Japan really knows how to put the stigma into stigmatized properties (homes and rooms to rent where people have committed suicide or are murdered and the like). The fear of moving into such a place and becoming like the guy from The Shining is such that real estate agents find them nearly impossible to unload. Especially with websites mapping out exactly where they are, potential renters and buyers know just where to avoid.
Recently though, a listing appeared on Japanese real estate site SUUMO which attempted a whole new approach to offloading a stigmatized property, with the author trying to convince you, the potential renter, that it’s actually great to live in a place where someone violently died!
The translated listing was as follows:
Stigmatized Property♪
Popular stigmatized property♪ Low initial cost♪ Near Tokyo Disneyland♪ Private bath and toilet♪ It’s a stigmatized property, which means low initial cost! You’ll be living alone but you’ll never really feel like it. This room is perfect for lonely singles♪
The listing was also accompanied with pictures of the apartment, surrounding area, and Q-taro, Japan’s answer to Casper the Friendly Ghost (although not quite as friendly) made by the creators of Doraemon, Fujiko Fujio.
With its overly-positive tone and gratuitous use of chirpy musical notes, it would seem the person behind this listing was sincerely trying to put a positive spin on a negative place. On the other hand they may have just given up on the whole thing and stopped caring.
Either way, the apartment is a 10-m2 (107-ft2) room with a kitchen space, balcony, bathroom, and toilet all for the low price of 23,000 yen (US$230) per month with no deposits. From the pictures it looked pretty clean and intact with some nice trees outside the window.
Casting aside superstitions, it’s actually a pretty good deal. And in these hard economic times the first thing we can certainly afford to let go of are our irrational fears.
Source: SUUMO (Japanese)
*The listing has since been removed, either the room was rented or someone got in trouble.*
[ Read in Japanese ]