http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...l-76-showflats

On-the-spot mortgage approval at 76 showflats

Published on Aug 03, 2012


UNITED Overseas Bank (UOB) yesterday launched instant home loan approval services at more than 70 showflats across Singapore.

The bank said it has deployed more than 100 mortgage bankers to the various showflats.

Each has an iPad connected to UOB's credit evaluation system, which is linked to the Credit Bureau of Singapore.

This means potential home buyers can obtain approval on the spot instead of just an in-principle approval, said loans division head Chia Siew Cheng at a briefing yesterday at the Archipelago showflat in Bedok Reservoir, which is among the 76 showflats included.

The difference between the two is that an in-principle approval is not a formal offer but the instant approval is.

The buyer's eligibility for a home loan will be based on his verbal declarations of personal and financial details to the mortgage banker.

If the buyer is then deemed eligible, he or she will get confirmation of the loan amount, the loan term, monthly repayments payable and the interest rate package, UOB said in a statement.

The buyer has seven days to consider the loan and can collect the letter of offer at any UOB branch, the bank added.

The maximum loan amount for private property home loans through this service is $5 million.

The cap for commercial property loans is $2.5 million.

The soft launch for this service was in April this year.

UOB said it "observes the same rigour in assessing the suitability of the applicant for the home loan", noting that the applicant would still have to pass its risk and credit reviews before UOB approves the home loan.