Refinancing mortgage

[Roger Van Zant]

Well, it turns out that we can't refinance our mortgage after all...

Ouch, sorry to hear.

Have you tried talking to your current bank and asking them to improve your interest rate?

A friend of mine did that with his, told them he was thinking of remortgaging to another bank with a lower rate, and they lowered his rate to keep him.

Not sure how successful that tactic would be now, but might be worth a try

That's worth a shot! Nothing to lose really...
Thanks!

As I mentioned above, my bank was only too happy to keep me as a customer when I requested they lower my interest from 1.8% to 1.5%. It's worth a shot, for sure.

[sutebayashi]

Nice! Did they require any fees for changing your rate?

When I refinanced my mortgage in 2016 by changing companies, I paid a lumpy fee for the privilege, but my rate went from 1.98% to 1.00, so it paid for itself.
But if you can get a better rate for free that is wonderful.

[Roger Van Zant]

Nice! Did they require any fees for changing your rate?

When I refinanced my mortgage in 2016 by changing companies, I paid a lumpy fee for the privilege, but my rate went from 1.98% to 1.00, so it paid for itself.
But if you can get a better rate for free that is wonderful.

No fee. It was free, quick, and simple.

[Bushiman]

Well, it turns out that we can't refinance our mortgage after all...

Ouch, sorry to hear.

Have you tried talking to your current bank and asking them to improve your interest rate?

A friend of mine did that with his, told them he was thinking of remortgaging to another bank with a lower rate, and they lowered his rate to keep him.

Not sure how successful that tactic would be now, but might be worth a try

That's worth a shot! Nothing to lose really...
Thanks!

Had a meeting with the bank on Saturday, and they tried to get us to commit to a 10 year fixed at 2.35%!?
We told them we were thinking of refinancing with a different bank (even though we actually can't).
This shifted some gears -some print-outs were made and some other numbers thrown about. At first they said they could lower the number but only if we signed up for their NISA. Well, we're all NISA, J-NISA, iDeCo-ed up to the eyeballs over here (thanks to RJ) so we weren't going to do that. In the end they said that if we signed up for their basic credit-card they could work us a deal...

So, if we got the credit card which is ¥1300 a year, no other fees/penalties for inactivity etc. they offered us 1.4% fixed 10years, or 1.1% variable 6months... We took the 1.4% gladly. If at any point in the next 10years we want to re-negotiate another deal, i.e. when we actually can consider re-financing with another bank, it'll cost ¥5500 to change the contract...

A great outcome under our circumstances...
Thanks for all the advice RJ!

[RetireJapan]

A great outcome under our circumstances...

That is great to hear

Really glad it worked for you!

[Roger Van Zant]

Ouch, sorry to hear.

Have you tried talking to your current bank and asking them to improve your interest rate?

A friend of mine did that with his, told them he was thinking of remortgaging to another bank with a lower rate, and they lowered his rate to keep him.

Not sure how successful that tactic would be now, but might be worth a try

That's worth a shot! Nothing to lose really...
Thanks!

Had a meeting with the bank on Saturday, and they tried to get us to commit to a 10 year fixed at 2.35%!?
We told them we were thinking of refinancing with a different bank (even though we actually can't).
This shifted some gears -some print-outs were made and some other numbers thrown about. At first they said they could lower the number but only if we signed up for their NISA. Well, we're all NISA, J-NISA, iDeCo-ed up to the eyeballs over here (thanks to RJ) so we weren't going to do that. In the end they said that if we signed up for their basic credit-card they could work us a deal...

So, if we got the credit card which is ¥1300 a year, no other fees/penalties for inactivity etc. they offered us 1.4% fixed 10years, or 1.1% variable 6months... We took the 1.4% gladly. If at any point in the next 10years we want to re-negotiate another deal, i.e. when we actually can consider re-financing with another bank, it'll cost ¥5500 to change the contract...

A great outcome under our circumstances...
Thanks for all the advice RJ!

Good news for you!
I think banks here are used to pulling the wool over their customers' eyes.
Probably thought you would just agree to 2.35% right away.
My bank looked at me as if I was a little green Martian when I told them I already had t-NISA and iDeCo set up through SBI and Monex respectively. They were trying to get me to invest in some utterly shite fund through themselves; 0.03% interest or something ridiculous!

[Bushiman]

I think banks here are used to pulling the wool over their customers' eyes.
Probably thought you would just agree to 2.35% right away.
My bank looked at me as if I was a little green Martian when I told them I already had t-NISA and iDeCo set up through SBI and Monex respectively. They were trying to get me to invest in some utterly shite fund through themselves; 0.03% interest or something ridiculous!

Oh, absolutely...
People here are generally very financially-illiterate it seems...
We had a similar case when we cancelled the insurance/saving scheme for our children at the Yucho Bank (Post Office) in favour of putting the money in J-NISA accounts... The people at the post office looked at us like we were idiots. One even mentioned that we were making a big mistake and we'd never get similar returns. Well, 2years later and the kids are up more than I think the post office scheme promised in the total ~18yrs we were meant to keep their product!? What a joke...

[TokyoBoglehead]

I think banks here are used to pulling the wool over their customers' eyes.
Probably thought you would just agree to 2.35% right away.
My bank looked at me as if I was a little green Martian when I told them I already had t-NISA and iDeCo set up through SBI and Monex respectively. They were trying to get me to invest in some utterly shite fund through themselves; 0.03% interest or something ridiculous!

Oh, absolutely...
People here are generally very financially-illiterate it seems...
We had a similar case when we cancelled the insurance/saving scheme for our children at the Yucho Bank (Post Office) in favour of putting the money in J-NISA accounts... The people at the post office looked at us like we were idiots. One even mentioned that we were making a big mistake and we'd never get similar returns. Well, 2years later and the kids are up more than I think the post office scheme promised in the total ~18yrs we were meant to keep their product!? What a joke...

The sales people at Yucho have been busted for dodgedy practices before. There was a quite a scandal not long ago.

They have a conflict of interest, and would prefer you keep paying for their expensive scheme.

[zeroshiki]

I've had to do some bank business recently and went to SMBC twice and Prestia once. All 3 times, they tried to sell NISA to me as this amazing opportunity. Retirement planning in Japan is so bad that I wouldn't be surprised if people fall into those traps.

[sutebayashi]

Preying on the ignorance of consumers seems to be a primary way for banks to make income, these days, in low interest rate Japan.

Logic and the reality that future returns are not guaranteed (only highly, highly likely) is tough to apply when up against family ties and traditional “common sense”.