Good day All,

I have recently met my insurance agent and he did mentioned to me on re-finance might be good to save up some money.

I'm interest on it and would like to get your advice, below are my details:-

Housing loan : 285K

Bank : AIA

Interest : Fixed 5.99%

Year of Loan : 30 Years

Instalment Period : 1 Year


Extra : need to buy insurance from AIA


By looking at my situation, would you think it is good for me to re-finance ? what are the favourite bank i can consider ?

Thank you !

Super expensive when flexi loan interrest rate is only at 3.5% and should go down somemore.

You mentioned "recently", which means the lock-in period is still in effect. For AIA, if you pay off the total amount earlier than the lock-in period there is no penalty, but I assume this is not the case for most of us, and thus, in your case as well.

What you need to do is to get a flexihomeloan package, if you are sure that you will be putting more than the minimum amount every month. Get quotes from other banks, and if the difference in the new and old interest rate is more than your penalty for breaching the lock-in period (I think it's 3-5%), then go for it. Even if it's not, compare with the following years as well. Usually it takes 2-3 years to breakeven.

This means if you foresee that interest rate will stay low for the next few years, you can look at refinance. This is simple, but not easy for the due diligence. Spend some time to talk to bankers; good ones can be invaluable these days.

Hey Guys,

Appreciated your warm comments, can someone please suggest any favorite banks ?

My experience so far points to stanchart, citi, hsbc, uob, ocbc . In that order.

Depends on your refinancing objective.

1. If it's just a straight forward refinance - more banks can do this.

2. If it's a refinance + cash out - different story - and u have to be more selective of which banks can handle this transaction.

So, which is it, sir?

I wonder why nobody ask TS how much is the current housing loan percentage he is holding.

Cause he already said so in his initial post. Unless u have a different interpretation of "percentage".

So from 5.99% to how much?

What do you mean by fav banks? Most people will go for the best rate in town, followed by the best service.

In times like this it is always good to refinance but you have to decide what type of loan suits you 1st. Whether it is flexi loan package of conventional loan package. I've never encouraged my clients to go for fixed rate coz you will be at the losing end.

This post has been edited by DriedIce: Mar 10 2009, 12:35 AM

You have to consider the costs incurred when you refinance eg. legal fees, valuation fees, stamp duties. This could add up to a bit.

Instead of refinance, why not call your banker and negotiate a "rate revision" as it would not incur those fees. Banks will only entertain those who ask.

best thing to do is go shopping.

Package and product is one thing, the officer himself is another matter you need to take notice.

its better to meet the ppl instead of just asking about the product.

depending on type of property,

1) landed property - max refinancing amount = 90% of current market value

2) non-landed - max refinancing amount = 85% of current market value

market value is subjected to valuer's survey & estimation. u need to send in application (no-obligation) and bankers will check value of ur property with valuer.

u can hv cash out if the refinance value is much more than ur balance loan amount...if not, u can still take addn 10% of ur refinance amount as personal loan, but interest rate will be different.

u mentioned u only installed AIA for 1 year, means ur still under the lock in period which is anything between 3-5-7yrs..

if ur over the lock in period, a lot of banks actually offer non-moving-cost, i.e. they absorb all the finance charges, lawyer & stamping fees & duties etc etc...

if u need to refinance, i knw ppl from Stan Chart & OCBC...