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Like any other country, buying a house and taking a  home loan  / mortgage in Malaysia involve legal  fees & charges  - which many people fail to take into consideration especially when they’re buying a property for the very first time. So to all Malaysians buying your dream houses right now, allow iMoney to show you ALL the fees and charges involved when you buy a house or apply for a home loan.

In 2008, we have seen the catastrophic effect from the subprime mortgage loan in US. Even now, US is still struggling to fully recover from their worst financial crisis since Great Depression. The problems doesn't build in one day, in fact, it took years to snowball the problem. And, yet Malaysia seems like wanting to catch up with them by supporting the subprime loan. But, the unique part of our version is " using EPF monies "? When news first broke out last month that EPF would be channelling RM1.5bil for a special public housing scheme, alarm bells sounded off for many contributors. Maybe EPF already knew the result for last year performance, it announced later that contributors are getting a decade-high dividend rate of 6%. Salute to EPF. Since EPF are doing so good even without the said "loan", then, why EPF have to take the risk to loan out to this scheme? Afterthat, EPF published a statement claiming that the money is loaned to the Government, not to ind...

On 7th Dec 2011, the Singapore government announced that it would impose an Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) to moderate investment demand for private residential property and promote a more stable and sustainable market. This is needed in view of the stubbornly high inflation rate in Singapore amidst the slowing demand from developed markets. For those who don't know, inflation rate in Singapore was mainly contributed by surging property prices. The ABSD was effective 8 Dec 2011. After the  announcement , property-related stocks slumped last week, following by a slump in banking stocks because of an expected slower housing loan growth. The latest measures are a near-term negative for property developers with an anticipated trend in lower average selling prices and transactional volumes, which will hurt profitability. Nevertheless, most large-cap property developers in Singapore are relatively well diversified, not just across sectors (industrial and commercial), but also...

Like it or not, Bank Negara Malaysia announced that effective 1 Jan 2012, financial institutions must make appropriate enquiries into a prospective borrower's income after statutory eductions for tax and EPF, and consider all debt obligations , in assessing affordability. Aimed at promoting prudent, responsible and transparent retail financing practices, the new guidelines require financial institutions to make assessments of a borrower's ability to afford financing facilities based on a prudent debt service ratio as inputs to their credit decisions. On top of that, a new guideline was stipulated that the maximum tenure for vehicle financing should not exceed 9 years , with immediate effect (18 November 2011). Right now, there are only 2 banks which offers vehicle financing up to 11 years, and less than 2% of car buyers now opted for tenures beyond 9 years. The changes was neglect-able. Are you an Informed Borrower? The guidelines additionally hope to ensure that consumers are...

Malaysia is known as "tax heaven" of the world. Why? Because Malaysia does not impose tax on any capital gains derived from investment, such as shares, unit trust... But, there is only one type of capital gains that attracted tax - property. PARC @ One South, Seri Kembangan Real property gains tax (RPGT) is a form of capital gains tax. RPGT is charged on gains arising from the disposal of real property in Malaysia. These so called real property is defined as: any land situated in Malaysia and any interest, option or other right in or over such land; or shares in a real property company How much? Actually, we have RPGT in our tax system many years ago until 31 March 2007, when government abolished RPGT to attract foreigners to invest in Malaysia. But then, from 1 January 2010, RPGT is re-imposed at the rate of 5% on gains arising from disposals of chargeable assets in respect of real properties that are disposed within 5 years of owning. What is real property company? It is ...

In Malaysia, property investment is gaining momentum since last year. And, the property sector seems unstoppable with record breaking sales. New launches are fully taken up within few hours. Speculators are becoming greedier than ever. Calming down, figuring out, is it so attractive after all? Let's have a look at the 3 big wrong perceptions … Wrong perception #1:  Malaysia's properties still attractive? No doubt, many analysts and researchers comment that the local market price is still low if comparing to regional markets, such as Singapore and Hong Kong. This was wrong because we cannot simply compare with islands, where land is limited . We cannot simply compare with China, where billions of people chasing for limited supply of houses. Wrong perception #2:  KL Developers are going high-end? Yup… KL developers are focusing at launching those high-end residential units. But, do not come into conclusion just that. First, we must look into the locations of these new launche...

On 3rd November 2010, Bank Negara Malaysia wishes to announce with immediate effect the implementation of a maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 70% , which will be applicable to the 3rd house financing facility onwards taken out by a borrower. Financing facilities for purchase of the 1st and 2nd homes are not affected and borrowers will continue to be able to obtain financing for these purchases at the present prevailing LTV level applied by individual banks based on their internal credit policies. Why? The measure aims to support a stable and sustainable property market, and promote the continued affordability of homes for the general public.  At the national level, residential property prices have increased steadily in tandem with economic development and the rise in income levels.  This aggregate growth trend remains largely manageable and has not deviated from the long term trend in residential property prices.  In the more recent period, ...

First Home Scheme was being introduced by the Government in Budget 2011 as below to encourage home ownership among Malaysians: Specially cater for first-time house buyers with monthly household income below RM 3,000 . 100% loan for houses priced below RM220,000. 50% stamp duty exemptions on instruments of transfer on houses below RM350,000. 50% stamp duty exemptions on loan agreement instruments on houses below RM350,000. To facilitate the 100% loan, Cagamas Bhd (national mortgage corporation) will provide guarantee on the 10% down-payment to eligible house buyers. Signals sent-out by Government: 1. Enabling first-time buyers to afford their first home. 2. Developers should build more houses which is affordable for such categories. Advise to first-time house buyers: 1. The securing of such a loan is still subject to how much the banker willing to lend you. 2. 100% loan means higher monthly repayment for borrower. 3. Always buy within your means , not because of such scheme. How a...

According to real estate players, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) may impose a lower mortgage Loan-to-Value (LVR) ratio soon. How soon? What is the rationale? As reported in all dailies recently, property prices in Malaysia have been escalating since last year. No doubt, many people made handsome profit even in this down time through properties. Even though BNM has upped the base lending rate (BLR) 3 times so far this year, demand for properties seems unaffected, especially for high-end properties. According to Bernama, Bank Negara is reported to have written to financial institutions to secure feedback on the possibility of capping the LVR for mortgages at 80% to avert the risk of a potential property bubble. Recalled, government had imposed a 5% real property gain tax (RPGT) during Budget 2010 to curb the speculative buying of properties. So, it’s not surprise that BNM will implement the 80% cap on mortgage LVR, or at least for properties of more than RM500k. Currently, banks can usua...