Not all home loans/financing schemes are the same, although they may share similar features. The best ones to suit you will depend largely on your borrowing and repayment capabilities as well as your financial needs. Here is a lowdown on some of the available mortgages/financing in the Malaysian market based on certain criteria that you may be on the look-out for:-
Malaysia Home Loan/Financing Features
If you’ve heard about Flexi and Non-Flexi home loans, it could mean different things, some flexi-loans offer the option to make more payment to save on interest, or even make withdrawals on pre-payments and be charged a fee in case you need the cash. It could also mean that they offer a lower initial monthly repayment that progressively increases as the years go by or remain fixed for a number of years and is then stepped up after that.
Some home mortgages also have lock-in periods ranging between one to five years. If you settle your loan or refinance with another bank within that timeframe, you may incur a penalty charge. Lock-in terms differ from product to product, so be sure to check with the mortgage specialist/consultant from your respective financial institutions.
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Apart from that, home loans for property in Malaysia may offer a fixed or floating interest rate. The benefit of having fixed-rate financing is that you won’t have to worry about it fluctuating and you can be sure of how much you pay every month. The advantage of having a floating interest rate is that if the bank’s base rate (BR) or base lending rate (BLR) moves down, you will pay less, but that also means you’ll be paying more if the BR or BLR go up.
Here are some of our latest recommended home financing schemes (in no particular order) that will ease your decision-making in scooping up your favourite property:
Maybank MaxiHome Ezy
Maybank MaxiHome Ezy offers a stepped-up repayment scheme where the borrower has the option of paying only the interest/profit portion of the loan for the first five years. Full instalment payment only starts from the sixth year onwards. Although you are allowed to pay less during these five years, you can also pay more than the required amount at any time to save on interest, without giving notice and without any penalty charges.
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Citibank Mortgage
Citibank offers tailored mortgage loan solutions with competitive and flexible rates but it also trumpets its 10-minute home loan approval as the shortest wait any applicant in Malaysia would have to endure. Additionally, a review on imoney.my states that borrowers get up to RM30,000 cash back and a guaranteed RM2,000 cash back (T&C applies) when you sign up for the loan between 2 January 2019 and 31st December 2019.
RHB My1 Full Flexi Home Loan in Malaysia
The RHB My1 Full Flexi Home Loan is yet another mortgage that offers flexi-payments and allows you to make excess payments on top of regular monthly instalments. Apart from that, its website states that you can also redraw the excess payment without a fee charge, a delight for those with intentions to do so.
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Alliance ONE Account
The Alliance ONE Account is a mortgage refinancing service which allows for consolidation of housing loans and outstanding balances on personal loans and credit cards into one account by making use of an overdraft facility.
CIMB HomeFlexi Smart
The CIMB HomeFlexi Smart loan also allows withdrawal of pre-payments (at a fee) but it is also promoted for not having set-up and maintenance charges or commitment fees. CIMB Prime Banking customers can also enjoy preferential rates and earn 0.1 Bonus Point for every RM1 financing.
Standard Chartered MortgageOne Zero Cost
The Standard Chartered MortgageOne Zero Cost home loan invites borrowers in Malaysia to take this opportunity to consolidate multiple loan or financing accounts at zero cost, pledging to bear all legal, stamp duty and property valuation fees of the loan agreement. One of the conditions is that the property must be completed and located within the Klang Valley, Penang or Johor.
HSBC HomeSmart
The HSBC HomeSmart features daily interest calculation to offer flexibility of payments as well as the ability to withdraw excess funds from a linked current account without charges. An additional feature that it calls Home Smart Reserve allows additional loan on top of the existing financing where borrowers need extra funds to perhaps invest or for emergencies.
Citations:
https://www.imoney.my/home-loan
https://loanstreet.com.my
https://www.maybank2u.com.my
https://www.citibank.com.my/english/mortgages/mortgage-loan.htm
https://www.rhbgroup.com/personal/home-loan/index.html
https://www.cimbbank.com.my/en/personal/products/loans/property-loan/loans/products/homeflexi-smart.html
https://www.alliancebank.com.my/financing/personal/alliance-one-account.aspx
https://www.sc.com/my/promotions/zero-moving-cost-promotion/
https://www.hsbc.com.my/mortgages/products/homesmart/
