Things Foreigners Should Consider When Buying Residential Properties In Singapore

Foreigners may discover staying in a hotel room for the entire duration of their stay in Singapore to be a truly costly quandary. If a foreigner owned a residential property in Singapore, the expensive dilemma could have been averted.

The Singapore government officials do not prevent expatriates from owning residential properties in the country.

The Residential Property Act of Singapore basically stands behind Singapore nationals in their purchase of their own residential properties by giving affordable prices. In addition, this Act supports foreign nationals who are considered by the Singapore government to have made significant contributions to the economic prosperity of the city-state in their wish to purchase residential properties within the country.

Even without any permits or sanctions from the Singapore government, a foreigner may acquire non-restricted residential properties. The following are residential properties that belong to the non-restricted category:

- apartment units within a structure that is not higher than 6 floors – condominium units in approved condo development sites under the Planning Act – a lease term on a restricted residential property; the agreement must not exceed 7 years

Foreign nationals who want to buy all units in an apartment or condo in an approved development site must have prior sanction from Singapore’s Minister for Law.

Likewise, a foreign national without any prior approval from Singapore’s Minister of Law cannot acquire residential properties that are classified as restricted.

The Residential Property Act of Singapore specifies these restricted residential properties as follows:

- an empty residential land – town houses, separate or semi-detached homes, or terraced houses standing on residential lands – properties not authorized for condo development under the Planning Act

If an expat intends to own a restricted residential property, he or she is obliged to fill out a request form and submit this, together with other required documents, to the Singapore Land Authority. This branch of the government is responsible for receiving the requests of the expatriate regarding the acquisition of a restricted residential property. The Singapore Land Authority will assess and approve or disapprove the application, depending on the virtues of the expatriate’s qualifications.

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Never Regret Your First House Purchase: Here’s How

Congratulations! You are now financially viable and the moment is right for you to make your first house purchase. So, you fell in love at first sight at a house you saw in a certain neighborhood that you feel will be close to perfect in raising a family in your near future.

But, hold on for a moment. Before you shell out your hard-earned income on the down payment, you must consider several essential factors. Acquiring a house is probably going to be the most expensive purchase you are going to have in your life, after all. You would not wish to regret this decision.

A lot of people let their emotions to govern their decisions when it comes to purchasing homes for the first time. They dismiss glaring matters that should have been addressed right at the start. And then, when the excitement of their acquisition wears off and they experience the inconveniences caused by the glaring issues that they should have looked into earlier, they become disillusioned and angry with their new home.

Therefore, to rescue yourself from the heartaches of wrong decisions, here are several matters to consider before you buy the house you have set your heart on.

1. Consider the neighborhood

At your first visit, a neighborhood may look safe and quiet. if you intend to buy a house set in a certain neighborhood, try visiting the place at different times of the day to get an overall picture of the place and to get to know the community before making a final decision.

2. Consider the community

We know that we could safely raise our kids in a neighborhood where residents take care and look out for each other.

3. Consider the structural defects

The structure you are seeing might be the house of your dreams. It is still to your advantage, nonetheless, to closely check the house for signs of defects, leakages, plumbing problems, or pest invasions.

4. Consider the space

If you wish to have a family in the future, your new house must have enough space for the additional members of your growing family.

5. Consider the price

Your bank or housing loan agency will assess your income, credit history, employment track record, your available assets, etc., and based on the information will determine the amount that they will be able to lend you. Make sure that you secure a pre-approval of the mortgage so that you will know if you would be able to afford the house of your dreams.

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Your Decision About Mortgage Refinancing

Like so many people you may be deciding if mortgage refinancing is for you at this time. There are several factors to decide on. And you need also to get some objective help in your decision. You will also want to determine the pros and cons before deciding to do it.

And you have to also keep in mind that your credit score is the determining factor in what interest rate you will get. And with these economic times a great credit score years ago may only be an average score now. You will want to get a copy of your credit score to make sure there are no errors on it that you can change before you apply for a loan.

Do you want a variable loan mortgage rate? Some take this because of the low payment for the first six months or year. But this is a teaser rate in some cases because it is sure to go up after then. You do not want to do what many people did and get in trouble when it goes up later.

The variable is attractive because it has a lower initial rate and lower monthly payment. But it will go up make certain of that. And this is where some people have gotten in trouble. They think that they will have more money when it does go up. But you cannot count on a raise every year in this economy.

So be real with yourself. You do not want to have trouble later on making your monthly payment. And if you go from a fixed to a variable or another fixed rate even you are giving up the years you already have paid on your current loan. You start all over with a another loan.

And if you take money out with the refinance you are taking the equity out of the home and spending it. This is plain and simple and should be a sobering thought for you. Some people thought that their home would continue to grow in value but instead their home went down in value. This is where so many people got in trouble.

If you have to sell later on your home might not be worth what it is today and you will either have to have a short sale or have to make up the remaining difference in cash to the lender. But some people think their property will be worth more years from now and they simply have to refinance again. This is why so many people are in trouble today. We cannot always count on property values rising.

You might have a great need for the money you take out in a refinance. But if you want to use it for a new car or vacation that is up to you. But in any case you need to consult with an independent third party like a financial advisor to make sure you make the right decision.

In addition to having less debt by refinancing a mortgage, also look at GIC rates to get higher fixed income returns. Mortgage rates vary from lender to lender so ask around.

Take Control of Your Household Finances

Maintaining a regular assessment of your family finances is essential to the family’s financial welfare. Here are some guidelines to control your household finances.

Credit Card Use

If you have a credit card, use it, but don’t forget to pay the entire sum, not the minimum amount, at the end of the month. Use your credit card wisely.

Rule of Thumb

Household expenses should be lower than 33% of household income. If it is higher, think of cutting down your expenses. Below are useful tips to cut down your household expenses.

1. Cleaning of air-conditioners should be done regularly.

2. When you do the laundry, do it full load.

3. Put thimbles on your taps

Allocate Book Keeping Reponsibilities to Your Kids

If you have kids, share them a simple task in book keeping, like data-entry. Thorugh this, they will learn the basic financial principles. It will also teach them to become responsible and promote good financial practice.

Organize Your Financial Statements

Take note of your finances. Have a notebook or a ledger. If you have an access to a computer, organize the physical bills and statements by putting everything into a spreadsheet. You don’t even have to pay cash for a spreadsheet.

The following tips will help you organize your financial statements.

1. Keep soft copies of bills and statements, if available. This will save time from entering data.

2. Save your files and have back-up of them. You can use CD-R or thumb drive. Then keep them in a secure place.

Plan Your Finances

If you have a littlle source of income, and there is only one person working in your family, think of getting an insurance plan for the breadwinner. This will help you from financial problems when the breadwinner become disabled

Make It a Routine

The more you postpone, the more it piles up. Set aside 30-60 minutes each week to maintain your finances.

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Reinvest Your Home

Many people are unaware that they have the option of switching their loan to other investor; others are simply uninterested. They tend to be loyal with their very first lender but they don’t know that such loyalty will bring higher interest rates. Because of increasing number of housing loans and amortization period, the interest can range from thousands to hundreds of thousands of money. Below are some considerations when reinvesting your home.

Latest Interest Rate

When your current interest rate is higher than available housing loan packages on the market, it is time for you to consider reinvesting. Go back to your current bank or financial institution and ask them to reprice your loan package. Your lender might give you an offer. Make a comparison between this offer and with offers from other lenders to see whether you should switch or stay put.

Lock-in and Clawback Time Periods

When you get a housing loan, there may be a lock-in period wherein your mortgage lender will charge you a penalty fee, maybe a percentage of your outstanding loan amount, if you were to fully repay your loan. Most of housing loans have a clawback period wherein the lender will claim back “giveaways”, such as legal subsidies, that they “gave” you when you take up your housing loan. Lock-in period is different from clawback period. Thus, it is not advisable for you to reinvest due to these extra costs.

Loan Quantum

The higher the amount of your loan, the greater your savings for the same decrease in interest rates will be. Yet fixed cost to reinvesting does not vary much with quantum loan. The difference between your latest and reinvesting interest rates has to be larger for a relatively smaller loan as fixed cost consumes into a more considerable portion of your interest rate savings.

Distinguish Interest Rate Movements

Your analysis on how interest rates are moving can be a factor when considering whether you should reinvest. Try a floating rate package as an alternative to fixed rate package if the interest rates are decreasing. Conversely, if you are on floating rates and believe interest rates are increasing, switching to fixed rates may be a good choice.

Personal Financial Evaluation

Try to get a fixed rate package. Consider increasing your loan quantum. When your monthly income increased and you want to decrease interest payments, try to reduce your loan tenure.

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Should You Consider Variable Or Fixed Rates Mortgage Plans

You may exclaim “Wow!” you say to your family as you hit the brakes on your car. “Did you see the mortgage rate these guys are promoting?” Your concerns are over you are thinking. You simply got to lock in a rate like that for the next decade and you’ve got it made.

Not so fast there. That rate may not be the one for you. Normally, the lowest available rate – and the one that catches your eyes from the street – will be for a variable or adjustable-rate mortgage. That rate has the potential to be like a roller coaster in the future. The adjustable rate is the rate you’re getting today and you won’t be able to predict what kind of ups and downs are in the future.

A lender will give different rates for different kinds of mortgages. The rates are determined dependent on financial risk; both to you and to the lender. When a consumer is willing to accept the risk, then he/she is rewarded with a lower rate. If the lender is taking on the risk (meaning that the rate is constant through the future), then the rate is higher. Normally the longer the term, the higher the risk for the lender.

So how will you decide? You should pick fixed-rate mortgages because they require a low risk tolerance and are usually better suited for first-time buyers. You should also ask yourself these questions when deciding: Do you like to know exactly what your payment is going to be over a longer period of time? Do you want to avert the need to always watch the rates? Do you have less than 25% down? If you answered “yes” to all, or most of these questions, a more conservative fixed-rate mortgage would be the better selection for you.

A variable or adjustable-rate mortgage is better for people who have a flexible budget and can allow higher risk. You may askyourself these questions: Do you consistently watch market conditions? Can you handle any sudden rate increases that could increase your payment? Do you have 25% or more equity in your home? If you answered “yes” to all, or most of these questions, then a variable or adjustable-rate mortgage might right for your needs.

You could discuss with your mortgage broker if your institutions offer a special promotional rate for the first few months of a variable-rate mortgage. Also discuss what your rate will be dependent on – prime minus 0.5% or 0.6% or on Bankers’ Acceptances (BAS) plus 1%. The latter being a new form of adjustable-rate mortgage that has recently been presented to the marketplace. Most variables or adjustable allow you to exercise a choice to “lock in” a fixed rate at any time for the remaining portion of your mortgage term or for a longer term.

If the uncertainty of a floating rate is going to give you stress, then you may wish for a fix rate over the term. Many individuals prefer the certainty of a fixed-rate mortgage. They know exactly how much they will pay over the term of their mortgage, and so they can plan accordingly … with no financial surprises. If the rates do fall and fall then you are committed to the rate that you have made. The suggestion is to have a mortgage broker help you decide which choice best meets your needs or else do some research online to see what most people go with.

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Easy Ways To Get An Adverse Remortgage

It’s probably unsurprising that if you have bad credit, you’re going to have a very hard time finding anyone who will lend money to you – especially with the way this economy looks. However, what about those who have mortgage loans and other credit already extended who find that they are falling behind and letting their credit scores slip lower? At lot of these mortgages have adjustable rates, which tend to be at least partially responsible for the credit problems many people face. This is where an adverse remortgage can help homeowners.

‘Adverse credit remortgage’ is another phrase for ‘adverse remortgage’. The reason for this is because it is designed for people who have credit ratings that are low. They allow a person to pay off the balance owed on an existing mortgage and create a new loan with terms that are more favorable to the homeowner.

If you have a high credit score you wouldn’t want to do this, because the fees and interest rates would be higher than you could get with a regular refinancing plan.

Usually those who are going to try to get an adverse mortgage can be separated into three different levels based on their credit reports. Those who are only a little behind in payments and have no judgments against them or bankruptcies are assigned to a low risk group.

There is the medium risk group, who have had credit problems over a great length of time, have one or more judgments against them of low value, but have no bankruptcies. Everyone else is considered to be in the high risk group.

An adverse remortgage benefits you because any business that will grant you this type of loan looks beyond your credit score, and tries to understand how you’ve fallen into poor credit, and what you’re doing to fix the situation. The primary factor is how well the person is doing at making the current payments on their existing mortgage.

After you’ve been assigned a risk level, your lender will present you with the terms of a loan with a fixed interest rate. This rate will probably be higher than usual, because you present a risk to the lender. Usually, your interest rate will be relatively high, but still more advantageous to you than your current adjustable rate mortgage. They will also open up the possibility of paying off other debts, such as credit cards, to create a lower monthly payment overall.

With banks currently taking fewer risks on their customers, it’s not easy to find an adverse remortgage currently. If you happen to have a good relationship with the bank that holds your current mortgage, it may help your chances at getting an adverse remortgage. In most cases, this bank will be willing to work with all but the very worst credit risks to keep from having to foreclose on the home. The bank understands the current state of the housing market, and know that if they had to sell your property off, they would suffer a significant loss. These banks also understand that by allowing homeowners to take advantage of an adverse remortgage, it’s more likely that they’ll be repaid completely.

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Crafty And Powerful Mortgage Refinance Tips

When the housing bubble burst, so did the banking industry. And banks and lending institutions are still leery about lending any more money. They don’t want to increase their risk levels again; they can’t afford to. So, anyone who wants to try to refinance their home now is going to have to work much harder to get approved. Stay on top of things with these mortgage refinance tips.

If refinancing is on your list of things to do, make certain you know the market value of your home. When the finance and housing market bubbles burst, home values dropped dramatically. For anyone who purchased their home within the past five years or so, this has had dire consequences. Homeowners are shocked to find there is no equity to borrow against. However, you can put equity back into your home by increasing its value.

Redoing a brand new kitchen is not going to help the problem. Adding new sod, painting the house, and adding crown molding, however, could bring your house back to where it should be in market value while you still realize a profitable return on investment for the cost of improvements.

If you are one of the many who is waiting for a 5 year ARM to come due, don’t do anything hasty. You may not need to do a thing.

Now, five years later, those same rates – and lower – are the norm. You have an excellent chance of having your mortgage reset to a rate that is very comparable to what you are already paying, if not lower. Before spending money on a refinance – which will include closing costs, tax stamps, an appraisal, and a broker’s fee to say the least, let the loan reset. You might be pleasantly surprised – you’ll save a bundle.

Of course, all loans depend greatly on your credit report and FICO score. If anything has happened to adversely affect your credit score, you could be compounding the problem. If your original APR was much higher than those of today, your ultimate loan offer from a lender may very well result in a higher APR after your new credit score is take into account.

Try to figure out which lender you’d like to work with. Each inquiry on your report actually counts again you. It doesn’t matter if the loan is approved or not. To compound the problem, if the loan isn’t approved, and you do need to apply with another lender, future lenders will see this inquiry and assume you were turned down and treat you poorly even before seeing your paperwork.

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Choosing Between Fixed And Variable Interest Rates – Darn What A Choice!

Once you resolve to take up a home loan, the immediate thing that tempests your mind is selecting between fixed and floating rate of interest. It is easy to get stuck at this point if you are not financially trained.

Usually, when the media splashes reports on banks increasing mortgage interest rates in and their impact on Monthly Installments, you may take for granted that it is better to opt for fixed home loan rates. In fact, your banker may also counsel you to go for the same.

Now ideally as it should be, we take for granted that once you select fixed rate plan for yourself the rate of interest will remain unaltered for the entire period you have fixed the interest rate for irrespective of any incidental increase in the same. But actually this is not always the situation.

Here we demystify the nature of fixed interest rate housing loan transaction for you so that you can make an informed decision over the matter.

* Check the small print of a loan. The bank has the right to serve you 30 or 60-days notice that it intends to increase its rates.

* The bank’s first-year rates are binding on the bank only for that short period of 1 or 2 months. The 2nd-year home loan rates are not binding at all. Neither are the bank’s 3rd-year loan rates.

* Force Majeure Clause

So, while you read your mortgage contract, you can spot clauses like this:

“Provided further that from time to time, the bank may in its sole discretion alter the rate of interest suitably and prospectively on account of change in the internal policies or if unforeseen or extraordinary changes in the money market conditions take place during the period of the agreement.”

This is called Force Majeure Clause that enables the bank to undertake appropriate alterations in the interest rates on home loans they sanction to their borrowers.

So remember to look at refinancing every couple of years so that you do not pay too much. If you select a good mortgage broker company you can save a lot of money over the life of your housing loan and in most cases the consulting cost is free.

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Hints for Emigrants Applying a Housing Loan

There are two types of housing loan packages in Singapore: fixed rates or floating (variable) rates.

Fixed rates are sometimes extended for up to 3 years. Still, other lenders can offer up to 5 years or 10 years. In many Western countries, fixed rates can be made throughout the loan tenure.

Floating rates can be categorized into published rates or board rates. Like Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR) or Singapore Swap Offer Rate (SOR), published rates are normally rates that are issued daily. Meanwhile, board rates are set by the respective bank or financial institution. Most lenders attach their board rates to certain financial benchmarks such as the SIBOR but the exact constituents are often obscure and variations in board rates tend to be versatile.

In general, there are no limitations on emigrants having housing loans in Singapore but do pay attention of the following.

Loan to Value

In Singapore, the maximum loan to value (LTV) is 90% of the purchase price or valuation, whichever is smaller. Some loaners do not give maximum LTV to emigrants, thus, housing loan packages for 90% financing are restricted. Loan approval for 90% funding is also tighter than for LTV 80% and below.

Proof of Income

To obtain approval for a housing loan your current income tax assessment or a letter of appointment from your local employer is needed. Some local loaners do not respect tax assessments from other countries.

Landed Property

The approval from Singapore Land Authority is required before emigrants can purchase restricted properties such as vacant estate or landed properties such as bungalows, semi-detached, and terrace houses.

In-principle Approval

Try to apply for an in-principle approval before proceeding with a purchase, since loan applications are more complex for emigrants. Consider to hire a respectable and professional housing loan consultant. This may help you spare time and money with your loan approval.

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