Indeed, buying or building a home is like finding your lifetime partner. It is one of the most important decisions you will make. A lot of considerations and risks will be involved. For a home to last as well as any relationship, it requires a strong foundation.
With careful planning and patience, you will soon discover the one that suits you. And when you find it, you would want to keep and cherish it for the rest of your life. But how can you make the right choice?
The support of good friends and family is essential in making any relationship work. This is also true in buying or building a home. You will need all the help you can get. For most people, home financing is the way to go. There are several banks that will provide you the needed support.
However, like finding the right partner, not all housing loans are created equal. You need to find the one that fits your needs perfectly. You will want to have a partner that gives you security.
The following pointers can help you avoid getting a bad deal on a housing loan:
• Discuss your plans with your family members. Since you are undertaking a huge project, their support is crucial in helping you achieve your goal.
• Expose yourself to a lot of advertising. The information you receive will eventually help you to ask the right questions and give you a better idea of what you are getting into.
• Note down five or more banks offering housing loans. Make a chart to enable you to compare the features, strengths and weaknesses of each.
• Call each bank on your list to find out more about the offered housing loan. It is also important that you get a feel of the bank’s personnel whom you will transact with later on.
• Make sure you get sample computations so you’ll gave a clear idea of how much you are committing yourself to pay monthly for your home.
• Once you fully understand how each housing loan works, discuss them with some friends and relatives before deciding with which bank to apply for the housing loan. Other people will always have different perspectives on the same thing. They might bring up a point you overlooked.
The good news is this is the best time to buy or build a house since lending rates have been relatively low and stable. With most banks offering various mortgage loan packages, you can choose different payment options that would suit your budget. An interesting innovation that you should take note of is rate protection. It would be best to consider a housing loan that gives you a guaranteed maximum interest that will shield you from possible sudden interest rate increases. Metrobank’s MetroHome Rate Protect Plus provides such assistance.
In addition to offering one of the lowest interest rates in the market today, this housing loan secures you from paying for more than you need to in the future. You are prepared to handle change since your interest rate is protected from circumstances beyond your control. Like a faithful partner, Metrobank gives you that peace of mind as you fulfill your dream of having your own home.
MetroHome Rate Protect Plus guarantees an interest rate for two terms of five years each. On your first year, you can choose from either the prevailing rate, a minimum or floor rate, or the welcome rate, whichever is available. For the duration of the rate protection period, the loan enjoys an annual review of interest, and is given rates that are guaranteed not to go beyond the predetermined minimum and maximum rates of 10 to 15 percent for the first term (first to fifth year) and 11 to 16 percent for the second term (sixth to 10th year).
This is a better deal for you, compared to home loans with a fixed interest rate for 10 years straight, a rate which may be higher than the prevailing rate in the future. Such a scheme does not allow the borrower to enjoy lower interest rates at re-pricing. With the MetroHome Rate Protect Plus, you will also be shielded from future interest rate surges by your guaranteed maximum interest rate. The good news is, this can be translated to savings on your part. MetroHome Rate Protect Plus is applicable for purchasing a lot, a house and lot, townhouse or condominium; constructing or renovating a house; or for reimbursing expenses incurred for purchasing or renovating an existing house when no outside financin was involved. It may also be used to refinance an existing home loan.
Payment terms range from five to 20 years. To qualify, a borrower must have a gross monthly family income (GMFI) of at least P30,000.