Housing 101
Deciding to buy a home, evaluating my financial status
- Understand your budget to determine your affordability
- Know your credit score
- Understand your repayment capabilities
- Ascertain all your financial commitments e.g. car loan, credit card debt, personal loan etc
Looking for the right home
- Decide whether to explore new developments of existing properties
- Determine the location of your property
- Explore new development projects or existing properties
- Check the developer’s track record and if they are approved and operate with a valid license from the Ministry of Housing and Local Government. If you are considering existing properties in the market, do ensure your property agent is a registered Real Estate Negotiator (REN)
Sources of funding
- Determine your sources of funding the 10% deposit
- Check your loan eligibility with a bank
- Decide how you will finance your loan repayment
- Establish whether the loan will be an individual loan or a joint loan
- Determine the tenure of the loan
- Housing loan calculators can be useful to provide guidance
- Shop around for a loan that suits your needs
How to apply for a loan
- Find out the paperwork involved when submitting an application for a loan to a bank
- Declare other legitimate additional income you may have to substantiate repayment capabilities
Other costs involved
Check out other costs involved once the loan is approved. Incidental costs may involve:
- Stamp duties
- Loan agreement fees
- Transfer of Title (for completed properties only)
- Disbursement fees
- Insurance coverage
- Deposits for utilities
- Legal fees (whether self-appointed or assigned by the bank providing the loan)
- Maintenance fees
- Strata fees
- Assessment fees
- Quit rent
Duties of a borrower
- To duly read and understand all terms and conditions of the loan documentation
- To enquire and get clarification on all aspects of the loan to your satisfaction
- To comply with all the terms and conditions of the loan documentation
- To ensure timely repayment of the loan in compliance with the loan documentation
Duties of a financial institution
- To discharge the lender’s obligations as described in the loan documentation
- To notify borrowers on any charges made to the terms and conditions, fees charged and other relevant information
- To attend to all queries made by borrower
Knowing your rights as a borrower
- Be treated professionally, courteously and without prejudice
- Be notified on changes to the terms and conditions of your loan
- Access to accurate information on a regular basis on your loan account
- Right to enforce the terms and conditions of the loan documentation in the event of a breach
Rights of a financial institution
- To have comprehensive disclosure on borrower’s credit standing
- Right to timely repayment of interest/installments of the loan
- Right to enforce the terms and conditions of the loan documentation in the event of a breach
Additional information
