How to choose a housing company and why you may be confused
Those of you reading this site have probably browsed numerous housing company websites, visited model homes, requested brochures, and listened to sales pitches. The more you research in this process, the more confused you become about what's true and which company to choose .
By simply reading the following text, you should be able to understand quite accurately " things you didn't know but are truly important, and how to specifically identify them."
If you read through it honestly, 80-90% of the companies you're considering will quickly be eliminated from your list of candidates . From the few remaining companies that build "truly good homes," you can then make a decision based on your own sensibilities, compatibility, price, etc., which will make your mind much clearer.
Housing sales is a poetry battle
First of all, why do you think it is so easy to decide on a car model to buy, but difficult to decide on a house? The reason is that
"Because it is not possible to objectively compare the key performance aspects."
Nothing but.
As you may have experienced, if you go to a steel construction company, you will be told, "Wood construction is weak," and if you go to a wooden construction company, you will be threatened with, "Steel construction is weak against fire and has poor insulation."
When it comes to insulation performance, you have experienced a parade of talk and catalogs such as "It's comfortable because it's external insulation," "It's warm because it uses X-ray construction method," and "It's great because it uses cellulose fiber."
If we compare this to the automobile industry, it is like saying "It's a hybrid, so it's fuel efficient" or "It's diesel, so it's fuel efficient," but there is no explanation or description of the essential "how many kilometers per liter." It is very difficult to decide on a car model in this situation.
I call all of these "poems." And most customers, having listened to countless poems from catalogs and salespeople, often fail to realize that they are trapped in a labyrinth of trying to figure out "which poem is the best?"
Three ways to get out of a poetry battle
Here are three essential items to help you escape the poetic battles of real estate salespeople. The two most important items that often lead to comparisons using poetic language are "structural strength (earthquake resistance)" and "insulation . "
1. Structural strength is compared using the "earthquake resistance grade" established by the government
When it comes to structural strength, if you judge it based on the "earthquake resistance grade" issued by the government, you won't be swayed by poetry.
- ・Seismic resistance level 1 if equivalent to the national minimum standard
- ・If it is 1.25 times stronger, it will be classified as earthquake resistance class XNUMX.
- ・If it is 1.5 times stronger, it will be classified as earthquake resistance class XNUMX.
.
The reasons why seismic resistance level 3 is essential will be explained in detail in another section, but simply put, "A wooden structure with seismic resistance level 3 is stronger than a steel structure with seismic resistance level 2," so you don't need to be misled by poetic descriptions of structural type, construction method, or whether the pillars are made of cypress wood... just look at whether it has seismic resistance level 3.
Most major home builders meet this standard. On the other hand, the reality is that there are very few small and medium-sized construction companies that meet this standard. Earthquake resistance level 2 is essential in order to be able to withstand two consecutive earthquakes of magnitude XNUMX, such as the Kumamoto earthquake, and to be able to live normally after an earthquake of magnitude XNUMX without having to make major repairs.
However, there are some companies that state that their buildings are equivalent to earthquake resistance grade 3, but you should be careful with this as well. This is probably a much better option, but it still means that the building is slightly weaker than the strict earthquake resistance grade XNUMX.
2. Thermal insulation performance is compared using UA value or Q value
Next is about insulation performance. Again, what kind of insulation material is used? Reset all your poems about construction methods. After that, look at the insulation performance index issued by the government, which is the current index UA value or the past index Q value.
In both cases, the smaller the better. As a guideline, aim for a U-value of 0.46 and a Q-value of 1.6 or less . If you meet these criteria, you can keep your entire house warm, and your heating costs will likely be within the budget of a salaried worker, or even lower than the heating costs you had when you were enduring the cold in your previous home.
3. Narrow down your search for housing companies using this word
Actually, there's one more question that can help you quickly select a home builder right from the start. It's, " Do you conduct airtightness testing?"
If a company isn't doing this, you can assume they have absolutely no interest, concern, or technical expertise when it comes to thermal insulation performance. Incidentally, the guideline for the C-value is 1 or less. I don't think there are many companies that perform measurements that don't meet this standard.
Salespeople who are asked these three questions and who meet all of the criteria will calmly provide a detailed explanation. However, those who do not will be secretly stunned and will try to drag you back into the world of poetry using various talking techniques.
If you can avoid being confused by this, I think that the companies that will remain after these three questions will be less than 1% of all housing companies. For those who focus on these items from the beginning when choosing a company, you may be able to satisfy about 5%.
In recent years, the housing industry has seen a wave of "energy saving" and "high insulation." As a result, no matter where you look, you will see websites advertising "energy saving" and "high insulation." It is now more difficult to find a company that does not mention anything at all. Despite this, when you ask questions like the one above, most cannot give a clear answer. To use an analogy with cars, it is like a salesperson saying "low fuel consumption" in the catalog, but not being able to tell you how many kilometers per liter the car can get. It may be that the car only goes 15 kilometers.
Checklist to further narrow down your search for housing companies
If you can narrow it down to this extent, there are some specific items you should look into a little more. That is the "Housing Company Selection Checklist" on the following page. I think it is advisable to use this to narrow down your options even further.
However, when narrowing down your options in this way, I think there will be many areas where not a single company remains.
In such cases, you should make your decision by looking at the balance between the above-mentioned structural strength (earthquake resistance grade 3), insulation performance (UA value), and airtightness performance (C value) on one hand, and items that you can compare and judge for yourself, such as design, planning ability, and price, etc.
Even if you do not choose our company, we can assure you that if you select a housing company in accordance with the above, you will be more likely to make an excellent choice in all aspects: warmth, coolness, health, economy, and property value.
It is my hope that as many people as possible will be able to avoid making mistakes when purchasing a home, the most expensive and longest-lasting purchase in their lifetime, and that the increase in truly energy-efficient homes will contribute to reducing CO2 emissions and increasing Japan's energy self-sufficiency rate.
Finally, we have published this method of selection in the hope that in this era of 100-year life spans, as many people as possible will be able to live healthy lives in their own homes, remaining independent in terms of health and finances until the end of their lives. For that reason, we hope that you will use it seriously.
