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*