Get Your Figures Straight If You Want A Roof Over Your Head

Did you know, for an individual with an average income of RM5,000, his or her chances to buy a RM500,000 home in Malaysia is nearly zero?

In fact, if this person submits a house loan application to the bank - and get rejected - he or she will not be eligible to apply for another loan for a while and might be locked out of the market for up to six months.

According to iProperty.com.my general manager David Mawer, many buyers are lacking crucial information on how they go about getting a home loan.

“The concept of Debt Servicing Ratio (DSR) is new for many people. Often, they don’t understand that the banks used DSR in variable ways. It’s not a one size fits all.

The DSR shows how much of a person’s income is used to service debt instalments and is represented as a percentage. It is derived from two main components; Commitment and Income.

“The downside of not understanding it, when people enter the market without the education, they get rejected by banks and they are prohibited effectively from trying to get a home loan for three to six months.

“If this happens, it is not good for them and not good for the person who is selling the property,” says David.

Stepping in to address these challenges, iProperty.com.my launched LoanCare - a home loan eligibility indicator as the group moves to ramp up its fintech offering. The platform aims to help Malaysian homebuyers to improve their chances of securing a home loan.

“We think there is a benefit to educating consumers in their financial areas and knowledge. It is a simple tool that compares and calculates home loan eligibility instantly with up to ten banks.

“This can increase their chances of getting a home loan. The fact that banks have variable DSR, when they have this information - the buyers can know what types of properties they should be looking at,” says David.

He says, among the benefits of LoanCare platform is that it is not intrusive. “This platform does not need your identification number - only financial information,”

“We want the Malaysian market to feel empowered whether or not they should buy a property,” says David.

In building this platform, iProperty.com.my has partnered with a fintech company; Finology Sdn Bhd where they provide the information on DSR from the various banks in Malaysia

Currently, iProperty.com.my has over two million users monthly and the company wants to continue to innovate and ensure good customer experience through accurate listings while having good working relationships with real estate agents and developers.

Watch the full interview iProperty.com.my general manager David Mawerwhere he also speaks about trends in the housing market: