RetireJapan

Emil Gorgees on interest rates in March: "March interest rate update shows no change in variable rates (0.345%-0.575%), but fixed rates have all increased across the board (still a fraction compared to Western standards). "

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/emilgorg ... 24481-mUK3

solo7100 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 09, 2025 4:41 am So I asked is it possible to refinance after getting a PR for a lower interest rate. They said yes, but with all the hurdles and fees associated with refinancing - even to a lower interest rate - I might as well just keep the 2% or whatever it is at the onset.

Does this make sense? I thought it would be a good idea to refinance to a lower rate...?

I refinanced to SBI NetBank for, I recall, a 2 million yen flat fee, with an excel sheet refinancing calculator suggesting I would save 10,000,000 yen over the lifetime of my loan as a result.

That sure made sense to me, but I did not understand "present value" at that time.

The math will depend on your specific numbers, but you might get a better deal with a different bank.

solo7100 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 09, 2025 4:41 am
So I asked is it possible to refinance after getting a PR for a lower interest rate. They said yes, but with all the hurdles and fees associated with refinancing - even to a lower interest rate - I might as well just keep the 2% or whatever it is at the onset.

Does this make sense? I thought it would be a good idea to refinance to a lower rate...?

We did this. We ran the numbers and it made sense to jump to another bank (local one) from the original 'Big 3' bank we used.