I am wondering, how come people would prefer HSBC or Mortgage One flexi homeloan to citibank flexi homeloan? Are their rates much much better?

HSBC and Mortgage One needs to pay monthly of RM10.00 but of coz with current account advantages included. Citibank however, offers the same thing but it also have another flexi homeloan where one only need to open an initial RM200 account for the transactions, but of coz without the current account advatages but one can put in and withdraw any access money put in just like normal savings account (but of coz minus the monthly prepayment). Does hsbc or standard chartered offer the same thing too?

If CTB offers me a BLR-1.5) for whole tenure for a below 300k refinance loan,
with flexibility of withdrawing and putting in money without prior notice and,
need to open an initial RM200 loan account. Is this package worth thinking of?
Is there anything about citibank should i be aware of?

Note: Yes...i need the flexibility becoz of my work nature and because i had banked with ctb for many years, i like their service....but becoz i am a noobie in mortgage loan, i would like to know the consequences.

Thanks for your feedbacks....

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Added on January 22, 2008, 5:28 pmsorry wrong place...can someone shift it for me please? thanks.

This post has been edited by mIssfROGY: Jan 22 2008, 05:28 PM

I have flexi loans with both Stanchart and Citibank. I pay RM10 per month for checking facilities on Stanchart, nothing with Citibank and only have ATM facilities. Won't comment on rates, but functionally they're very similar. You pay a certain amount on your due date, and any amount extra will offset your principal; saving interest on that amount. Withdrawal of extras is immediate and unlimited.

The way it's implemented however is different. Putting extra money in Stanchart will reduce your overall monthly payment. The statement tells you how much interest is saved overall but not broken down monthly. For example if I dumped RM10k into the account, my payment goes down by about RM150 monthly but that's the only info actually stated.

Putting extra money in Citibank will not reduce your monthly payments. However, the actual principal paid off per month is higher. With RM2k in the account, I see say RM1500 going to interest and RM500 going to the principal amount. With RM20k in the account, the breakdown can be RM1200 and RM800. I still pay RM2k per month in each case.

After having both for some time, I'm liking the Citibank approach much better because I can manage my money better knowing that I pay a fixed amount each month (assuming BLR doesn't change) and I can actually see the amount taken out of the principal. I haven't done any in depth calculations to figure if either method is superior however.

No experience with HLB.



This post has been edited by tishaban: Jan 22 2008, 10:45 PM

Citibank extra payments deduct principal straight away. Despite other banks claims that they do in reality they dont. If u need Citibank loan, contact me. I work in that department. Anything u may pm me. I also have commission. Cheers!

i'm looking for loans aswell.

280k house 90% loan. looking for zero moving cost. it's a completed property. if have those flexi one better, like the above case. havent really apporach the bank.. but mayb u guys can give me some input.

thnx in advance.

Maybe you should go out there and read the available materials ask specific questions? What sort of "input" do you really need?

OHh thanks so much for the feedback

Hmm...so SC actually reduce monthly payment....but do they tell you how much principle you have left with them too?

I also realised that Citibank's BLR is higher than nearly all other banks. I wonder why...

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Added on January 24, 2008, 8:17 pmCan eleborate further on this? "Despite other banks claims that they do in reality they dont. "
Then how do other banks calculate their interest?

This post has been edited by mIssfROGY: Jan 24 2008, 08:17 PM

Both Stanchart and Citibank will list the actual principal amount still outstanding. Stanchart makes you do the math yourself to figure out how much principal was deducted that month, Citibank states it clearly in the statement.

Both Stanchart and Citibank are more than happy to negotiate rates with you. My last loan went to Citibank because their rates were lower and Stanchart couldn't match them.

Do you nego rates after or be4 approval? I have asked for better rates from ctb.....they told me after the approval, then they will nego rates with me. Is this the norm?

Btw...i am only taking a 300k loan, will they even be bothered with me for better rates?
Btw, am wondering, did u check with hsbc?? Coz i think this is another bank which is quite famous with their flexiloan....would like your opinion on them if u have.

My loan was 200k only. I got the offer letter from Citibank, and was trying to negotiate with Stanchart since my previous loan was already there. I'm not sure what the normal procedure is, maybe someone else can chip in. While they may not give you a better rate, they can at least match what other equivalent banks are providing.

I didn't look into HSBC to be honest. With my previous loan before this one I again was comparing Stanchart with Citibank (plus MBB, RHB, BCB). This was back when MortgageOne was first announced and at that time Stanchart gave me a better deal.


This post has been edited by tishaban: Jan 25 2008, 11:33 AM

Hi guys,

This might be out of topic, but I was just wondering, what are the reasons behind someone actually wanting or prefering the flexi advantages?

If its for business, invesment, emergency, or etc. wouldn't it be better to separate your loan from your flexi/banking accounts?

Have you guys ever wondered if you're behind payment by a few months on your home loan, do you still think the bank will allow you to withdraw the money from your flexi account?

Just wanna know your reasonings. Thanks.

This post has been edited by Zarth: Jan 25 2008, 11:54 AM

oHhh u Give me HOpes...kekekek. Okies....i have more courage now to nego with them...
Oh so u did compare them with local banks.....how did u find them?
Actually i was thinking of local banks too becoz of their attractive rates....but somehow i hated their service. They sometimes make you wait for ages just to settle some small matter....and i am not too confident in their customer service (scared they put me on hold too long or simply forward me to the person-in-charge, but neva reach and etc)
Hieez..someone please prove me wrong tho..

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Added on January 25, 2008, 12:46 pmFor me, its because i can put all my extra money into the account to save some interest, since savings and fd interest are much lower and i dont gain much, might as well just put everything in the loan acc and still have the flexibility to redraw when i need to. And because of my nature of work, i ll need the flexibility alot.

Ermm....behind payment? I never thought of this as i wouldnt expect myself to be behind payment at all. But u mean there is a service where one can withdraw money eventho he/she is behind payment??

This post has been edited by mIssfROGY: Jan 25 2008, 12:46 PM

I see, thanks for your response mIssfROGY.

So basically you're using the linked accounts as a day to day work/business cash flow account?

or

Do you only deposit the extras you have into the account after setting aside money for business/work purposes?

From my personal experience, the reason why most sole proprietors would really have a need to withdraw from thier account is when they are having cash flow problems in business etc. hence, the reason why they might be behind payment for a month a two in thier loan instalment.

Though flexi account might seem to have its advantages, but only if the cash flow is managed and controlled properly, or else with the little bit of charges here and there it might be better to go for a conventional loan and separate both the accounts, preferable in different banks as the deposit and withdrawals you do would even earn you less interest compared to setting it aside in a monthly renewable FD account.

You wouldn't want the bank to hold on to your cash when you're running late on a few payments and yet in need of it to keep your business running.

Also if you're more concerned about saving interest by making prepayments as you have setup a seperate account for cash flow, read up on this article - http://www.finweb.com/mortgage-loan-educat...prepayment.html

But do make sure your bank actually uses your prepayment to do principal reduction rather than advance payment in a suspended account. Makes a big different in the long run.

This post has been edited by Zarth: Jan 25 2008, 01:22 PM

Hmm...
okies...my scenario would be....
I will be treating this loan account like my normal saving account where i can redraw and put in money whenever i like. The way i see it, flexi loan account is more worth it because to me its like generating more interest/saving interest however u put it. Because right now, my savings is not really making my money work for me at all....and i cannot put it into fd because i might need to redraw the money anytime. In business...we need money to roll, and it can be anytime. I am generating money on a daily basis...but i am also using money on a daily basis.....right now the only option i think is best for me seems to be flexi payment homeloan (not to delay payment or anything, but just to park n redraw my excess money)...but of coz, if anyone can prove me that theirs better, i am open.

Lets say i put into a conventional homeloan.....will it do any good for my extra money?? But i do know that conventional do have much lower rates. Right now, i am closed to fd and savings because like i said, fd locks my money and savings do not generate much. Would like your opinion on this.

Can u eleborate on advance payment and prepayment to do principal reduction? They sound the same....they r not the same i assume?

@zarth.........:

I think you will be have problems with conventional loans too if you don't manage your cash flow correctly. It's not specific to flexi loans.

Second, both my Citibank and Stanchart accounts do not charge any fees for deposits/withdrawals. The only fee I have with Stanchart is RM10 per month for check writing facilities, and nothing for Citibank for ATM/internet banking only.

Finally, the deposit/withdrawal for a flexi loan account is exactly the same as a regular current/checking account. I go to the ATM, punch in my PIN and withdraw cash immediately. You don't have to put in any paperwork for withdrawal.

I think your arguments may hold water for the older style accounts that were offered by BCB/MBB etc. but the flexi loan accounts I have with Stanchart and Citibank don't have those limitations.

tishaban, if you read on the debate that I had in the other forum you'll find that the other guy marxdean does have a very good point (he's acting as the devil's advocate); whereby is it really worth it to spend that RM10 per month? as compared to OCBC whereby they charge RM50 per withdrawal....which one is more suitable..?

Citibank is good in the sense that no account maintenance fee is needed to maintain the account.
But overall it all depends on how one's thought on whether or not it's worth it....


Cheers!

b00n, I finally read marxdean's comments. I think his comments are valid when the interest rates are significantly different and when there were no options like Citibank to opt out of the RM10 maintenance fee. At least today, the interest rates between flexi and non-flexi loans are similar enough that the advantages of a non-flexi loan is minimal.

Another advantage in my opinion is that you can ask your employer to direct deposit your salary into your flexi-home loan account. That way you automatically take advantage of the daily interest calculations without having to do anything. Why leave your money in a savings account earning 3+% when you can save 5+% on your loan?

Again I do get where marxdean is coming from, but I believe the situation is slightly different today.

hihi boon, i too read his arguements. It did made me think alot...heheh...and this is wat i tot..

My current loan is the semi-flexi loan where i would need to pay RM20 per withdrawal, notify 2-3 days be4 and the amount is limited to 2k pertime! To me its so dem leceh and it did made me refrain from even thinking of redrawing any extras i put inside.

I think flexi is good for people who always make transactions while semi-flexi is good for people who only do emergency transactions. Actually is there even an arguement at all between flexi and semi-flexi homeloan? It works differently for different types of people with different needs. I think his thinking is abit one-sided, i mean is he even thinking for those who generate daily income and spend also on a daily basis? I mean i can be generating for 1 month and spending for the whole next month for example.

OKies...so they say treat your homeloan as homeloan and fd as fd or savings as savings. Then again, like i said, fd locks, savings sucks...at least flexi homeloan reduces your loan with the extra money that u might need it for very the nextday rite? Ya...maybe the interest might be lower....but i think in the end, it might come up to the same. Better be safe than sorry...right now i gotto pay the 3% penalty for changing my homeloan becoz of the UNflexibility that my current loan is creating for me.

He is a great guy IMO. He help put thinking caps on us for us to look at different angle. Since he never log on to that forum, i seldom log in there too.

So i guess it all depends on what's the need and planning one had before commiting themselves into a certain loan agreement.

Actually we could always do pre payment with conventional loan too. Just that it's quite a hassle because one needs to inform the bank to either shorten the tenor or reduce monthly repayment. Another con is we could not withdraw unless with OD facility..

Currently a lot would be either choosing "full" flexi or "partial" flexi. So i would suggest one to really consider properly and indeed Citi is a good choice but personally felt that the rate is not that attractive sometimes.

Cheers!

Hi let say I have overdraf from my home loan for 100k and i never use the 100k. If i deposit extra money into that account, will the bank pay me interest ?