a lot of local banks are still offering blr - 2%. if the blr goes up, these banks are going to need bank negara bailouts.

kevyeoh, i currently have an aia loan. you MUST have mrta or some other sort of insurance, which is to be assigned toward repayment of the house if anything happens to you. also, early repayment is allowed, but you cannot after that withdraw that money. and, if i am not mistaken, the lock-in only applies for refinance. if you sell, no penalty!

Problem with standard chartered is, if you decide to cancel the offer letter before the loan is disbursed, you also pay 3%, instead of the usual 1%, so although you save a bit of time for the lock-in period, you are also stuck after the offer letter is signed.

kevyeoh, it all depends on your requirements. maybe if you explain the type of loan you want, then people can recommend to you.

do you want:-

1. fixed at x% for 30 years
2. blr - x% for 30 years
3. x% for 5 years and blr - y% thereafter
4. blr - x% for 1st year, blr - y% for 2-5 years, and blr - z% thereafter

then after deciding on that, decide on whether you want the following:-

1. flexibility - can prepay anytime without notice, and can withdraw without notice
2. flexibility - can prepay at anytime without notice, but cannot withdraw
3. flexibility - can prepay and withdraw, but only in multiples of 1000 and notice required

also, you have to decide how long a lock-in period you want, 0, 3, 5 or 7 years.

once you give this info, then it can be narrowed down to 2 banks.

he has finally narrowed down to 2 banks, and you people are suggesting more banks. i tell you....

unfortunately, none of us have a crystal ball to tell if blr is going up or down. i was paying 6.15% for my AIA loan for quite some time, which worked out to a good rm250 per month extra, and was extremely pissed off about it. but now i am glad i have at least 1 loan that is certain. if blr does go up, then i pay up my other loans faster, and keep the aia one there to enjoy the hopefully then low rates.