Congratulations! You are now financially capable of acquiring your own home. So, you fell in love at first sight at a dwelling set in a certain neighborhood that you know will be close to perfect in raising a family in your near future.

But hold on in there for a moment. Before you apply for that housing loan or pay off the down payment with your hard-earned income, you need to consider a few matters. Acquiring a house is maybe 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.

In intending to buy a first house, most people are governed by their feelings. These people have a tendency to have a blind spot for important matters regarding the house they think is already the house of their dreams. Then, when the dust settles after move, they discover themselves disillusioned and frustrated with their first house.

Thus, here are some matters to consider in choosing and purchasing a house to call your own.

1. Consider the neighborhood

A neighborhood may appear safe and welcoming when you first saw the place. If planning to buy a private property, try visiting the neighborhood at different times of the day to see the overall comings and goings in the area.

2. Consider the community

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

3. Consider the structural defects

The dwelling you are seeing could be the house of your dreams. Nonetheless, it is still prudent to inspect the house for indicators of defects, plumbing issues, or the presence of pest infestations.

4. Consider the space

If see yourself building a family in the future, you have to choose a dwelling that has enough rooms for all family members.

5. Consider the price

Before you will be approved for a housing loan, a banking or lending institution will appraise and assess your credit track record, your income, your employment background, and your assets. Ensure that you secure a pre-approval of the mortgage so that you are aware if you could afford the house of your dreams.

Learn more about a premier housing loan advisory firm, providing housing loans with free mortgage broking.

Foreigners staying in Singapore for extended periods of time may discover that living in a hotel for the length of their stay can be very costly. The alternative answer to this problem is for the expats to purchase residential properties in the country.

Singapore authorities do not discourage expatriates from buying residential properties in the country.

The Residential Property Act of Singapore essentially supports Singapore nationals in their purchase of their own residential properties by offering reasonable prices. Furthermore, the act enables expatriates who are acknowledged by the government to be capable of of contributing to the financial prosperity of the city-state to acquire residential properties in Singapore.

Expatriates may buy non-restricted residential properties even without prior approval from the Singapore government. Below are specific examples of non-restricted residential properties:

- apartment units within a structure that is not higher than six floors – condo units in approved condo development sites under the Planning Act – a lease contract on a restricted property; the term must not go beyond seven years

Expatriates who want to own all units in an apartment or condominium in an accredited development site must have prior approval from Singapore’s Minister for Law.

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

Under the Residential Property Act of Singapore, the following are classified as restricted residential properties:

- a vacant residential land – town houses, detached or semi-linked houses, or terraced houses standing on residential lots – lands not approved for condominium development under the Planning Act

The foreigner who intends to acquire a restricted residential property must fill out a form and then send this, together with the requisite supporting documents, to the Singapore Land Authority. This government agency is responsible for receiving the requests of the expatriate regarding the proposed ownership of a restricted residential property. The agency will appraise and approve or disapprove the application, depending on the virtues of the expatriate’s qualifications.

Find out more about a premier housing loan advisory firm, providing housing loans with free mortgage broking.

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Once you decide to take up a mortgage, the immediate matter that tempests your head is choosing between fixed and floating rate of interest. It is easy to get stuck at this point if you are not financially educated.

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

Now ideally as it should be, we assume that once you select fixed rate plan for yourself the rate of interest will continue unchanged for the entire period you have fixed the interest rate for irrespective of any subsequent increase in the same. But in reality this is not necessarily the situation.

Here we demystify the nature of fixed interest rate home loan transaction for you so that you can make an informed conclusion over the subject.

* Read the small print of your home loan document. You will find that the bank has the right to serve you thirty or sixty-days notice period that it intends to increase its interest 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 home loan 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 lender to undertake appropriate modifications 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 home loan company you can save a lot of money over the life of your housing loan and in most cases the consulting cost is free.

Find out more about a premier Housing Loan advisory firm, providing Housing Loans with free mortgage broking.

Most of the people don’t know that take can change their loan to other investor; others are simply dismissive. They simply become firm with their first lender but they don’t know that it could nring 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. The following factors may help you consider reinvesting your home.

Current 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. Ask your bank or financial institution 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. However, fixed cost to reinvesting, which comprises mainly of legal fees, does not vary much with loan quantum. The difference between your current and reinvesting interest rates has to be larger for a relatively smaller loan as fixed cost consumes into a more significant portion of your interest rate savings.

Distinguish Interest Rate Movements

Analyze how interest rates flow. Try a floating rate package as an alternative to fixed rate package if the interest rates are decreasing. However, if you are on floating rates, try to switch in fixed rates if the interest rates are increasing.

Personal Financial Evaluation

Think of reinvesting when your financial states change. Give some thought to take fixed rate package. Think of increasing your loan quantum. When your monthly income increased and you want to decrease interest payments, try to reduce your loan tenure.

Learn more about a premier Housing Loan advisory firm, providing Housing Loans with free mortgage broking.