In Malaysia, the house owners only have to come up with a minimum of 10% or even less of the purchase price and the balance can be financed by the banks.

First of all, you may want to shop around to look at the different housing loan packages offered by banks. Different banks offer different mortgage packages. The borrowers have to choose the most suitable packages for themselves, according to their financial needs. Bankers would decide on the loan approvals based on 5 C’s, which stands for Characteristic, Capacity, Capital, Condition and Collateral.

Characteristic refers to the repayment record of the borrower. This is given the heaviest weightage by the banks in deciding the loan approvals. The borrower’s payment track record can easily be obtained from the Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS). Bank Negara Malaysia has a Kiosk Counter to allow the public to check their CCRIS. This is a free service provided by the Malaysian Central bank.

Capacity refers to the Debt Income Ration (DIR) of a borrower. The total debts and new housing loan installment divided by the total borrower’s income must not be more than 40% in ratio. Capital refers to the networth of the borrower. Condition refers to the economy and borrower’s condition. Collateral refers to the property that the borrower going to finance. The fair market value, marketability factor, and the condition of the property are always taken into consideration while considering the loan approval.

After your housing loan has been approved, the next step is to check the conditions of the letter of offer issued by the bank, which includes the interest rate, the holding period starting from first drawdown or last drawdown, installment amount, and other details.

Choosing a responsible lawyer is another vital issue. An irresponsible lawyer might drag the processing of the Sale & Purchase Agreement and Loan Agreement. The Purchaser might end up having to pay the penalty to the Vendor if the housing loan has not paid before the expired date. Hence, choosing a good, reputable and responsible lawyer will expedite the whole process.

As a purchaser and borrower, is important to follow up closely with the bankers and lawyers in order to get things done on time.

CapitaLand is one of the largest real estate companies in Asia and their overriding opinion of property in Malaysia as an investment commodity is positive. In the words of one of the company’s leading executives, Malaysia’s real estate industry has “tremendous growth potential.”

There is only one potential issue overshadowing the sector and that is one of short term oversupply in the face of slightly restricted demand. But there are even ways for an investor to overcome this in 2007 immediately by targeting their focus specifically on decent residential stock. There are four firms widely cited as worthy of great consideration and they are Sunrise Berhad, YNH Property Berhad, IGB Corp Berhad and Plenitude Berhad.

Driving industry confidence in the property market in Malaysia going in to 2007 was the announcement back in April 2006 of the Malaysian government’s blueprint for economic growth and diversification for 2006 – 2010; the government’s ninth Malaysia Plan as it is called, has impressive provisions for infrastructure improvement and general economic development that analysts believe will positively and directly affect the real estate market across the nation.

Another particularly positive factor in the favour of real estate in Malaysia is the value of the local currency the ringgit…it is so far below the euro, dollar and British pound that foreign investors buying in Malaysia can get so much more for their money! Add to this the fact that property per square foot or meter in all major Malaysian towns and cities is a fraction of the cost of similar property in the likes of London and New York and yet demand for real estate is high from an affluent expatriate market as well as an increasing Japanese, Indian and Singaporean market and you have so many fundamentals in favour of Malaysia for 2007 market entry.

And finally, an added bonus in Malaysia is the fact that investors seeking a shelter from direct market exposure have real estate investment trusts, and the likes of CapitaLand’s equity funds to choose from which generally invest in a diversified portfolio of commercial, residential and mixed use developments to spread an investor’s risk.