Getting married... looking for an apartment

[didueatmycake]

Hi, I recently got married (legally) and my husband and I are looking for an apartment... Our actual ceremonial marriage is May 31st so I'm going to move into the appartment after may 31st. his rank is E-4 so we really want to have a cheap one... and we have no children so just two of us.

The thing is that we're still on a process of doing the paperwork that's requesting housing allowance.. actually we already turned it in and waiting for approval (or not approved, either way). But I don't know, he is almost done with marine contract (til Dec this year) so I don't even know if we can get a housing allowance, or command sponsorship because what i heard is that you don't get sponsorship unless you stay here for 3yrs or more.

What I was thinking was get an appartment that's really cheap (30,000~40,000yen rent) since we prolly have to pay out of our own pocket, and wait 'til the HA (housing allowance) to get accepted.

I was wondering if it's possible to rent military approved housing with minimum rent so we can pay from our pocket, then when we got accept for HA, just let the govt pay our rent, etc? is that possible?

Or should I just get a housing that's cheap, non-approved or approved, then move out when we got accept for HA?

Anyone else had this experience? Advice, suggestion [please!

[Asshat]

Hi, I recently got married (legally) and my husband and I are looking for an apartment... Our actual ceremonial marriage is May 31st so I'm going to move into the appartment after may 31st. his rank is E-4 so we really want to have a cheap one... and we have no children so just two of us.

The thing is that the paperwork that's requesting housing allowance. But I don't know, he is almost done with marine contract (til Dec this year) so I don't even know if we can get a housing allowance.

What I was thinking was get an appartment that's really cheap (30,000~40,000yen rent) since we prolly have to pay out of our own pocket, and wait 'til the HA (housing allowance) to get accepted.

I was wondering if it's possible to rent military approved housing with minimum rent so we can pay from our pocket, then when we got accept for HA, just let the govt pay our rent, etc? is that possible?

Or should I just get a housing that's cheap, non-approved or approved, then move out when we got accept for HA?

Anyone else had this experience? Advice, suggestion [please!

Easy answer: get a housing that's cheap, non-approved. If his contract is up, I assume he wont get the extra money. If you can find 30,000 you are lucky unless you want to live far out, or in crowded area.

[perfect10]

They should give you the with dependant rate. Usually even if there is only one month left, they will change the rate when you get married...
The AF screwed my husband and me over on our housing allowance for the last month I was in the Military. Because we got married, a month before I got out and we were both with dependence, so he had to go with dependant and I had to get the single rate.

[Brand_X]

oops......

[didueatmycake]

i heard there's a way to get a housing allowance even though u don't qualify for sponsorship... and i heard from some ppl that govt pays their rent even they're not in command sponsorship yet... how do u do that? hows that possible?

[DoctorP]

i heard there's a way to get a housing allowance even though u don't qualify for sponsorship... and i heard from some ppl that govt pays their rent even they're not in command sponsorship yet... how do u do that? hows that possible?

You would get money for housing, but you would not qualify for OHA unless you are command sponsored. I don't remember what the rate is that they use, but there is a rate for people who are not command sponsored. It is not enough for you to secure a place that is intended for OHA though.

[socalheart]

For us, my husband had to tack on another year to his tour, when I became command sponsored. You should only receive dependent OHA if you're command sponsored, but some people have found ways around that. :( We received back OHA pay once I was command sponsored.

I don't see the military giving you either OHA or command sponsorship, because your husband is separating from the millitary this year. You're better off finding an apartment as a local only. The rent prices are cheaper anyway. Good luck.

[IkoIko]

I'm in a similar situation, but with the advantage that I already lease a Japanese apartment....we've been told to that its unlikely that we will recieve the housing allowance due to the short time left for us here in Oki, so probably we will just live in my unapproved apartment till we leave.

You might find it difficult to lease privately for your budget....I just moved out of a 40,ooo/month apartment - it was a tiny and old place. Anything cheaper will be probably too small for a couple to live in without going crazy....if you can stretch your budget to 50-55,000 you'll be better. But you might be better off finding a monthy apartment rather than leasing one on a long contract.

[didueatmycake]

yea... right now, i'm not working so i'm gonna start lookin for jobs and immediately start working... i have a bachelor in psych... and i know i can't really use my psych degree until you actually reach to masters or PhD. do you guys know any good place to work as psych bachelor degree?

[Isaak Brodsky]

May I say first, congratulations on your marriage, and I wish you and your mate/friend/husband all of the happiness and success on earth.

A psychology degree will usually get you into a nice graduate program. A bachelors degree in the soft sciences is meant primarily to prepare you for further academic work towards some profession. If you're not in to going straight into grad. school, why not consider teaching English as an ALT. The money is decent. Some folks on the forum here can certainly give you some more advice on ALT/JET work.

[prekteacher]

Are you guys planning on staying here in Okinawa after he separate from the Military? If so, I think it would be better if you guys just look for a local apartment. Because most housing for sofa status personel cost more than Y100,000 a month, and move-in costs are triple or four times as much as your rent. You can get a loan (or something like that) from Finance, but if you guys are just going to be in the military until the end of this year, it would make no sense, and you will end up with a great debt that is going to be hard to pay later on.

My husband wasn't separating when we got married, but it took a while for me to be command sponsored. We got married in October last year and we did not move out of the dorms until January this year (and boy am i glad to get out of that crap). He got extended for another year upon the approval of my command sponsorship. I'm not sure about your situation though, because your husband (or is it husband-to-be) is separating this year. Why don't you try to ask around in the offices on base? I'm pretty sure they will have answers.

SO, are you guys going to stay here after he leaves the military?

[IkoIko]

If you're not in to going straight into grad. school, why not consider teaching English as an ALT. The money is decent. Some folks on the forum here can certainly give you some more advice on ALT/JET work.

Unless you have a valid Japanese work visa (which you might:thumbup1:) you will not be able to get any legitimate teaching job. Some English schools may sponsor you but that is not something to be counted upon. You may be able to advertise for some private tutoring type work though- still illegal without the right type of visa but who really checks:D. JET is not an option unless you a)plan on going back to your home country first and b)wait until July 2009 (you're too late for 2008).

In case you didn't already know, renting a private Japanese apartment is a costly business, with initial setup fees up to $2000 not uncommon. You generally need to also have a someone Japanese sign as guarentee person.

Sorry for the negative reply. If you want more help on the apartment side of things, I'll be happy to tell you what I know.

[macker]

There are apartments in my palce that are about 40000 per month..Kinda nice inside and NOT too old.

[TheLastDon]

There are apartments in my palce that are about 40000 per month..Kinda nice inside and NOT too old.

What area are they in and how many bedrooms?

[macker]

Okinawa city... Typical Japanese apt. 2ldk

[Muku]

Joy Housing (http://joy-housing.com/apartment/index.php)

★RENT\260-300.000
★5min from Kadena

Sublet.com (http://www.sublet.com/spider/LECityListSubmit.asp?city=Japan&state=Asia&Areaname=Okinawa)

Room 3 Bedroom Kitamae Chatan 5/13 to Open 450 mth

There are probably countless others available via a Japanese agency but they probably will not have military clauses and you might need at least 3 months rent just to move in.

[sktmfy]

yo if you still need help with this let me know, i just got authorization to move off base and get whatever pay the govt will give me, and i am about to move out of an apt in okinawa city...that im only paying about $450 for.