SX interest discount for solar and net-zero-energy homes

The SX interest plan reduces the interest rate on an eligible Resona Bank mortgage by a further 0.01 percentage points a year. This entry covers the standard single-borrower mortgage with its fee paid upfront, for buying or building a net-zero-energy house (ZEH) or a home with installed solar-generation equipment. Resona describes ZEH homes as using solar generation, energy-saving equipment and high insulation to produce more energy than they consume.

The bank lends the purchase or construction money, which you repay with interest. Loans range from JPY500,000 to JPY300 million in JPY10,000 increments. The approved amount must stay within the value the guarantee company assigns to the property securing the loan. Annual principal and interest repayments, including other borrowing, normally cannot exceed 35% of your gross annual income under the bank's calculation rules; the bank may accept a higher ratio depending on income and collateral. Any financed acquisition expenses are limited to 10% of the home's purchase price.

The term is 1–40 years, in whole years. If you choose a fixed-interest period at the start, the loan must last at least that period. Normally you make equal monthly payments covering both interest and part of the loan balance. Bonus-time payments can cover up to 50% of the original borrowing. The terms allow principal payments to be deferred for the first year: during that deferral the principal is not being paid down.

The interest rate on the day you borrow the money applies, so it may differ from the rate when you apply. Variable interest uses the bank's mortgage reference rate and is reviewed twice a year; the monthly payment amount is reviewed every five years. Alternatively, fixed periods of 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 15 or 20 years keep the interest rate and monthly payment unchanged during that period. At its end, you can request another fixed period at the then-current rate. Without that request, the loan switches to variable interest; it also does so when too little loan term remains for the bank's shortest fixed period.

For the route covered here, you pay an origination fee of 2.2% of the borrowed amount upfront and JPY55,000 to the guarantee company for administration, both including tax. The guarantee premium is included in interest. The guarantee company is required; normally you do not need a personal guarantor. You must register a mortgage over the financed land and building in favour of the guarantee company, providing security for the loan. The bank pays the required credit life-insurance premium.

Early repayment does not refund the origination fee. At a branch or its video terminal, partial early repayment costs JPY5,500 for a variable-rate loan or JPY33,000 during a fixed-rate period; full repayment costs JPY11,000 or JPY33,000 respectively. Partial repayment through My Gate internet banking is free, subject to its timing and amount conditions; full early repayment is unavailable through that channel. Setting a fixed period costs JPY5,500 at a branch or its video terminal and is free online subject to conditions. Other repayment-condition changes cost JPY11,000. These fees include tax.