BNM Announcement – Measures to Assist Individuals, SMEs and Corporates Affected by COVID-19

BNM – Loan deferment for 6 months – Individuals, SMEs and Corporates Affected by COVID-19

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) made an announcement on 25th March 2020 as part of the measures to help individuals, SMEs and Corporate affected by COVID-19 (coronavirus).

Moratorium of 6 Months on Bank Loans

Banking institution to provide a 6 months deferment of all loans or financing repayments with exception to Credit Card. Details could be read at BNM official site. Detailed terms and conditions can be obtained from the FAQ released. It is important to note that the interest will continue to accrue during the moratorium period.

Continue reading “BNM Announcement – Measures to Assist Individuals, SMEs and Corporates Affected by COVID-19”

O.P.R Cut by 0.25%

Bank Negara announced cut by 25 basis point for OPR (Overnight Policy Rate) on 7th May 2019. In their statement:

At its meeting today, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of Bank Negara Malaysia decided to reduce the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) to 3.00 percent. The ceiling and floor rates of the corridor for the OPR are correspondingly reduced to 3.25 percent and 2.75 percent respectively.

(ref: http://www.bnm.gov.my/index.php?ch=en_press&pg=en_press&ac=4850&lang=en)

OPR Cut - 2019

What is Overnight Policy Rate (O.P.R)?

The overnight policy rate (OPR) is the interest rate at which a depository institution lends immediately available funds (balances within the central bank) to another depository institution overnight.

(Quoted: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overnight_policy_rate)

When was the last adjustment? What was the adjustment?

The last adjustment was on 25th Jan 2018 with increase of 0.25%. For the full list of OPR movement since 2008, kindly refer to Bank Negara Malaysia website.

(http://www.bnm.gov.my/index.php?ch=mone&pg=mone_opr_stmt)

What does this has to do with me? 

The movement of OPR might trigger adjustment of interest rate for banks including fixed deposit, short-term or other long-term interest rate. And, if you have a Mortgage Loan, movement of OPR will trigger adjustment to your Base Lending Rate (BLR) or Base Rate (BR) which could affect your monthly instalment. In short, this shall followed by lower interest rate in both saving or loan products for banks.

What can I expect and what to do?

Since the adjustment will come in phases, if you have extra cash and decided to be deposited, you may want to log in longer and earlier. As you will expect the next deposit rate may be lower. At the same time, if you are looking for loan product with fixed interest rate such as Hire Purchase, Personal loan and etc, you might want to wait for the bank to make the adjustment.

Why does OPR set by Bank Negara?

In a simple way, it is used by Bank Negara as a way to either encourage spending or discourage spending. This is also one of the way to influence economy growth, inflation and even employment rate. Imagine, when saving interest rate is low, this will discourage public from deposit it with bank but to look for alternative such as capital market, bond or other investment opportunity. This will bring more money to the market to spur economy activities.

At the same time, when loan interest is low, it will also encourages borrowing activity that will stimulate economy. Businesses might take the opportunity for capital expenditure or business expansion since the cost is lower. This could also lead to more employment opportunity.

What is your view on the adjustment of OPR by Bank Negara Malaysia?

Feel free to share with us your view.

Rent to Own is Finally Revealed! Is it your BEST Chance to Own your House?

We have heard about Rent-To-Own scheme some time ago, and it is now revealed by Maybank Islamic through it’s innovative product – #HouzKEY. What could be better than having the opportunity to own a house by renting it first? We often hear that owning a property is very challenging especially for fresh graduates or young generation, but most still wanting to own a property in long term as renting is deemed unsecured and owning a house is still one of the dream of every Malaysian.

Rent2Own

Before we decide with the Rent-To-Own scheme, we must first understand that we want to own this house and it is not for those who think that rather than paying rent, I might as well choose this scheme so that I have an option in the future. The gap between Market Rental Rate and HouzKEY Rental Rate is too huge for discussion. (Example: Da Men Apartment, Subang Jaya; HouzKEY Rental Rate start from: RM 2908.40; iproperty Rental Rate start from: RM 1,500.00) For this reason, we will not discuss any comparison between this scheme and renting a house.

Few Key Features:

  • Low Entry Cost – compared with the cost involved in purchasing a property. (3 Months Security Deposit)
  • No Obligations to Own it – After a period of 5 years, we can choose not to take up the property and we are not in debt.
  • Ride on Property Capital Appreciation – If anytime after a year, we can choose to “Sell it Off” should the price increased although we have not actually bought it. This is due to the obligation of the scheme to transfer it to the Scheme participant whether through cash out or taking up a mortgage.

Control measure well considered:

It seems to be a good opportunity for speculator again to ride on the low entry cost to get into the scheme with multiple units. However, in order to be eligible for this scheme, one MUST NOT HAVE more than ONE home financing which is one of the good measures to stop speculators.

The question is, what about multiple applications from a person? And, is application to this scheme also considered as a home financing? (Product Disclosure Sheet revealed that participation in this scheme will be reflected in CCRIS)

HouzKEY’s Rental Rate vs Mortgage Financing Rate

From the PDS, both are Effective Rate to be pegged against Bank’s Base Rate and 4.85% has been used for calculation (We are not sure if this is the Effective Rate for HouzKEY). Quick check with online comparison site shows that current rate for a typical RM 500,000 loan start from 4.20%) .

To make the comparison easier, PDS simulation shows a total payment of RM1,204,403 for a RM 500,000 property. We did a simple calculation with RM500,000 loan amount (assume 100% loan) with effective rate of 4.85% (as used in PDF), total amount payable will be approximately RM 949,846 (with tenure of 30 years). There is a difference of almost RM 300,000. This is due to the pre-determined purchase price to be agreed in the contract.

Should we opt for Rent-To-Own?

In our opinion, maybe one could search for 100% loan option available such as Graduate program. When all other options are not available, HouzKEY could be an option to consider.

However, there is one feature of the program that one should not overlook – Lock In Period. The minimum contract period is 5 years; Quick check in the FAQ section on m2own website suggests that if tenants decided to terminate the contract earlier, tenants are required to pay the rentals for the remainder of the lock-in period.

*Disclaimer – Information provided is based on information obtained from official site at the time of publish. Purpose of this post is to share the update in property market for reference only. One should always see a qualified personnel prior to any decision.

认清购买房地产程序,避免被骗!

购买房地产,尤其是属于自己的房屋是每个人梦寐以求的梦想。但,很多时候,一些买者因为不了解程序而赔上辛苦储蓄的金钱。所以,大家是有必要了解正常或一般的购买房地产程序,避免蒙受亏损。小编这一扁是针对马来西亚的程序。

MandariSalesProcess

1。先了解自己的财务状况。

在寻找适合的房屋前,有必要先了解自己财务状况就比较容易锁定适合自己的房屋。在了解自己的财务状况的两个重点。

(一)头期

一般上这等于房产价格的十八仙;也就是,如果想要购买的房产价格是700千,那么就必须准备70千。但,除了房产的头期,其实还有一些费用,比如买卖合约费用,转名费用,估价师费用,保险费用,等等。当然,有些费用是可以融入在房贷里。

(二)房贷每月分期付款

房贷可是现代我国家庭的一大开销。所以,在购买房屋前有必要大约理解每个月的分期付款数额。以最简单的算法(大概30年贷款),把每个月所能够付的数额乘200将是您适合贷款的数额。比如,每个月可以付款3000令吉,那么3000 x 200 = 600,000(贷款数额)。那么就应该寻找650千至700千的房产。(没有考虑银行贷款审核条件)

2。预定适合的房产

当有了适合的房产,首先必须预定。一般上是向发展商或透过地产经纪人购买。无论是透过哪一个管道,买者都会先预定。在预定时,双方都会签署一份预定合约/表格。在这时候,定金一般上介于房价的2%至3%。定金最好是以有记录的方法比如支票或转账,而且应该是转账至公司户口(发展商或地产经纪公司)而不是私人/个人户口。预定表格上除了产业地址,款式,买者,卖者等基本资料也必须注意一些事项:

(一)有效期

一般的预定表格都会限定有效期,也就是在几天内必须签署买卖合约。如不能在有效期内,签署买卖合约,卖者就可以取消然后卖给其他有意的买者。一般上有效期将会介于14,21或30工作天。

(二)取消条件/费用

第二个重要的内容既是如果买者在什么情况下可以取消这分预定合约。最普通的是申请不到房屋贷款,因为如果买者申请不了房屋贷款,那么就无法完成这交易。一般上,在有效期内,买者的贷款申请都被银行拒绝将使这预定合约都会被取消。(被银行拒绝就是买者已经把完整的申请移交了,但银行不批准)那么,在预定表格里,双方可以决定是否全数退还或将会收取手续费。

3。申请房屋贷款

买者可以透过地产经济介绍,或自寻银行,房贷顾问来申请房屋贷款。买者可同一时间透过任何管道向不同的银行申请贷款,但决不能通过不一样的管道甚至不一样的银行分行向同一家银行申请贷款。因为如果一家银行接到两份同样的贷款,银行必须先理请申请最后决定要哪一方代办申请手续才会进行审核。如果无法理请,那么将不会继续审核申请。到目前为止,申请程序是不需要付任何的费用

4。签署银行献义信

当银行批准了申请者的贷款,银行将会发出一份献义信。这份献义信将列明贷款数额,贷款期限,利息,及所有重要的条件。所以,当申请者得到这份献义信就应该小心了解献义信的内容。如果申请者得到多于一分批准,那么可以比较哪一份较于适合自己。在签署献义信时也是不需要任何的付费,但如果签署后反悔就可能需要付某些手续费。当然,有些买者会在这同时购买房贷保险,那么买者只是需要付保险的保费。

5。签署房贷合约及买卖合约

一般上,买者会先签署房贷合约再签署买卖合约或是同时进行。两份合约可以由同一律师楼代准备或是两家分别的律师楼。在签署房贷合约时,律师将征收合约的费用及印花税。(在签署前,买者可以要求律师楼清楚解释费用)如果,申请贷款着把这费用加在贷款数额内,律师楼将不会向买者征收。而在签署买卖合约时,律师楼同样会向买者征收合约费用,转名费等。(这费用是不能加在贷款数额内)买者也必须清楚了解,即使卖者也是聘请同样的律师楼代办,那律师楼还是代表买者而不是卖者。所以律师还是要一买者利益为优先。除了合约费用,买者也必须在这时候还清10%的定金给于卖者。如果,在预定时,买者已付了2%,那么买者在这时候只需要付其余的8%。以上所有的程序都必须是在律师办公室,或是在律师(或代表)见证下完成。

切忌,如果在签署了买卖合约后,若买方无法还请其余的数额(自付或贷款),所有已支出的费用(律师费,估价费等)都无法取得退款。10%定金也即将成为赔给卖者在时间上的损失。在签署后,买者将会获得3+1个月的时间把其余的数额付给卖者。(如果已获贷款者,贷款银行必须在时间内把贷款数额付给卖者)3+1个月意味这3个月是合理的期限,如果已进入第四个月,那么卖者将征收利息。这是一般上的程序。在一些情况下比如不是永久地契或分层地契等的产业需要更长的转名时间,那么那将不会构成超出3+1个月期限的状况。(确实有个案是需要超出一年甚至更长的时间)

6。移交钥匙

等待一切手续完毕,律师将把钥匙移交于买方。所以,这可能要等上几个月或是更长的时间。买者如果是有需要在特定时间得到产业,应该在购买前向律师或合格房产代理了解。

Fixed Rate Mortgage Loan – Is this the RIGHT time?

Recently in my sharing session, audiences may find that I’m promoting Fixed Rate Housing Loan. While some knew about it, many still unaware that in Malaysia’s housing loan market, there is a choice of Fixed Rate. The question now, is this the time to take fixed rate? Why I choose to promote this at this time? (In fact, I’ve been promoting this since end of 2014)

Fixed Rate

Before we discuss further, we should first clarify some confusions with fixed rate housing loan. (If you already know, kindly skip this paragraph) First, the interest rate is fixed through out the tenure and the maximum tenure is also 35 years or up to age of 70 years. Does this means the interest calculation works like our hire purchase loan? No, the loan is still calculated on daily basis. For any early prepayment or full settlement, client need to only pay the outstanding principal (plus any administrative cost-if any). Secondly, is the loan locked through out the loan tenure? No – You can settle the loan at any time you wish.

Whenever I talk about fixed rate, as usual, the first question is :

1. What is the interest rate?

The rate is currently around 4.99%. The respond that I will receive is : SO HIGH!. Yes, it is higher than most of the commercial bank rate out there. When I told audiences a year ago, the rate is 4.65% (promotional) and 4.85%(normal), client also told me: SO HIGH!. Some chosen to believe when I share what I’m going to discuss later in this article. Today average commercial bank rate has reached 4.7% and some of the purchaser have not even got their house key from the developer. Many will still wait and say ~So HIGH!

2. Why is the rate for Fixed Rate Housing Loan higher that variable rate?

Actually, Fixed Rate is not always higher than variable rate. When interest rate is on high side, fixed rate will be lower than average market rate. Why? Fixed Rate will always be closer to average rate over long span of time. Currently 30 years average is about 7%, therefore fixed rate is nearer to average and higher than variable rate. When variable rate were around 14% during 90’s, fixed rate is also around 7% and much lower than market rate. Fixed Rate need to take into consideration of long term rather than short term market rate. Honestly, fixed rate is actually still very low currently. This was due to stiff competition over the past few years.

3. Will Fixed Rate increase?

Yes, definitely fixed rate will increase when market interest rate increased. However, at this specific moment, if you locked it, it will not increase for your loan no matter what happens.

4. I want the lowest! 

Just like when we were buying stocks in share market, I want to buy at lowest point and sell at highest point. But, how many investors really bought at lowest point? Everyone expect it to be lowest until the price rebounded and start to increase. And we know that the rate has just rebounded over the past one year.

5. Where the loan money come from? Bank’s share holders or public?

The fund definitely comes from the public. Let’s look at deposit rate; is it in the increasing trend or decreasing trend? From any marketing materials by banks, anyone of us would sense that the interest is in the increasing trend. If the cost of fund got higher, how do financial institution get their profit? Should they increase the lending rate?

6. Who control Base Rate and Base Lending Rate?

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)? Wrong! It’s is controlled by banks. Recently few banks had adjusted their Base Rate (BR) and Base Lending Rate (BLR). I’ve no intention to  discuss this as the information can be easily obtained.

Please do not get me wrong, we are independent mortgage advisers. We do provide consultation and assist our client for mortgage loan applications to few major banks. Our intention is only to share our view with the public for everyone’s benefit.

If you would like to know more, feel free to contact us: email to ask@ethanteh.com

We also provide training/sharing/seminar session in matters regarding to Mortgage Loan.