How to Use the Jeonse Deposit-Return Loan Calculator
Note: jeonse — Korea's system where a tenant pays one large lump-sum deposit instead of monthly rent, then gets the full amount back at lease-end — has no equivalent anywhere in the U.S. rental market. This calculator exists to illustrate a related situation: when a Korean landlord can't find a new tenant in time and needs a bank loan (secured by the property) to return the outgoing tenant's deposit.
The closest thing a U.S. landlord might use in an analogous cash-crunch situation is a home equity loan, HELOC, or short-term bridge loan against the property. This calculator applies that general idea: enter the deposit amount you need to return, the loan's interest rate, and the term until maturity, and it estimates your monthly interest payment and total interest cost, assuming an interest-only structure where the principal is repaid at maturity — the common pattern for this type of loan in Korea.
Because jeonse and its associated deposit-return loans are specific to the Korean housing market, treat the U.S. framing here as a loose, illustrative analogy rather than a real financial product you could apply for domestically. If you're dealing with an actual jeonse-related loan in Korea, confirm exact terms with a Korean bank.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Jeonse — a lump-sum deposit paid instead of monthly rent — is unique to Korea, and there's no U.S. equivalent. This calculator loosely models the closest concept: a landlord taking out a bridge loan against the property to return a large deposit.
The closest parallel is a landlord using a home equity loan, HELOC, or short-term bridge loan to cover a large payout, but the scale and purpose differ significantly from jeonse.
In Korea's system, deposit-return loans are commonly structured as interest-only until maturity, with the principal repaid once a new tenant's deposit comes in or the loan is refinanced. This calculator assumes the same interest-only structure for illustration.