There are two types of housing loan packages in Singapore: fixed rates or floating (variable) rates.

Fixed rates are sometimes offered for up to 3 years. Still, other lenders can extend up to 5 years or 10 years. This is opposite from many Western countries where rates can be fixed throughout the loan tenure.

Floating rates can be categorized into published rates or board rates. Like Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR) or Singapore Swap Offer Rate (SOR), published rates are normally rates that are published daily. Meanwhile, board rates are set by the respective bank or financial institution. Many of the lenders based their board rates to a particular financial bench marks, yet the precise elements are sometimes not clear and variations in board rates turn indefinite.

In general, there are no restrictions on emigrants acquiring housing loans in Singapore but do pay attention of the following.

Loan to Value

In Singapore, the maximum loan to value (LTV) is 90% of the purchase price or valuation, whichever is smaller. Housing loan packages for 90% financing are limited as some loaners do not extend maximum LTV to emigrants. Loan approval for 90% funding is also tighter than for LTV 80% and below.

Proof of Income

A letter of appointment from your local employer or your latest income tax assessment is required for housing loan. Some local loaners do not respect tax assessments from other countries.

Landed Property

The approval from Singapore Land Authority is essential before emigrants can purchase restricted properties such as vacant estate or landed properties such as bungalows, semi-detached, and terrace houses.

In-principle Approval

You may also look at an in-principle approval before purchasing. Consider of hiring a honored and professional housing loan consultant. This may help you spare time and money with your loan approval.

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

Once you resolve to avail a mortgage, the immediate thing that tempests your head is selecting between fixed and floating rate of interest. It is easy to get stuck at this stage if you are not financially educated.

Normally, when news media splashes reports on banks raising mortgage interest rates in and their affect on Monthly Installments, you may take for granted that it is better to opt for fixed home 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 choose fixed rate plan for yourself the rate of interest will remain unchanged for the entire period you have fixed the interest rate for irrespective of any incidental increase in the same. But in reality this is not always the situation.

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

* Check the small print of a loan. The bank has the right to serve you 30 or 60-days notice that it intends to increase its 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 mortgage agreement papers, you can spot statement 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 mortgage broker company you can save a lot of money over the life of your mortgage and in most cases the consultation cost is free.

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

If you are ready to purchase a new home there may never be a better time than now. Home prices are at record lows, but a home will still likely be the largest investment you will ever make. No matter how great a deal it seems, you should still proceed with caution and don’t rush in to something you are not ready for. A home purchase could affect you for 30 years or more depending on the type of mortgage you choose.

Before you start your search for a new home, you should ask yourself (and be honest) how much you can afford to put toward the purchase of your new home.

There are many factors that go into determining what you can afford to pay for you new home. The main factors are income, debt, down payment, and the term of the loan set by the lender.

Once you determine what you can realistically afford, you’ll need to obtain a copy of your credit report and begin the process of finding a lender for a home mortgage. Don’t just start filling out applications everywhere you go, rather shop for a while. Armed with a copy of your credit report, begin talking to lenders about mortgage terms, interest rates, etc. until you find a lender that you find a good deal with.

Don’t try to go at this on your own. There are professionals in the real estate field like real estate agents and lenders who have acquired years of experience and knowledge about real estate transactions. There is no way possible for you to acquire within one home purchase the knowledge needed to make a transaction run smoothly and without mistakes.

This doesn’t mean that you need to let them tell you everything. You still need to continue to educate yourself as much as possible so that you fully understand what is going on.

Remember that these professionals earn their money when you close the deal. It is their job to help you get through the details and into the home you want to purchase.

Hubert Miles is the founder of Waterfront Houses USA, an internet marketing service that provides Oceanfront House For Sale and Ocean House For Sale available in the US and Canada.

Before we know it Christmas will be upon us as it is now close to the end of November.

Xmas is a time of year that most people look forward to. It is the best time of year to enjoy the company of family and friends.

What makes Christmas holidays so special is that those you want to spend time with friends as well as family are all on holiday at the very same time , unlike other holiday periods such as the Summer holidays when you may be on holiday but your friends are not having been allocated different weeks off work from you.

Xmas is different as of course each year Christmas is on the 25th of December and the majority of people stop work on the 24th of the month and are on holiday for almost two weeks. There are some people who have to work for a couple of days during this period.

Even those, who in the course of the year, spent little time together due to pressure of work meet up at this holy time.In the normal course of the year they keep in touch by telephone.

This is a very expensive time of year due to such facts as many individuals wanting to present their home to its best advantage when their friends and family visit and they paper and paint their homes and often buy new furniture such as sofas, etc.

In the past children were not used to much and as such were happy to receive presents such as oranges, selection boxes and so on.

Now they want mountain bikes, computers, etc. and all this costs a lot of money.

This year more than almost any other in the past people need to enjoy themselves this year as it has been tough on many during the credit crunch. Many should unwind, buy the presents that will put a smile on the recipients face, and refurnish some of their property, etc.

Homeowners can do all this easily by taking out a secured loan or a remortgage to raise the funds to have the Christmas of a lifetime.

Secured loans and remortgages are only available to homeowners as they are both secured on property, and they are both very cheap ways of releasing equity on property that can be used for almost any purpose including making the Xmas period super special.

As remortgages and secured loans do not happen over night a homeowner will have to start the ball rolling immediately if the secured loan or remortgage is to fund the best ever winter holiday season.

Secured loans can be arranged in a little over two weeks and remortgages in about four weeks minimum, and as such there is not much time left.

After this you will have an Xmas to remember.

Want to find out more about secured loans, visit Champion Finance’s site to choose the best secured loan.

You may yell “Wow!” you say to your family as you hit the brakes on the car. “Did you see the mortgage rate those guys are promoting?” Your concerns are over you may be thinking. You basically got to lock in a rate like that for the next ten years and you are set.

Not so fast. That rate may not be the right one for you. Normally, the lowest available rate – and the one that makes the rate sign look great from the street – will be for a variable or adjustable-rate mortgage. This rate has the prospect to be like a roller coaster in the future. The posted variable is the rate you’re getting today and you won’t be able to predict what kind of ups and downs are ahead of you.

A lender will offer different rates for different kinds of mortgages. The rates are established dependent on financial risk; both to you and to the lender. When a client is willing to accept the risk, then he or she is rewarded with a lower rate. If the lender is taking on the risk (meaning that the rate is constant through the future), then the rate is higher. The longer the term, the higher the risk for the lender.

So how do you decide? You should choose fixed-rate mortgages because they require a low risk margin and are usually better choice for first-time buyers. Alternatively, ask yourself these questions when deciding: Do you need to know exactly what your payment is going to be over a long period of time? Do you want to avert the need to always watch the rates? Do you have less than 25% down? Should you answered “yes” to all, or most of these questions, a more conservative fixed-rate mortgage could be the better choice to you.

A variable or adjustable-rate mortgage is best suited to people who have a flexible budget and can support higher risk. You should also askyourself these questions: Do you constantly watch market conditions? Can you handle any sudden rate increases that could increase your payment? Do you have 25% or more equity in your home? If you answered “yes” to all, or most of these questions, then a variable or adjustable-rate mortgage might best suit your needs.

You could discuss with your mortgage broker if your institutions offer a particular promotional rate for the first few periods of a variable-rate mortgage. Also ask what your rate will be dependent on – prime minus 0.5% or 0.6% or on Bankers’ Acceptances (BAS) plus 1%. The latter is a new kind of adjustable-rate mortgage that has recently been presented to the marketplace. Most variables or adjustable allow you to exercise an option to “lock in” a fixed rate at any time for the remaining portion of your mortgage term or for a longer term.

If the uncertainty of a floating rate is going to give you stress, then you may wish for a fix rate over the term. Many people like having the the certainty of a fixed-rate mortgage. They know precisely how much they will pay over the term of their mortgage, and so they can plan accordingly and there are no financial surprises. If the rates do drop… and drop… and drop… you are committed to the rate that you have made. The advice is to have a mortgage broker help you decide which option best meets your needs or else do some research online to see what most people go with.

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