Experience in Buying a HOuse

This entry does not tell you about how to buy a house or what to look for when buying a house. Because I'm not an expert in that. I just choose a house which is affordable, big enough for me and my small family, not too big to take care of and the area which I like. What I wanted to write here is my experience in getting all the documents and loan ready.

While I was deciding which bank to apply for the house loan, a friend who worked at a local bank came to my mind. Well, i thought i should do it with someone I know. He/she could be of help when i need to in the near future or at least, i'm helping her/him to fulfill a part of the sales target though my loan amount is not big. But then, I find that my friend is not very experienced in this field and does not provide the proper advice that a banker should give. Furthermore, he kind of push me into signing up the so-called free credit cards which I don't really need. Now, i have to make sure i use the card to some extent in order to waive off the government tax.

First thing... i asked this friend (i'll refer this friend as my bank agent later on) for advice whether it is better to engage the same lawyer for my loan agreement as the Sales & Purchase agreement lawyer. Which i think would ease the documentation work and also, save my time as I don't have to go to two places to sign agreements. Well, my bank agent told me it's the same whether I engage the same lawyer or use two different lawyers as the system now is very efficient. So, I followed the advice. BUt in the end..it's very troublesome for me as I need to make 2 appointments for signing the agreements, wait for a long time for the signed agreements to be ready as both the lawyers need documents from each other to proceed with their tasks.

Secondly.. my bank agent didn't even tell me that I can use the bank "letter of offer" to apply for EPF withdrawal! I was waiting and waiting for the loan agreement to be ready while in the meantime, i was actually almost late for my downpayment! I thought I'm supposed to withdraw the EPF money first, then only I pay the remaining downpayment. I received a letter from the property agent one day that I need to pay up a certain amount before due date otherwise, they will impose 10% interest on me! Wow... But my property agent was also at fault. He confused me by telling me that I need to bring the loan agreement to KWSP for the application.

Anyway, I settled the EPF withdrawal application and paid up the amount required the next day. For those who are thinking of purchasing a house and need to apply for EPF withdrawal, these are the documents required :-

• S&P agreement (original and duplicate)
• IC (original and duplicate)
• Bank letter of offer (original and duplicate)
• Bank book (original and duplicate)
• EPF withdrawal application form