot, which pushes up demolition cost and makes a cleared-land price come out poorly.

Up the alluvial fans of the Katakai and Fuse rivers, houses in hamlets like Matsukura have large plots but a completely different level of snow. Arranging roof clearing for an empty house every winter is not realistic, so many people here set themselves a deadline of "before next winter". Contact us in autumn and we will bring the survey forward.

Salt and seasonal wind by the sea, snow in the hills. The damage differs in kind within the same city, so we change what we look for by district.

Subsidies in Uozu City

Uozu 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.

Demolition support for dangerous dilapidated vacant houses (Uozu City subsidy)
City staff inspect and score the building in a prior consultation, and you must apply before work starts. There is a separate category for demolishing a row of joined houses together.

Uozu City vacant-house contents disposal subsidy
Subsidises the cost of disposing of contents left in a vacant house. Apply before disposal.

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

Uozu City FAQ

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

Yes. In Uozu City too, we buy with the contents and the altar still inside; we dispose of them, so no clearing out. From townhouses in the old town to the hill hamlets along the Katakai river and in Matsukura, we take them all as they are.

How long from appraisal to handover in Uozu 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. Town-centre houses suit conversion to shops and inns, so within Uozu City it goes smoothly.

Another firm said it can't be sold without demolishing. Is that true in Uozu 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.

Which is better: demolishing with the city's subsidy, or selling to you?＋−

It depends on the house's condition. To use the city's subsidy, you first need to consult the city and have it assess how dangerous the house is. Start work before the city decides to grant the subsidy, and you won't receive it. Our appraisal is free, so we recommend deciding after setting your out-of-pocket cost with the subsidy against our purchase price.

There is a storehouse and a barn besides the main house. Can you take them all?＋−

Yes, we buy the storehouse, barn and garage on the plot as they are. Many houses in the old town of Uozu still have a storehouse, and it can become part of an inn or shop.

How should I choose a company to buy my vacant house in Uozu?＋−

Old-town houses have narrow lanes that make demolition expensive, so a price based on clearing the land tends to work against you. First ask whether they price the building itself. Many owners of hill houses such as those in Matsukura want to decide before next winter, so it is also worth checking how soon they can do the site survey and whether they give the reasons for the price in writing.

For an old-town house and a hill house in Uozu, which suits brokerage and which a direct purchase?＋−

Old-town townhouses can attract people wanting a shop or inn, so if you have time, brokerage is an option. Hill farmhouses tend to take a long time to find a buyer, and every snowy season adds damage. Those houses suit a direct purchase as they are.