MoneyInJapan

Refinancing calculator

Existing balance, old/new rate, fees, and remaining term to break-even date.

Direct answers

Enter your existing loan and a new offer to see the nominal and present-value savings, the break-even month, and the balance at original maturity — so you refinance only when the savings beat all the new costs.

Key points

  • Shows nominal savings, present-value savings, and the break-even month.
  • Includes origination, registration, scrivener, appraisal, and insurance costs.
  • A longer new term can hide a higher total cost.
  • Refinance only when present-value savings exceed all new costs.

Inputs and outputs

Inputs: current balance, remaining term, current rate path, new rate, new term, percentage/fixed fee, registration, judicial scrivener, appraisal, insurance additions, and expected holding period.

Outputs: nominal savings, present-value savings, break-even months, and the balance at original maturity.

How to interpret the result

A lower monthly payment from a longer term is not a saving; the tool compares present-value savings against all new costs and health-screening risk.

What the tool shows — and what it doesn’t

In short: Shows nominal savings, present-value savings, and the break-even month; Includes origination, registration, scrivener, appraisal, and insurance costs; A longer new term can hide a higher total cost; Refinance only when present-value savings exceed all new costs.

A calculator is only as good as its inputs and the scenarios you test, and it models arithmetic, not approval: it cannot tell you whether a lender will lend, what rate underwriting will actually offer, or how your circumstances will change. Use it to compare options and to stress-test — run a mortgage at the offered rate plus one, two, and three points, and a purchase at pessimistic as well as central assumptions — rather than to produce a single answer. Advertised rates are execution-month or example figures, not guaranteed offers, so treat any result as a planning estimate and confirm the real numbers with a dated written quotation before you commit.

Key points to carry away: Shows nominal savings, present-value savings, and the break-even month; Includes origination, registration, scrivener, appraisal, and insurance costs; A longer new term can hide a higher total cost; Refinance only when present-value savings exceed all new costs. Use the linked guides and calculators for the full decision, and confirm anything material with the lender, a licensed broker, a judicial scrivener, or a tax accountant before you act.

Who this is for

  • Buyers and borrowers modeling a decision
  • Anyone stress-testing affordability

What this is not

  • A guaranteed quote or approval
Important cautions
  • A lower monthly payment from a longer term is not a saving; the tool compares present-value savings against all new costs and health-screening risk.

Frequently asked questions

When does refinancing make sense?

When discounted present-value savings and risk improvement exceed all new costs.

Can I extend the term when refinancing?

Sometimes, but extending can increase total interest — a lower monthly payment is not a saving.

Sources