Getting a Mortgage in Japan

I am an American living in the USA. I want to buy a 3-4LDK mansion in Fukuoka since there are none there to rent that meets my requirements. I speak, read and write Japanese fluently. I would be living there only during the winter months, Dec - Mar and perhaps renting it out the rest of the year. I would want a 10 year mortgage, equal to 250K-300K USD. I would be able to put 30% down. I would not be working in Japan. What are the chances of me getting a mortgage?

According to my understanding, it is impossible for a non-permanent resident to get a mortgage from a Japanese bank.

Uji is correct. It is possible for non-residents to buy property in Japan if they can pay 100% up front, but you will not be able to get a mortgage with a Japanese bank. Even people living here on working visas are not usually able to get mortgages.

You might want to check with US banks to see if any of them will provide financing for this sort of thing.

From what I have heard, Sira and Uji are both correct regarding mortages.
You could simply ring a few banks and discuss it with them to get confirmation or some advice as to what would be necessary to get one.

Try looking into "HSBC Premier". They may be able to work with you, if you have enough in assets.

Previous answers are correct in that Japanese banks probably won't lend you.

The foreign banks here might.

As above, HSBC.
Also, you can try Commonwealth:
http://www.commbank.co.jp/page2-2.html
or NAB, possibly Shinsei Bank.

On the other hand, if you have 30% down on 300k (90,000 cash) you can probably buy outright. Something like this:
http://foreclosedjapan.com/openrealty/index.php?action=listingview&lis...

It is a house with land, not condo, and just a bit over your budget. It was just what I could find quickly, there are other places too. But you said you have specific needs (unclear), so maybe better to skip foreclosures and pay more through a regular real estate agent. If you want an older condo, you can probably buy all-cash under 90k for some places.

Another point to consider, but you may know it already, is that owning a house doesn't qualify you automatically for permanent residency status. You can only stay 3 months at a time...and can't go out then come back right away for another 3 months..

But if you buy an apartment over 5 million and claim it as a home office, you would be well on your way to an investment visa.

Investment visa does not really sound likely since the original poster says he will only live there for three month out of a year and will not work in Japan.

3 - 4LDK size would be for a family, so renting it out only for a period of 9 months or less could be difficult. You'll be paying real estate tax, etc. so I wonder if it's really worth arranging it that way if you plan to live there only 3 months of the year.