Tan Sri Lim Hock San had an interview with the media from Astro AEC , 8TV and China Press during the Official Launch of LBS Fabulous Extraaaa on 26th August 2022. Tan Sri Lim shared about the LBS campaign and the outlook for the property industry.
In conjunction with the 65th National Day under the theme of “Keluarga Malaysia, Teguh Bersama”
We welcome Nina on this VoxPop Merdeka edition!
In this episode we decided to do something different, we will ask the public some questions to see “Are You A True Malaysian”?
Happy Merdeka Day!🇲🇾
Looking to apply for a home loan in Malaysia? Here we’ve prepared a comprehensive and step-by-step guide on applying for housing loan in Malaysia. From understanding property and finance jargon, house loan calculator to learning about interest rate and credit score, we’ve compiled it all for you.
Dreaming of a place you can call your own? Surely you’ve compiled Pinterest boards on how your future home will look like, the colour of its walls, and the choices of interior design? But before all that, how do you even secure a mortgage for your dream home?
Let’s face it, dreams don’t come cheap. Unless you’re a millionaire or have a trust fund, chances are you’re going to need a home loan. Applying for your first one may seem daunting, but don’t worry. We’re here to guide you with a comprehensive guide on how to apply for housing loan in Malaysia and turn your dreams into reality.
This guide will be categorised into four parts: Before Applying, Actually Applying for it, After Applying, and some extras tips to help you secure your loan.
First things first, if you’ve already found your dream home, you’ll want to know the maximum amount you can borrow based on your income and existing debts. If you haven’t chosen a place yet, it’s a good idea to first figure out a mortgage range with monthly repayments you can afford.
Our house loan calculator will be able to do these for you.
How much you can borrow is basically known as the Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio or the margin of finance. In Malaysia, it’s quite common to get around a 90% LTV for residential mortgage or home loans. There’s even a “Malaysia My First Home Scheme” (Malaysia Rumah Pertamaku) that gives qualifying first-time homebuyers a 100% LTV, meaning they can get a full loan.
Keep in mind that your LTV is affected by several criteria, like whether you are buying for investment, if you have more than one existing house loan, and so on. Aside from financing the property, it’s good to keep in mind that banks also sometimes allow up to 5% of additional margin of finance on the loan to finance things like valuation costs by the borrower, i.e. you.
The mortgage you take from a bank is the total amount you’ve received to finance your home (also known as the principal amount) plus the total interest payable. Each month, part of your monthly payment will go towards paying off the principal, while the other goes towards interest on the loan. Interest is what the bank charges for lending you money.
That’s right, there are multiple types of property loans. Each home financing package or plan is different and has different benefits. You’ll want to pick one that best fits your unique financial needs.
A simple and basic that isn’t as flexible as other loans. This basically means you won’t be able to reduce the loan period, thus the loan interest, by making advance payments.
As its name suggests, this loan is more flexible if you want to save money in the long run. If, for example, you came into some extra cash and wanted to pay more in a certain month (thus reducing your loan period and your loan interest).
Similar in nature to Semi-Flexi Loans, but with the added benefit of being able to withdraw any advance payments at any time with no extra charges. This flexibility is known as an overdraft facility which is definitely worth looking into as it has its pros and cons.
Looking for Shariah-compliant financing? There are a few types, but unlike the above three conventional loans, an Islamic home loan works on the basis of interest-free transactions, following the Murabahah concept under Shariah Principles.
As its name suggests, this one has a fixed interest rate throughout the whole loan tenure. If you’re worried about floating rates, then this is a good option for you.
Get more details on all these types of home loans here.
Most loans have variable interest rates and the interest rate is tied to the Base Rate (BR) of banks. The lower the interest rate, the better it is for you. Some packages offer fixed interest rates that don’t depend on the BR (see Fixed Rate Loan above).
Base Rates or BR is basically an internally-derived interest rate that the bank refers to before deciding on the interest rate to apply to your home loan amount. It’s conceived based on how much it will cost the bank to lend you the money.
With Islamic Loans, instead of interest rates (Riba), there are profit rates. The bank buys something on the borrower’s behalf and sells it back to the borrower at a profit. The idea behind this is financial justice, with the aim of creating a balance for the net a profit or loss between the lender and the beneficiary.
Read more: What to know about Base Rate (BR), Base Lending Rate (BLR) & Spread Rate when selecting a home loan?
What’s an OPR? The Overnight Policy Rate is the rate a borrower bank has to pay to a lending bank for the funds borrowed. This can affect the BR.
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) cut the OPR in January 2020 from 3% to 2.75%, and more recently to 1.75% due to COVID-19 outbreak. This is good news for borrowers because the lower cost of borrowing for banks lead to cheaper home loans for consumers. In short, borrowers will benefit from either lower monthly instalment payments or shorter loan tenure.
So what are the new lending rates in 2020? Major banks like Maybank, Public Bank Bhd, RHB Bank Bhd, CIMB Bank Bhd and OCBC Bank has reduced their BLR and BR by 50 basis point in May 2020.
If you want to find out more about how OPR affect your home loan, click on this to read more.
*Update: As of 6 July 2022, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) had increased the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) by 25 basis points to 2.25 per cent from 2.00 per cent (11 May 2022).
You’ve probably heard of this term, but what exactly is it? To put it simply, a credit score is what banks use to appraise the credibility of your loan application, including home loans and credit cards. The higher your score, the better your chance of getting a loan. But how do you calculate credit score? Unfortunately, there’s no fixed formula to this as different credit agencies have their own ways to assess every individual’s credit score. However, there are a few factors that these credit companies look into:
In order for your credit to be scored, you need to build a credit history — a record of your debt payment. When applying for loans, banks want to be able to see that you are responsible when it comes to paying back your debt and one easy way of building a credit history is by having a credit card. Your credit history will then be compiled into a credit report and these reports will define your financial health, which helps banks to decide if you’re good at managing your finances and if they should approve or reject your loan application.
In Malaysia, most financial institutions will refer to both the Bank Negara’s Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) and the CTOS Data Systems Sdn Bhd (CTOS). Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) under Bank Negara records your personal credit rating based on your credit history, that is, your outstanding loan/financing amounts in the past 12 months. This means making sure all your loan repayments (personal loans, car loans, credit card payments, etc.) are always on time, up to date, and within the right amounts. And then there’s CTOS, a privately-owned agency that archives a person’s or company’s entire credit history (unlike CCRIS which reports your credit score over a 12-month duration). Check in on your CTOS credit score every once in a while as it has the added benefit of alerting you in case of fraud or any errors in payment.
WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CREDIT SCORE? 
Low credit score? Here’s how you can fix it 
Learn what a CTOS is and how it affects your home loan
If you’re wondering how you’re supposed to know this, we’ve got you covered. Simply calculate your Debt Service Ratio (DSR). DSR basically shows you your repayment capability based on your income and is a key factor that banks use to determine your borrowing power. Your DSR is calculated like this:
Total monthly commitment ÷ Net monthly income × 100 = DSR
For example, if your total monthly commitments (loan/financing and credit card debts) is RM2,300 and your nett income after deducting from EPF, SOCSO, and taxes is RM3,500, your DSR is RM2300 ÷ RM3500 = 0.657 or 65.7%.
Different banks have different thresholds for DSR. Generally, if you go over a certain percentage like 70%, this means you have too many commitments and the income criteria for the bank to give you a loan cannot be met because they believe you won’t be able to keep up with all your monthly repayments.
You’ve got the basics down and ensured that you have a good credit history. You also roughly know how much you’re eligible to borrow. Now all that’s left is to choose a bank.
While it would be great if you could walk into any bank and get exactly what you needed on the spot, it’s just not possible. When it comes to banks, it’s not a “one size fits all” situation.
The bank you choose is dependent on the type of loan you feel is best for you. And “the best” is subjective; look at the different rates, packages, terms and conditions. This is a long-term commitment, so you’ll want to look into who gives you the best service.
One advice we can give is don’t be afraid to shop around. Research the different loan packages. Make appointments and speak with different mortgage bankers or loan officers. Find one you’re comfortable with and one who is experienced and takes the time to understand your unique financial needs.
Then, together, you can confirm the type of loan you want and submit your documents as part of your application.
The last thing you want is to walk into the bank empty-handed. When applying for a property loan, there are a few documents that you need to prepare prior to your meeting:
Read more about these steps here and here where we detail the main scenarios that often lead to a loan rejection.
Now what? Easy. If your loan has been approved, celebrate! But not too much and not too expensive, because you’re now in debt. But you’ve secured your property and that’s definitely a cause for celebration.
There, there. It’s not the end of the world. Oftentimes, it’s not you — it’s the bank. Perhaps your DSR was higher than that specific bank’s maximum allowable DSR. It could also be that something went wrong with your documentation.
Nevertheless, not getting that bank loan approval can set you back approximately three to six months from applying for another. If you’ve calculated your DSR (see above) and gotten a low enough value, you should be fine. However, different banks have different thresholds so that calculation is just an estimate.
But not to worry — we’ve got four handy tips to help you out with your next application.
If you want to go in with an increased chance of a home loan approval and without doubts or worry, check out our home loan eligibility calculator to increase your chances of getting your mortgage approved.
In the meantime, check your home loan eligibility using LoanCare and find out if you be able to secure a mortgage from up to 17 banks across Malaysia.
We’re loving the proactiveness here. It’s great that you’re thinking of this. Having less monthly instalments is a compelling goal, but sometimes, it’s not the best financial decision. An example is if your bank imposes penalties for settling your mortgage before your lock-in-period expires. Another reason would be if you’re covered under a mortgage insurance and want to retain this financial buffer.
So, when is it a good idea? When you’ve done the math and you’re sure that you’ll be saving on your loan interest payments. An early settlement a few years before your loan tenure of 35 years could result in thousands saved!
We’re glad you asked. There are a few ways you can do so:
Each way has its pros and cons. Get more advice on each one, as well as further explanation on whether you should pay off your home loan early here.
Before we send you off on your merry way to start your home loan application, here are a few handpicked tips that we feel could be quite helpful depending on your predicament or needs.
Thinking of getting a home with a significant other? An attractive prospect! This means you’d be able to get a larger loan (equating to a dream home on the higher, grander end). You can do this with two or more people and all the joint loaners will need to be between the ages of 18 and 60 while applying.
However, there are some stumbling blocks and pitfalls awaiting this path. Read through our list of four things to consider before applying for a joint loan – there are even tips on how to bolster one’s borrowing profile if your spouse, friend, or relative is self-employed.
Malaysia is a melting pot of people from all over the world! It’s no surprise that we have expatriates looking to buy property here, whether to retire or embark on a new journey. Foreigners can legally buy property in Malaysia, but there are some criteria regarding the types of property you can buy. This is just the country’s way of ensuring expat buyers don’t buy up the cheaper real estate meant for locals. Each state sets a minimum price; for example in Kuala Lumpur, the minimum price threshold is RM1 million. Overhang properties (properties in the market where supply outstrips demand, usually new projects like luxury condos) are set at RM600,000.
Now, how easy it is to get a loan in Malaysia will largely depend on your personal situation. Many foreigners are here as part of the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme*. If you have this, there shouldn’t be any problems with applying for the various loans mentioned in this guide as the programme is well established and government-backed.
If you’re not under the MM2H programme, then your ability to get a loan from a Malaysian institution will depend on what type of property you want, your current financial situation, as well as how much of a deposit you are able to give. A good real estate agent will be able to help you out as well as Mortgage Officers in banks.
*Do note though that the MM2H programme has been temporarily suspended to allow the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) and related agencies to “comprehensively review and re-evaluate the MM2H program since its inception in 2002. The suspension is in line with the Government’s decision not to allow foreigners to enter Malaysia following the outbreak of COVID-19” – but we hope to welcome you soon.
With the economic impact of the pandemic and the various movement control orders (MCO), Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has made quite a few changes. From moratoriums on home financing repayments to reductions in base rates (BR) and new lending rates by Malaysian banks, read all about it here.
Seeing how Malaysia banks have started tightening their lending policy, it might be a bit more difficult to secure a housing loan in the future. Don’t worry though, if you have a strong credit rating, your chances of getting one is still high.
To make things easier for you during this unprecedented time, consider getting an experienced banker when submitting loans. He or she will be able to give you the best advice and increase your chances for loan approval.
Our parting advice is, if you’re at a loss or if you need more guidance – fret not. A good real estate agent will be a reliable source of help. Most times, these are professionals who understand that not everyone speaks that property lingo. Remember, there are no dumb questions, so ask away. In the meantime, build up your credit score, learn about the different types of property loan, research on the current housing loan interest rate and check your home loan eligibility using house loan calculator to increase your chances of securing a loan.
DID YOU KNOW…
Aside from home loan, you can utilise EPF withdrawal money to purchase a house
There are a few important rules you have to follow to get your home loan approved
What is home loan refinancing? Here’s our comprehensive guide
The Contest is organised by LBS Bina Group Berhad (hereinafter known as “the Organiser”). By participating in the Contest, you agree to be bound by the following terms and conditions (consisting of the General Terms and Conditions and the Specific Terms and Conditions) between you and the Organiser (“Contest Terms”). You agree that the Organiser may include additional terms to and/or vary the Contest Terms at our sole discretion at any point of time and any additional and/or variation of the terms shall be incorporated by reference immediately at the point of time in which it is implemented. You are advised to visit this page from time to time to be updated of the latest Contest Terms.
In the event of any inconsistency between any terms and conditions stipulated in any of our marketing brochures, leaflets, buntings, or otherwise any other platforms and the Contest Terms stipulated herein, the latest Contest Terms shall prevail.
1. CAPACITY AND REPRESENTATION
1.1. To participate in the Contest, you must be aged eighteen (18) and above in Malaysia or have attained an age of majority in the jurisdiction in which you are domiciled to enter into legally binding contracts.
1.2. You acknowledge and agree that all information made by you are true, accurate, and not misleading. We reserve the right to request more information from you in the event we deem that the information provided by you is insufficient. Kindly note that failure by you to provide us with true and accurate information may result in your disqualification from the Contest.
1.3. You shall be responsible to update us immediately in the event that you discover that any information made by you is erroneous, outdated, or insufficient. Kindly note that failure by you to provide the necessary information to us may result in your disqualification from the Contest.
1.4. You further acknowledge that we will rely on any information provided by you and that any false, inaccurate, and/or misleading information may cause losses and damage to us. You agree to hold harmless and indemnify us, our directors, our employees, our agents, our affiliates, and any other third parties facilitating the Contest from the losses and damage suffered as a result of the false, inaccurate and/or misleading information provided by you.
1.5. You shall not use the Contest as a means or manner to facilitate any illegal and/or fraudulent transactions.
1.6. You will not, by participation or entrance of the Contest, violate any other terms and conditions, policies, and guidelines, and/or contracts that you have agreed to.
1.7. You will comply with all applicable laws, by-laws, rules, regulations, policies, instructions, directions, orders and/or directives from us, any governmental organization, and/or relevant authorities.
2. PRIVACY
2.1. All information provided by you shall be collected, stored, used and retained by us in accordance with our Personal Data Protection Act Notice. You are to read, acknowledge and accept our Personal Data Protection Act Notice which is
incorporated by reference herein and can be found at https://lbs.com.my
3. TAX AND DISBURSEMENTS FEE
3.1. You shall bear all transportation, personal expenses, insurance, stamp duties, transfer fees, taxes, any other duties and/or any other costs, fees and/or related expenses incurred pertaining to the Prize.
3.2. You shall be solely responsible to declare your Prize winnings with the relevant tax authorities and paying for any levy, duty, charges and tax that is imposed (if any). The Organiser shall not in any way be held liable to pay any charges, tax, levy, fines and/or duty that are imposed on the Winners by the relevant tax authorities for the Prize winnings.
4. PRIZES
4.1. The Organiser shall not assume any liability and responsibility whatsoever in the event of any mishaps, injuries, damages, death, claims and/or accidents suffered by your participation in the Contest and from the use of the Prizes.
4.2. You shall hold the Organiser harmless against any liability and claims and agree to indemnify the Organiser completely for any claims, damages, losses and liability arising from and/or in relation to your use of the Prizes.
4.3. You agree and acknowledge the Organiser provides no representation or warranty of any kind whatsoever in respect of any defect or other faults in relation to the Prize, and that the Prize displayed in any marketing or promotional materials are for illustration purposes only which may not depict the actual color, material, model, and/or specification of the actual Prize.
4.4. The Organiser shall not be liable to compensate and/or rectify any defect or other faults in the Prizes. You shall contact and refer to the supplier, manufacturer, distributor and/or reseller of the Prizes in the event that you have any queries, concerns, and issues regarding the Prizes.
4.5. Any decisions taken by the Organiser are final and binding on you. The Organiser shall not be obliged to entertain any queries, claims, requests or correspondences after the decision of the Organizer has been made.
4.6. You agree that the Prize is non-transferable, non-refundable, and nonexchangeable for cash without the Organizer’s express written consent. The Organizer reserves the right to substitute any Prize with that of a similar value by notifying you of the same.
5. INDEMNITY
5.1. You agree to hold harmless and indemnify us, our directors, our employees, our agents, our affiliates, and any other third parties facilitating the Contest from any losses and damages suffered by us as a result of your violation or breach of the Contest Terms.
6. PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS
6.1. You agree that the Organiser shall have the right to interview you, take photographs, and videos as well as use your personal details which shall include your name(s) for our marketing campaign materials for the purposes of advertising, trade and/or publicity in accordance to the Privacy clause above. You acknowledge that any interview results, photographs and videos shall be solely owned by us.
7. MISCELLANEOUS
7.1. Any representation of the Prizes shown in any advertisement and promotional materials are solely for illustration purpose and may defer from the actual prizes.
7.2. The Organiser reserves the right at its sole discretion to suspend, modify, extend, delay or terminate the Contest at any time without prior notice to you.
7.3. Any decisions taken by the Organiser are final and binding on you and the Organiser shall not be obliged to entertain any queries, claims, requests or correspondences after the decision of the Organizer has been made.
7.4. The Organiser shall have the absolute right to disqualify any individual that it determines to be tampering with and/or disrupting the operations of the Contest, and/or to be acting in breach or potential breach of this Contest Terms.
7.5. Any provisions applicable to the Contest which is prohibited or unenforceable under any law or regulation shall be ineffective to the extent of such illegality, voidness, prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining provisions.
8. DISCLOSURE
8.1. This Contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Meta Platforms, Inc (formerly known as Facebook Inc). The Organiser expressly excludes any losses, claims, and/or actions arising from any glitch, malfunction, shut down, and/or otherwise use arising specifically from Facebook, Instagram or any platform (whether or not derivative) from MetaPlatforms Inc.
B. SPECIFIC TERMS AND CONDITIONS THE CONTEST
The Contest Period The period shall commence from 15 August 2022 – 28 August 2022, 12:00 am (“The Contest Period”). The Organiser reserves the absolute right to extend or vary the Contest Period at its sole discretion. All entries received before and after the Contest Period shall be invalid and will not be entertained by the Organiser.
Eligibility & Participation
A) Any person who has fulfilled the criteria below and has abided by the steps in the contest mechanism below shall be eligible to participate in this Contest (“Participants”);
Criteria
I. The Participant shall be a resident of Malaysia; II. The Participant shall be aged 18 years and above; and The Participant’s Facebook and/or Instagram account shall be set as ‘Public’ wherein the Organizer and/or its appointed third parties is able to view the entries submitted by the Participant during The Contest Period.
B) Participants are allowed to submit multiple entries in accordance to the contest mechanism below. Notwithstanding the above, the Participants acknowledge and agree that are only eligible to win any of the Prizes (as defined below), once.
Contest Mechanism
i. The Participant shall visit and purchase any goods at any Watsons physical stores nationwide during The Contest Period;
ii. The Participant shall have created and submitted a creative photograph on its own Facebook and Instagram profile as a ‘post’ which shall include the Participant as a subject in the said photograph [Selfie or Wefie] with the Organizer’s “LBS SkyLake Residence” standee, wherein the standee shall be fully and clearly visible in the said photograph;
iii. The Participant shall submit the invoice/receipt unique number of its purchase of goods stated in (i) above in the provided google form (https://bit.ly/3bpxff6) which shall be made available to the Participant on the Organizer’s Facebook profile (“Submission Form”);
iv. The Participant shall or shall have “like”-d and “follow”-ed the Organiser’s Facebook (@LBSBinaGroup) and Instagram (@lbsbinagroup) social media platforms respectively and shall maintain the same throughout The Contest Period; and
v. The Participant shall tag three (3) unique profiles that they are connected to on Facebook/Instagram in the caption of the Participant’s entry as stated in item (ii) above, include the hashtags [#LBSBinaGroup; #LBSBinaContest; #WatsonsXLBS #Watsonsclub12 ] in the said entry, and comment “I’M DONE” in the comment section of the Organizer’s Facebook and Instagram posting.
vi. The Organizer shall designate two hundred (200) entries submitted by the Participants as the winners of the Prizes as further detailed in the Prizes section below.
Prizes
I. The prizes shall consist of;
The Organizer shall announce the winners of the Contest on 1 September 2022 or any other date as notified by the Organizer to the general public (“Winner Announcement Date”).
Prizes Redemption Details
(1) The Prizes will be emailed to the winners within fourteen(14) business days from the “Winner Announcement Date” to the email provided by the winners in the Submission Form and the winners shall acknowledge the email sent by the Organizer accepting the Prizes.
(2) Prizes must be acknowledged by the Participants within 30 days after receiving the email from the Organizer or it will be forfeited.
DISQUALIFICATION
The Organizer reserves the right to disqualify any submissions in the abovementioned terms and conditions in the event that; the submission of any photograph(s) are blur, unclear, and/or containing inappropriate content, including but not limited to vulgarity, obscenity, lewd, pornographic or violent material, or materials which promote violence or which disparages the Organizer or any other person or entity, or contain trademarked or copyrighted material.
Welcome to Season 3 of Vox Pop!
Did you know LBS Bina has a weekly fitness and wellness day?
Now you know!
In our all-new episode of Vox Pop, let’s have Hazziq bring us on a tour of the activities that we have in line for you!
Facebook: https://bit.ly/LBSBina_Facebook/
Instagram: https://bit.ly/InstagramLBSBina/
Twitter: https://bit.ly/twitterLBSBina/
Linkedin: https://bit.ly/LinkedInLBSBina/
Visit our website here: https://bit.ly/WebsiteLBSBina/
Do drop some comments on your thoughts and maybe some interesting topics we can look into!
LBS Bina Group Berhad (LBS) held their second town hall meeting of the year with the theme ‘Together, We Move Forward’. The one-day hybrid event covered on the performance of the company thus far engagement activities that aims to strengthen the bonds and morale of employees.
For a more detailed update, feel free to access LBS’s press release below:
https://lbs.com.my/media/press-releases/
Tan Sri Lim was invited as a speaker at the 2022 Malaysian Housing and Property Summit. Tan Sri Lim joined a distinguished panel of speakers which included Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew, Founder and Chairman of Country Heights Holdings Bhd along with Sr Mohd Salem Kailany, President/Chief Executive Officer of UDA Holdings Berhad, to share their views on the theme of ‘Building Future Homes and Properties: Key Issues and Challenges Post-Pandemic’.
