PDA

View Full Version : Cap Yourself Properly for Protection



Zeng Han Jun
11-03-09, 13:08
By: Zeng Han Jun, CPCG, Singapore

Landlords are suffering from the lack of tenants right now. Lists and lists of property advertisements displaying “For Rent” sign bombards every property agencies right now. Faced with this kind of market, landlords with outstanding loans have started to fork out their own money for mortgage payments. Many more are arranging to refinance their home loans, reducing their monthly installments, hoping that it can ease away some of the pain.

Before you rush out and start to negotiate for a refinance right now, why not take a moment and think through a couple of things first?

Benchmark Rate

Many people are glad that packages that are pegged to Sibor are easily available. Sibor packages allow for greater transparency with regards to its movements and allow consumers to at least make a guess as to how is it going to shift in the future. Sibor is also at its historical low now and definitely looks very attractive as a benchmark rate. How about in the near future? Well, it is a question that is very difficult to answer. If you or I can answer such questions, we would not have to spend our time working anymore. No one is smart enough to guess how will the rates move, but during the last financial crisis, Sibor occasionally spiked up to 7% or even higher. What if your loan is a 12 month Sibor, and the rate spikes up to 12% on your rates adjustment date? That means you will be paying for interest rate that is more than 12% for the next one year!


Let’s say your home loan is structured at Sibor + 1%, that means that you will be forking out payments at interest rate of 8%, if Sibor turns 7. %. 3 months Sibor has been meandering at levels below 0.8%. How low can it get? How long can it sustain at that level? It is a question that will reveal itself in the near future.

What can I do?

As a real estate investor, the smart thing to do right now is not just to refinance but to refinance with the right kind of financing structure. Certain types of home loans are structured with a capping function. Example; Bank XYZ promotes a home loan with interest rate at Sibor + 1% for the three years, with a 3% cap on the Sibor rate. In the event that Sibor rise to 7%, you do not pay 8%. Instead you will service your mortgage at 4% because your Sibor is capped at 3%.

Stay capped. Have protected real estate investments.


-------------
This article from CPCG is currently being protected by Singapore and International Copyright Laws. However please feel free to republish this article, provided that you include working links to our website: http://www.cpcgonline.com and http://www.cpcgonline.blogspot.com. We appreciate your kind gesture. For any enquiries, please email us at [email protected].
-------------
Join us at the latest real estate online club TODAY! REAL ESTATE AND PROPERTY INVESTMENT ClUB is a social network catered for the real estate professionals, investors and bankers. An online social network for the real estate community to come together to leverage on each other's relationships and expertise. Join us at http://www.repic.socialgo.com

bhuv
10-05-09, 05:50
Havent seen any bank giving Sibor Cap. Care to share who does that

focus
10-05-09, 16:08
Even with caps.. the banks can just removed it...
I'm sure most banks will build in certain terms and conditions into the contract(if you want to read thru the thousands of pages) ..to say that if a certain limit is breached.. the bank reserved the right to alter the rate.