Property Malaysia

This is too cool not to mention here.

Click on this website. Key in all the variables like monthly rent, home price, etc in the dark colored bar. Don’t worry about the currency, works for RM without converting too.

Then click CALCULATE.

Then play with the two slider bars beside the graph.

Have fun!

We weren’t advertising any particular company or any of that sort of thing, but we and some friends have been doing a bit of survey on home loans recently.

When people talk of home loans, first thing that comes to mind are the banks. Especially when 5 or 6 of those big banks set up counters at property launches with all their complicated packages.

Recently, some of our friends have taken up home loans from insurance companies, offering fixed rate loans, guaranteed for the tenure of the loan up to 30 years. As far as we know, at the moment, only two companies are offering this - AIA and ING. AIA is offering a fixed rate of 6.15%p.a.

The main draw that attracts people to is summarized in their website:

Analysis of the lending rate over the past twenty three (23) years can only give us a historical guide of the interest rate cycle. Based on figures provided by Bank Negara (for the period between 1980 to 2003), the average Base Lending Rate (BLR) for commercial banks is 8.38% a year with an average lending rate of 9.80% This means that for a loan taken for the past twenty three (23) years, the average interest rates were charged at 9.78% whereby lending rates have peaked as high as 12% and as low as the current BLR of 6%.

There’s a graph from Bank Negara that shows the BLR and LR over the same period.

(graph taken from AIA website. Hope they don’t mind)

To be fair to the banks, most of them also have a fixed rate home loan scheme, usually under the Islamic banking system, which is open to all Malaysians regardless of whether they are Muslims or not. Also, as one of our friends put it, banks always offer incentives for refinancing (especially for the first 5 or 10 years) like zero moving cost, BLR-XX, to stay competitive. Maybe its a good idea to enjoy these benefits now, and go for fixed rates when (or if) the BLR shoots sky high in a couple of years.

But there is also a lockdown period to think of.

But anyway, fixed rate loans by insurance companies offer more options to housebuyers, and keeps everybody competitive.

CIMB Bank Berhad, formerly Bumiputra-Commerce Bank, is really stepping up their game to get a bigger slice of the home loan market.

The other day, a pal of ours showed us this flyer from the bank, advertising their latest ‘Dream Home Campaign’. Basically they are offering attractive rates to entice new home buyers and a Rate Switch Option to lure existing borrowers to refinance with them.

Their competitive loan packages with free moving cost are:

Loan above RM300,000 (with MRTA)
1st 3 years = BLR – 0.9%
Thereafter = BLR – 0.8%

Loan between RM150,000 and RM300,000 (with MRTA)
BLR – 0.8% throughout loan period.

In conjunction with this massive promotion, they are having a special event to promote it, and are organizing an ‘ultimate prize package’ for those who take up their offer. In total they are offering RM500,000 in home makeovers, RM20,000 holiday package, RM9,000 in cash and up 3 years free home loan.

For more info, you can call them at +603 2084 8888 or visit their website at www.cimb.com.

This is an excellent read about mortgages. The specifics and terms are skewed towards the American real estate industry, but the basic principles are applicable here.

The article outlines the ten questions to ask about mortgages:

• How much can I afford to borrow?
• How can I tell which mortgage rate is best for me?
• What is the best type of mortgage for me?
• How should I repay it?
• Can I make lump sum payments to reduce the size of the loan?
• Are there any redemption penalties?
• Does this mortgage come with compulsory insurance?
• What other charges will I have to pay?
• What happens if I can’t pay?
• What about the small print?

The full article and explanation can be found here.

We’ve found an online resource giving 12 tips on how to pay off your home loan faster. This is from SunCorp of Australia, some of the tips may or may not be applicable to your situation here, but some of it is good advice.

In summary, the 12 tips are:

• Pay off your mortgage as quickly as you can

• The way you make repayments
• Deposit any spare cash into your loan
• Have your income paid directly into your home loan
• Pay your first home loan instalment as soon as you settle
• Align your loan repayments with your income cycle
• Don’t lower your minimum regular repayment if interest rates fall
• Use an offset account to knock years off your home loan
• Use Internet Banking for low-maintenance, low-cost loan management
• Protect yourself against rising interest rates
• Pay more off on your loan to build up equity
• Get the right home loan for you

For explanation of the above and some examples, you can check out the original article here.

For home loans available in Malaysian local and foreign banks, check out the following packages:
Home Loans by Malaysian and Foreign Banks Part 1 : Local Banks
Home Loans by Malaysian and Foreign Banks Part 2 : Best selling Islamic Banks Loans
Home Loans by Malaysian and Foreign Banks Part 3 : Foreign Banks in Malaysia

This is a continuation of the 3-part series of the latest home loan packages and interest rates offered by banks in Malaysia. The first two parts on this series can be found here:

Home Loans by Malaysian and Foreign Banks Part 1 : Local Banks
Home Loans by Malaysian and Foreign Banks Part 2 : Best selling Islamic Banks Loans

For a complete listing of banks and their info, check this page.

List of Malaysian Banks

This first part to this series focused on the packages offered by the 10 local anchor banks, the second concentrated on the 6 best-selling Islamic banking home loans. In this third and final part coming soon will be on some of the packages offered by foreign banks in Malaysia, which includes conventional home loans and Islamic loans.

This info was also highlighted in Monday’s Star Business section (27 March 2006). For a full listing of all banks (local and foreign) including info like their contact numbers and addresses, you can check out this page.

For more info and further explanation on these home loan packages and prevailing rates, you are advised to check with the individual banks.

In the following tables, ‘C’ denotes Completed properties while ‘U/C’ stands for properties under construction. BLR stands for ‘Base Lending Rate’ while Y1 is for Year 1 and so on. IFR stands for ‘Islamic Financial Rate’. Check with relevant bank for prevailing rates.

This is a continuation of the 3-part series of the latest home loan packages and interest rates offered by banks in Malaysia. This first part to this series (you can read it here) focused on the packages offered by the 10 local anchor banks, this part will focus on 6 types of Islamic housing loans available from these local banks. The third and final part coming soon will be on some of the packages offered by foreign banks in Malaysia.

The complete series:
Home Loans by Malaysian and Foreign Banks Part 1 : Local Banks
Home Loans by Malaysian and Foreign Banks Part 2 : Best selling Islamic Banks Loans
Home Loans by Malaysian and Foreign Banks Part 3

This info was also highlighted in Monday’s Star Business section (27 March 2006). For a full listing of all banks (local and foreign) including info like their contact numbers and addresses, you can check out this page.

For more info and further explanation on these home loan packages and prevailing rates, you are advised to check with the individual banks.

In the following tables, ‘C’ denotes Completed properties while ‘U/C’ stands for properties under construction. BLR stands for ‘Base Lending Rate’ while Y1 is for Year 1 and so on. IFR stands for ‘Islamic Financial Rate’. Check with relevant bank for prevailing rates.

More from Property Malaysia:
Part 1 : Home Loans by Malaysian and Foreign Banks
List of Malaysian Banks

Some good news for housebuyers and investors. The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) now allows members to withdraw their Acount II savings yearly to reduce or settle their housing loans. They can also opt to fund the cost of tertiary education (at diploma level and above) for themselves and their children.

In the past, members could only withdraw from their Account II savings once every 3 years to reduce or settle their housing loans.

EPF also said that, “Withdrawals (for housing) can be made annually from the last date of withdrawal, with a minimum amount of RM500.”

The Edge also adds that,

“Some of the conditions for this withdrawal include that the members shall not be the borrower, the spouse is the purchaser and the borrower of the housing loan, the property is mortgaged with the bank and proof of marriage,” it said.
On the latest development, the EPF said it wanted to make withdrawals more flexible and customer-friendly. It had received the approval from the Minister of Finance on the changes to the housing and education withdrawals.
“These changes are part of EPF’s initiative as a responsive organisation to implement more flexibility in our withdrawals,” its senior public relations manager Nik Affendi Jaafar said.
He added: “The EPF is constantly studying the viability of our withdrawals and benefits to meet the changing and diverse needs of our 5.2 million active members.

To read the full report, check it out here.

This is a 3-part series highlighting the home loan packages and interest rates offered by banks in Malaysia. Today we are looking at the rates offered by the 10 local anchor banks, and the following articles are as follows (links will be updated when articles are posting).:

Home Loans by Malaysian and Foreign Banks Part 1 : Local Banks
Home Loans by Malaysian and Foreign Banks Part 2 : Best selling Islamic Banks Loans
Home Loans by Malaysian and Foreign Banks Part 3

This info was also highlighted in Monday’s Star Business section (27 March 2006). For a full listing of all banks (local and foreign) including info like their contact numbers and addresses, you can check out this page.

For more info and further explanation on these home loan packages and prevailing rates, you are advised to check with the individual banks.

In the following tables, ‘C’ denotes Completed properties while ‘U/C’ stands for properties under construction. BLR stands for ‘Base Lending Rate’ while Y1 is for Year 1 and so on.

Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB) has has launched MBSB EZ-i, an Islamic property financing, which uses both fixed and floating-rate mechanism. It is basically a hybrid of its existing Property Financing-i and is based on the Bai Bithaman Ajil (Deferred Payment Sale) concept.

According to a report in the Edge:

MBSB said the Islamic product boasted of unique features and versatility as compared to other conventional and Islamic mortgage products. It said it offered competitive rates throughout the mortgage tenure with rebates.
“As a highlight, customers have an added protection because the Ceiling Profit Rate is capped and therefore customers can benefit from the low profit rate environment,” MBSB said.

Further on:

MBSB said MBSB EZ-i was targeted at both Muslims and non-Muslims house buyers.
“We anticipate this product to be a hit with its features that are distinctive and appealing yet flexible and applicable to our customers’ preference and lifestyle.
“Undoubtedly, we hope to come up with more products such as this in future,” said MBSB chief executive officer Ahmad Farid Omar.

Some of the features of this MBSB EZ-i are:

• Ceiling Profit Rate is capped Competitive rates throughout the tenure

• Hassle free refinancing process

• Guaranteed rebates

• Fixed monthly installments

• High margin of financing up to 105% (subject to MBSB’s terms and conditions)

• Longer repayment period (up to 30 years or up to age 65, whichever is earlier)

• Mortgage Reducing Term Assurance (MRTA) with low yearly premium

• Fast approval

• Wide coverage of repayment channel via MBSB’s branch network/ BSN Giro

For more information, visit here.