Full loan for first-time house buyers

FIRST-TIME house buyers with a family income of less than RM3,000 per month need not pay the 10% down payment under the My First House Scheme (Skim Rumah Pertamaku).

The 10% down payment will be guaranteed by Cagamas Bhd for houses priced below RM220,000.

This will allow the first-time buyers to obtain 100% loan.

They will also be given stamp duty exemption of 50% on instruments of transfer on a house not exceeding RM350,000.

The Government also proposed a stamp duty exemption of 50% for loan agreement instruments to finance first-time purchasers.

There will also be a housing assistance programme with an allocation of RM300mil for the construction and repair of some 12,000 houses nationwide – particularly in Sabah and Sarawak.

For estate workers, the Government will help them own houses under a RM50mil housing sponsorship scheme.

The scheme is open to all Malaysian estate workers to assist them in obtaining housing loans with a maximum of RM60,000 for the purchase of low-cost houses at 4% interest, and a repayment period of up to 40 years, which can be extended to the second generation.

For government servants, the goodies include an increase in the maximum loan eligibility from RM360,000 to RM450,000 effective Jan 1.

Fomca secretary-general Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah said these moves would help first-time purchasers get housing loans, but failed to tackle the core issue of house prices which had skyrocketed.

“A first-time buyer may get the loan to buy a house, but it may not be the type of house he wants because prices are just too high,” he said.

He added that the Government should set specifications and standards for houses under the RM220,000 price range.

“A house can be priced at RM220,000, but the specifications and the quality of the house may not be much better than a low-cost house,” he said.

Malaysian Small Holders Plantation Co-operative secretary Datuk Aliasak Ambia said the move to help estate workers to own houses was a good move.

“The co-operative provides houses for estate workers to live in while they are still working, but once they leave their jobs, they will not have any homes of their own,” he said.