Untrustworthy real estate agent that breached contract and caused me to suffer fees
I bought an off-plan apartment through this agency, dealing with somebody called Craig. I did everything that was asked of: signed a contract and remitted a deposit. A few weeks later and without warning, I was told that they were no longer selling me the unit and returned my deposit, by which point there was an FX loss and they also deducted fees. Despite requests, they never compensated me back for this loss, AND they breached the contract. On top of that, their communications at the end were rude and abrupt, a completely two-faced, duplicitous turnaround from the sales process! And I was never given an explanation.
The problem is, I don't live in Japan and am not a Japanese passport-holder. I wanted to buy a ski/vacation apartment. However, i was told by Japanese friends that it would be impractical to sue Niseko Realty for their breach of contract, and that I should just cut my losses.
Be VERY CAREFUL dealing with this shoddy organisation. The developments may be beautiful - try to find another agent. It's already risky to buy in a foreign country, so going with a trustworthy agent is fundamental. These people are not trustworthy. I have all the documents as proof.