@Mark ********
not so sympathetic. We had to use an agent despite having the 800k in the bank. They would NOT accept our 1 year lease documents because the owner was a foreigner. Kept asking for more paperwork on top of TM 30 (letter from juristic office of condo, leasing agent doc, foreigner docs, etc.) Which we provided, but we realized it was going to always be NO until we used an agent.
The next year, extension by ourself was easy. Just proof of lease, and bank proof, standard stuff. So only the first year was the BIG problem. Maybe if you own your place it's easier.
@Numfhon *******
So we used an agent, but had the legal requirements only for initial First Visa extension.