The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is seeking to help address current home ownership woes in the country with BPI MyBahay, a new flexible housing loan package that will benefit the underserved and unserved segments of society.
“This is the first mortgage financing service that we are offering our clients who are having difficulties with the initial cash outlay for down-payment and are unable to meet the required monthly income,” said Dennis Fronda, Head of Retail Loans, BPI.
BPI’s main offer consists of flexible housing loan packages, allowing clients to manage their cash flow effectively by servicing loan obligations for up to 30 years versus the standard 20 years repayment term.
Clients will also be able to capitalize on the value of the property to be acquired since the allowable loan amount versus the Total Contract Price or Total Appraised Value has been increased to 95% versus the standard 80%.
Among the many firsts that this loan package offers are on down payment and income requirements, as well as rebates. It features minimal cash out of 5% versus the bank’s total appraised value of collateral or total contract price, subject to the developer tie-up program of the bank. According to BPI, the maximum collateral value or total contract price for this loan package is P3 million only.
BPI MyBahay also has a minimum gross household income requirement of P25,000 versus the standard P40,000. Its allowed loan purposes are for the acquisition and occupancy of real estate property or refinancing (loan take-out) only.
As added benefits, the Bank will directly reward borrowers who settle their dues promptly by providing a 2% interest rebate every loan anniversary, primarily conditioned on accounts without any late payments.
Home ownership
In the paper Defining and profiling the middle class published in the Philippine Institute of Development Studies’ Policy Notes, researchers noted that 23% of middle-income households rented while 3% lived in a house or lot without consent of the owner. However, while a relatively small proportion of middle-income households live as informal settlers, they account for 42% nationwide, with informal settlement observed in places with a shortage of affordable housing.
“This is the reason BPI hopes to provide Filipinos with the opportunity to own a home with our flexible housing loan packages. We aim to help build a better Philippines, one family, one community at a time,” said Fronda.
The BPI MyBahay loan program is open to all qualified individuals, at least 21 years old upon loan application and not more than 70 years old upon loan maturity.
Interested clients may look for their assigned housing loan sales account officers, go to the nearest BPI branch, or visit the BPI website for any questions or submission of pre-approval requirements.
