Hi there.

First of all, welcome to your first major decision as an adult. Here are my experiences:

If you're planning to apply for a loan from a bank that's not part of the panel, depending on your salary it may be difficult to get that 90% margin of financing. If you're married, this is not a big deal, because you can apply jointly - but if like me you're only planning to get married, you may want to try applying with a family member like your dad. This is because there's no guarantee your gf will be your wife, and it may turn out badly for you (loan wise).

This is because for single buyers, the banks can only give you up to 80% or even lesser, depending on the loan amount and your salary. The rule of thumb is your salary MUST be at least THREE times the monthly loan payment minus any other commitments.

I've personally had experiences with ALL of the banks, and I would recommend HSBC, Hong Leong and RHB. All three worked very quickly (assuming you're applying for a joint loan) and came up with satisfactory results. Maybank and BCB were horrible, as were Bank Rakyat. Public Bank was a close contender but their service was a bit slow. I'd also advise you to be wary of your legal options/fees and make sure what part of those fees are covered by the bank. Sometimes it's more favourable to use a panel bank because then the panel of lawyers is also attached.

The withdrawal facility and ability to make additional payments are IMPORTANT factors, IMHO. These allow you to control your finances better because every single ringgit you deposit will go towards reducing your principal.

I hope this helps. Feel free to PM me any questions.

Cheers!

This post has been edited by Lord_Ashe: Apr 18 2006, 11:48 PM