Tag Archives: Bank Loan

Refinancing Your Home

Even though refinancing a housing loan can save you thousands of dollars you will be astounded that not that many individuals actually take the time to do it. If you considered the time it takes and figure out the cost saving benefits and equate that to how much you get paid per hour it could be like not going to work for several weeks. Consider the following aspects so that you can see how easy it is to refinance your mortgage today.

Current Mortgage Interest Rate

It is definitely a positive indication for you to explore refinancing when your current interest rate is higher than available loan packages on the market. A first step to take is to go back to your current bank or financial institution and ask them to revise your package, otherwise known as repricing. If your lender comes back with an offer, it will normally be better than your existing one. You can then compare this offer with offers from other lenders to see whether you should switch or stay put. Continue reading

Latest Housing Loan Packages from Standard Chartered Bank

HOUSING LOAN PACKAGES (80%) (1 – 31 October 09)

Fixed Rate
( 1-Year Lock in )
Floating Rate
( 1-Year Lock in )
Floating Rate
( No Lock in )
Year 1 1.70% (Fixed) 3M SIBOR + 1.20% 3M SIBOR + 1.30%
Year 2 3M SIBOR + 1.30% 3M SIBOR + 1.30% 3M SIBOR + 1.30%
Thereafter 3M SIBOR + 1.30% 3M SIBOR + 1.30% 3M SIBOR + 1.30%

SIBOR stands for Singapore Interbank Offered Rate and is the benchmark for interest rates in Singapore. If your loan is pegged to SIBOR, you can rest assured that your mortgage pricing will always reflect market conditions. Choose a 3-month tenure if you want to closely follow the market, or choose a 12-month tenure if you want more stability in your monthly instalments.

As at 1st September 2009, 3-month SIBOR was at 0.68% and 12-month SIBOR was at 0.906%.

HOUSING LOAN PACKAGES (85%) (1 – 31 October 09)

Fixed Rate
( 1-Year Lock in )
Floating Rate
( 1-Year Lock in )
Floating Rate
( No Lock in )
Year 1 2.30% (Fixed) 3M SIBOR + 1.80% 3M SIBOR + 1.90%
Year 2 3M SIBOR + 1.90% 3M SIBOR + 1.90% 3M SIBOR + 1.90%
Thereafter 3M SIBOR + 1.90% 3M SIBOR + 1.90% 3M SIBOR + 1.90%

Benefits

  1. Legal subsidy of 0.50% of the loan amount capped at $2,000
  2. Free fire insurance throughout the loan tenure for HDB properties
  3. Free fire insurance for the first year for Private properties
  4. One time Free conversion (for no lock-in package)

Source : Standard Chartered Bank – 8 Oct 2009