Category Archives: Loan / Mortgage / Finance

Latest Housing Loan Package from HSBC

HSBC HOME LOAN PROMOTIONAL RATE Oct 2009

HSBC’s Key advantage :
No Lock in package at very attractive rate (based on transparent index – sibor)

What  is  Sibor?  Sibor  is Singapore Inter Bank Offer Rate, rates at which banks lend in wholesale money market.

HSBC  applies  3  month Sibor rate, as published on Business Times on the  1st  business  day of loan start month for a period of 3 months, following  which  the  rate  will  be re-set to the most current rate again.

Completed properties
For HDB Loan : Minimum $100k
For Private Residential Property : Minimum Loan : $200k

Package 1:
HSBC Loyalty Package :
Year 1: 3mths sibor + 1.20% = 1.88% *
Year 2: 3mths sibor + 1.10% = 1.78% *
Year 3: 3mths sibor + 1.00% = 1.68% *
Based on currrent sibor of 0.68% *
Please note that the actual rate will be based on the sibor rate re-set every 3 mths.

Package 2:
Standard spread
Standard All year : 3mths sibor + 1.10% = 1.78%*
Based on currrent sibor of 0.68% *
Please note that the actual rate will be based on the sibor rate re-set every 3 mths.

Applies to both package :

  • Repayment terms: No lock in penalty
  • For partial repayments : For 1st year of loan, required to leave balance of $100,000 after repayment (subject to 1 mth’s notice)
  • For full repayments: No penalty for full repayment of loan (subject to 3 mth’s notice)

Special benefits for HDB and completed private property:

  1. Legal subsidy 0.5% of loan amount, capped at $2500 (subject to refund is loan is fullyredeemed during 1st 3 years of loan)
  2. Free 1 year fire insurance
  3. Free valuation (only for private property)
  4. Cancellation fee if loan is not utilized after acceptance : 1.5% ofcancelled loan amount

Uncompleted Properties (Building Under Construction – BUC)
For Private Residential Property : Minimum Loan : $200k
Standard All year : 3mths sibor + 1.10% = 1.78%*
Based on currrent sibor of 0.68% *
Please note that the actual rate will be based on the sibor rate re-setevery 3 mths.

Special benefits for uncompleted property (BUC):

  1. Legal subsidy 0.5% of loan amount, capped at $2500 (subject to refund is loan is fully redeemed during 1st 3 years of loan)
  2. Free 5 years fire insurance, start from TOP
  3. Free valuation (for private property only)
  4. Cancellation fee if loan is not utilized after acceptance : 0.75% for selected projects only (check with HSBC)
  5. Other projects : 1.5%

Repayment terms:

  • For partial repayments : For 1st year of loan, required to leave balance of $100,000 after repayment (subject to 1 mth’s notice)
  • For full repayments : No penalty for full repayment of loan (subject to 3 mth’s notice)

Source : HSBC – 2 Oct 2009

Making sense of home loans

We survey what’s on offer by major banks and discuss key features of the packages. By FELDA CHAY and SIOW LI SEN

WITH the recent home buying spree, one pertinent issue is how to pick the best home loan from among the dozens on the market. What with all the different plans and reams of fine print to go through, the search for the right home loan can often be a headache. Here, online websites can be a boon by making comparison of features easier. Check out smartloans.sg which has details of home loan packages from eight banks – HSBC, Standard Chartered, Rashid Hussein Bank (RHB), Maybank, UOB, OCBC, POSB and DBS.

The fixed rate package from Stanchart and floating rate package from HSBC are currently the most popular among users of the website. And it is constantly trying to add new banks to the list, with talks now ongoing with Citibank Singapore. Smartloans.sg’s chief executive Vinod Nair says he expects the bank’s packages to be listed on the website soon.

While the large variety of loan schemes available may leave many house buyers confused, Mr Nair says that there are a few things to keep in mind. ‘It depends on why you are buying the property. If you are buying it for investment purposes, you should take the floating packages because there are usually no lock-ins for floating rate packages. Also, they are usually pegged to rates like Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (Sibor), which should remain fairly low in the next one to two years,’ he says. Continue reading