- IN-PRINCIPLE LOAN APPROVAL
- Get a rough indication of how much you can borrow from the bank.
- Each bank may have different credit approving guidelines but a good indication would be that your total debt ratio should not exceed more than 60% of your monthly income based of TDSR (Total Debt Service Ratio).
- A bank will also often use a much higher interest rate tier (3.5% - MAS Requirement) to compute your loan installment to project for future interest rate movement, hence it’s always good to maintain some buffer.
- For an assurance on the amount of loan financing that the banks may grant you, you may put in your application to banks for an in-principal approval assessment.
- VIEWING
- Now that you know how much you can borrow, you can continue your search for your dream home property’s location, type, size, price and affordability.
- Be sure to take notes of the different properties that you have viewed.
- At the end of each viewing, have a summary of the properties that you have viewed and prioritise the features and characteristics of the properties.
- NEGOTIATION
- After viewing and shortlisting of properties, you should then re-contact the seller or let them or the salesperson contact you. Propose another viewing so that you can have a second look at the property.
- The rule is: a fairly price property will sell quickly, whereas an over-priced property won't or might not even sell at all.
- If you are engaging a salesperson, leave this portion to the salesperson so that you do not attach any emotional feelings to the property during negotiation process.
- OFFER TO PURCHASE / OPTION TO PURCHASE
- When you have agreed on a price with a seller, the most common practice is to issue an option fee in exchange for an Option to Purchase agreement from the buyer.
- Before you hand over the cheque, check the ownership proof of the owner. This can be in the form of an INLIS property search, E-valuation list from IRAS.
- MORTGAGE LOAN PACKAGE
- Decide which mortgage is best for you.
- There are over 50 - 60 mortgage plans offered by the various lenders, banks and financial institutions in Singapore.
- Fixed rate, Variable rate, tracker interest rate plans, interest offset etc.
- Find one that is best able to meet your needs and priorities with the lowest financing cost.
- MORTGAGE LOAN
- With your home purchase confirmed and the right mortgage plan sorted out, you would put in your application for a formal approval with the bank. A copy of the option to purchase is needed for submission to the bank.
- Once your loan application has been approved, the bank will generate a formal letter of offer for your acceptance.
- When the letter of offer is ready, the banker will call you to fix an appointment to go through and accept the letter of offer.
- EXERCISING THE OPTION / LEGAL COMPLETION
- The buyer has 14 calendar days to decide if he/she wants to proceed or not with the transaction.
- Once you have exercised the Option to Purchase, you have entered into a legal binding agreement with the seller and backing out of the deal will have legal consequences.
- If buyer does not exercise the OTP, the seller will forfeit the option fee
- If buyer proceeds, then the process varies depending if you are purchasing a private property or a HDB flat.