As of today, we are officially property owners! The 4% of the property price that is due at the expiry of the Option To Purchase came through yesterday thanks to my parents and as such, our lawyer has decided to exercise the Option today.

An Option To Purchase (OTP) is a document that is issued by the seller or the seller’s agent, stating the intent on purchasing the property with the payment of 1% of the property price. The OTP is also known as Earnest Monies in countries abroad and it basically means that you have the intention of buying this property, so the seller will push away all potential offers. However, OTPs here have a lifespan of two weeks and by the end of the two weeks, the buyer has to sign the document and provide 4% of the purchase price in order to exercise it. Otherwise, the buyer forfeits the 1%.

In our case, that 1% is a lot of money – nearly two months’ salary – so we had quite a stressful time this week ensuring that our 4% would come in while juggling dyeing, working on bpi training assignments and so forth. It didn’t. No thanks to the volcano eruption and subsequent closure of European airports, the bank couldn’t facilitate the transfer in time so we had to look somewhere else to help us make the payment. We have the money; it just wasn’t coming in fast enough!!! Luckily, my parents had the cash and they did a telegraphic transfer which cleared yesterday – just in time for the lawyer to exercise the option.

So in future to all you peeps who are staying abroad and wish to buy a property where you are – don’t be like Nil and myself, and wait till you lay down the Option to transfer down some money. Start the transfer at least two-three weeks BEFORE you go house-hunting lest Murphy’s law does hit you right smack in the arse!

Anyway, after having said all that…we are now property owners!!!! w00t!

After the mad rush of papers, contacting people left and right (while sourcing around for best acne treatment), we got some very good news!

Our housing loan has been approved – thank you God – despite the fact that I’m only starting work in May and am without a payslip for now. The bank has kindly used my employment contract instead and one of the requirements for the loan is that Nil and myself refurbish them with an payslip for April (him) and May (myself). But otherwise, everything is ready to go, monetarily, that is.

The housing loans here do not work on a fixed interest rate but instead the bank we picked use what is called a SIBOR or interbank interest rate whereby the interest fluctuates or better know in common terms as a floating rate. For now and in Singapore, according to the banker, floating rates are better for the current housing market as they are about 25% lower than fixed interest rates. This may differ hugely from France and Malaysia whereby floating interest rates are steep compared to fixed ones. One thing good about our loan package is that it is not locked. This is to say that if we feel that the current SIBOR rates are not compatible, we can change to a fixed interest rate package and vice-versa again. There are no penalties and no hidden charges.

The bank we picked also has a reducing interest rate on top of the SIBOR which is quite different from other banks. This is a good thing, especially now when the SIBOR rates are around 0.6%. Based on the banker’s rough calculations (sans a financial calculator at hand), we’re looking at a mortgage of $1.6K per month which is just perfect for us as it’s still within our budget. Of course we’ll be paying back Nil’s dad and my parents for some part of the down payment but it’s still quite affordable.

Now that the loan has been settled, it’s off to the lawyer’s office to prepare the other necessaries. My next concern will be facilitating the payment of the 7% of the purchase price (3% stamp duty – to the goverment – and 4% to the seller via the lawyer). Hopefully, it’ll be ready come middle of next week! *keeps finger crossed*