Pag-IBIG Financing Admin

5 Tips To Take If Your Housing Loan Application Is Denied

In an ideal world, you should never be turned down whenever you apply for a Pag-IBIG Housing Loan. You can simply go to the office of the Pag-IBIG Fund, the staff would be excited to serve you, you smile as you submit all the requirements and wait the next day for the approval. What wonderful world it would be!

Unfortunately, that will never happen in a real world setting. Like all other financial institutions, the Pag-IBIG Fund has to consider a number of factors before granting you the loan. In the past articles we have discussed some of those factors they use to evaluate a loan application, among those are the following:

Your Records with the Pag-IBIG Fund
Employment or Business Status / History Capacity To Pay
Appraised Value of the Property
The Property Itself

By now, you should already realize that just because you are a member of the Pag-IB IG Fund doesn’t mean that getting a housing loan is going to be easy.

In case you are thinking of applying for a housing loan, bear in mind that it could be possible that your loan application could be denied, or you will get an amount that is much lower than you expected. In other words, you don’t get what you want.

This article is meant to guide you on what to do next if the result of your loan application will be negative. To this end, take note of the following tips on what you can do.

Tip #1: Check if The Problem Related To The Property

Obviously, not all properties are equal. Some are good investments, others are just plain crap. Some places are safe to live; others are camping grounds of criminals. Indeed, some are more problematic than others.

You may not know it, but Pag-IBIG is very strict in evaluating a property that you consider buying. It has to undergo a series of rigorous evaluations to see if the property is worth the risk. Remember: the land title will be used as collateral so eventually if it is really a lot of risk, Pag-IBIG will not even consider that property.

Bear in mind that the Pag-IBIG Fund is in the business of real estate loans, not on selling problematic properties.

Tip #2: Get Your Finances In Order

housing loan denied Until now, I’m still shocked to receive comments like, “If I pay the 24 months upfront, can I apply for a housing loan immediately?” It is as if paying the 24 months contribution is the only factor that hinders them from being granted the loan. In reality, paying 24 months is not at all the problem. That’s just a total of P 4,800; even kids can do that.

Instead of putting too much focus on the 24 months contributions, what you should do, if you are really serious about buying a home, is to work on your cash flow. The following should be helpful:

Save enough money for the equity or down payment. This is roughly 20% of the selling price of developer-owned property.
See to it that you can pay for the monthly amortization. That means, work on improving your level of income, which is one of the most important factor affects your loan entitlement.
See to it that you will pay your money dues. Assuming that you can pay, the question is WILL you pay? Once you take on a loan, you better be serious about paying it.

Tip #3: Consider A Cheaper Property

Of course, who doesn’t want to live in a mansion close to the downtown area with all the amenities just close by? That would be very sweet, after all.

But when reality bites as it should, it is best to settle on the one that you can afford to pay. The positive side effect of that decision is that you can sleep soundly at night.

Tip #4: Get A Co-Borrower

If you have some good relatives who are willing to help you out, that would be nice. You can talk to them about becoming your co-borrower. Pag-IBIG allows a maximum of three (3) qualified Pag-IBIG Members to tack in a single loan secured by the same collateral, provided they are related within the second civil degree of consanguinity.

That means they can be your:

Parents
Siblings
Children
Aunts and uncles
Cousins
Grandparents
Grand children

See? That’s a lot of help. But please proceed carefully. This is one of those itchy options that you want to avoid as much as possible.

Tip #5: Try Other Housing Loan Alternatives

Denied a Pag-IBIG Housing Loan?

Relax! Please realize that the world doesn’t stop spinning if you are denied a Pag-IBIG housing loan. There are other alternatives that you may consider such as the following:

Bank Financing
Mortgage Loans From Credit Cooperatives
In-House Financing if the seller itself is also a developer.

For a detailed explanation on this topic, please read the “Pag-IBIG Housing Loan Alternatives” article.

If any of the above still doesn’t work, don’t lose hope. You can always try again next time.

“5 Tips To Take If Your Housing Loan Application Is Denied” is written by Carlos Velasco

Pag-IBIG Fund Membership Question and Answer

by Pag-IBIG Financing Admin

Recently, we’ve been bombarded with questions about Pag-IBIG Fund Membership from our website visitors. These questions came from formerly active Pag-IBIG members, from Overseas Filipinos who wanted to join the program, and from people who were never sure if they were once members of the Pag-IBIG Fund or not. Well try to address each type here in the form of Question and Answer.

It is our hope that all future questions related to Pag-IBIG Fund membership will be put here in one place. So should you find something along this topic that were not yet addressed, please feel free to use the Contact Form or drop your questions from the comment box below on this page.

Please take note that many of the questions that were posted by the visitors have already been addressed in the previous articles. We’re not sure if they were just unable to find it or they don’t know how to use the Google Powered Search Box included at the bottom part of this website. So in this regard, some of our responses will make references on previous article where a particular topic is best explained.

Q-1: How can I become a member of the Pag-IBIG Fund?

There are basically two-type of membership to the Pag-IBIG Fund. One is mandatory and the other is voluntary.

For those who are locally employed in the Philippines, their respective employers should be able to assist them on their membership registration.

For voluntary membership, like the freelancers, self-employed professionals, and small business operators, please refer to the article about Voluntary Membership To Pag-IBIG Fund.

Note: OFW’s are now required to become members of the Pag-IBIG Fund. It used to be optional for them to become members of the Pag-IBIG.

Q-2: It’s been a long time since I left the Philippines to work overseas. I can’t remember anymore if I was a member of the Pag-IBIG Fund or not. How will I know?

Your case is quite understandable. Many Overseas Filipinos are also having that kind of problem, especially those who wanted to avail of a housing loan from Pag-IBIG for whatever reason they may have.

The best approach to this problem is to have a representative inquire it at the Pag-IBIG Branch where you used to be working here in the Philippines.

If, however, you are very sure that you have never been employed here in the country, there is a very good chance that you have never been a member of the Pag-IBIG Fund. In such as case, it is better to ask yourself if membership to the Pag-IBIG Fund is even necessary for you. Please be aware that there are other alternative housing loans available other than through Pag-IBIG Housing Loan.

Q-3: I remember I was contributing to the Pag-IBIG Fund when I was still employed in the Philippines. But since become and OFW, I stopped contributing. How can I re-activate my membership to the Pag-IBIG Fund?

The re-activation part is quite easy. All you have to do is continue paying your membership contributions!

But before you do that, it is best if you can proceed to the Pag-IBIG Office and request a copy of your past contributions.

Q-4: What is my Pag-IBIG ID Number?

Knowing your Pag-IBIG ID Number is one of the most important things you can do. IF you don’t have it yet, or for some reasons you forgot, please proceed to the Pag-IBIG Branch where your contributions are being remitted to and ask for a copy of your Pag-IBIG ID Number.

Pag-IBIG Financing Notes:

This is an on-going discussion page for all queries related to Pag-IBIG Fund membership.
If you have a question about Membership, and about membership to the Fund only, please use either the contact Form or the comment box below

So stay connected with us (we are on Facebook) for more Q and A about Pag-IBIG Fund Membership.

Pag-IBIG Loans: Interest Rates, Penalties And Defaults, Part 2 of 2

by Pag-IBIG Financing Admin

This is the second part on this series of articles about the Pag-IBIG Interest rates, penalties and defaults, as the title clear suggests.

In part 1, we mentioned about the going rate of Pag-IBIG Housing Loan. In case you missed it, please click here to read the article.

In this article, we’ll touch on the following subjects:

Housing Loan Re-pricing
Late Payment Penalty on Housing Loan
Interest Rate for Pag-IBIG Multi-purpose Loan (MPL)
Penalty for Late Payment on MPL Loan

These topics will be discussed in the succeeding paragraphs.

Pag-IBIG Housing Loan Repricing

Pag-IBIG Fund says that Housing Loans over 400,000 and up to 3,000,000 is subject to re-pricing every three years at the rate at par with the prevailing market rates. The re-pricing shall be based on the outstanding balance of the loan. The interest rate to be used shall not exceed the following:

Pag-IBIG Housing Loan Repricing Interest Rate

Original Loan Amt	Int. Rate
Over P 400 k to P 750 k	9.00%
Over P 750 k to P 1.0 M	10.50%
Over P 1.0 M to P 1.25 M	11.50%
Over P 1.25M to P 2.0 M	12.50%
Over P 2.0 M to P 3.0 M	13.50%

Question: What about the housing loans P 400,000 and below? Are they going to re-price it also?

Answer: Yes, Pag-IBIG may still reprice the balance every three years, but the rate to be used is still the original rate.

Pag-IBIG Housing Loan Penalty

pag-ibig housing loan repricing rate And what if you miss a single payment?

Pag-IBIG Fund imposes a penalty on non-payment of a full monthly amortization including the other obligations (such as membership contributions, insurance premiums, interest due and principal) which are already tucked into the monthly amortization due. The penalty is set at “1/20 of 1% of the amount due for every day of the delay.”

That’s not much for a single month, but if it becomes a habit, it could lead to a default which will be explained below.

Pag-IBIG Housing Loan Default

When you get a loan, you actually agree to pay all the obligations that go with it. In the case of Pag-IBIG Housing Loan, that means paying the monthly amortization, membership contributions, the insurance and all.

In case you fail to pay three consecutive payment dues, your account is already considered in default. If that happens, the entire balance becomes due and demandable. And since Pag-IBIG Housing loan is secured by the land title, Pag-IBIG will also indorse your property for foreclosure. Plus, it also puts a lien on your TAV – that’s your savings with the Pag-IBIG Fund.

Now the word default is a nasty thing when applied to a housing loan. You want to avoid it as much as possible.

Multi-Purpose Loan Interest Rates

The Pag-IBIG Multi-Purpose Loan is among the cheapest loan available on the market. But this loan depends on the amount you have contributed so far. The longer you have contributed and the bigger the contribution, the more loan money you can get.

As to the interest rate, it is a mere 10.75% per annum at the time of this writing. And you can pay this loan in 24 months time.

Multi-Purpose Loan Penalty For Missed Payment

Small at it may be, for some reasons, some members who availed of the Pag-IBIG MPL Loan miss paying for amount as scheduled. In such cases, the Pag-IBIG Fund imposes a penalty equivalent to 0.5% of the unpaid amount for every month of delay.

If you want to know more about the Pag-IBIG Multi-Purpose Loan, the following articles are very helpful:

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This is the second and final part of a series of articles on Pag-IBIG Loan Interest rates, penalties and defaults. This article is written by Carlos Velasco.

Pag-IBIG Loans: Interest Rates, Penalties And Defaults, Part 1 of 2

by Pag-IBIG Financing Admin

There’s more to loans than just getting the money and paying for it. If you have been a frequent visitor to this website and you are constantly in the look out for new articles, you should already know that Pag-IBIG Loans (both Housing Loan and Multi-Purpose Loan) come with interests.

Borrowing Money Comes With A Price

No one in his “right mind” will take the risk of lending you money knowing that you won’t pay it back! Well, only friends and relatives do that. And I can’t tell you the number of horror stories I’ve heard related to that. Someone puts it best, “A fool and his money are soon parted.”

That’s why banks, non-profit foundations and other lending companies always impose interest on loans. Well, it will not be called a loan if it doesn’t come with an interest.

Going back to the topic, the interest actually serves as an incentive to the one loaning you the money. Think of it this way: When you borrow money from someone, you are actually using his money for your own purpose and the other guy is risking his money to you in the hope of getting a reward as an exchange. In this context, the interest serves as the reward, or incentive for lending you the money.

On the part of the borrower, the interest is also the cost of borrowing the money in the first place. And naturally, the cost of borrowing money is directly affected by three important factors: loan amount, loan term and interest rate.

time value of money -- pag-ibig loans After using the Mortgage Calculator presented here on this website, one visitor concluded as follows: “I see it’s better to buy a property in cash than finance through PAG-IBIG. The interest almost exceed the principal, you can even buy another house with that interest!”

He was right about his observation on the “interest almost exceed the principal“. But if such is the case, why would people still use a Mortgage Loan to finance their property investment? One answer is that, most people can’t afford to pay a house in a single Spot Cash payment.

(See also: Pag-IBIG Housing Loan 101.)

Housing Loan Interest Rates

The Pag-IBIG Housing Loan Interest Rates have been presented here on this website for quite a while already. (As far as I can remember, way back when the site was still in its pre-launch stage.) You can find it at the Right Sidebar of this website, just directly above the Mortgage Calculator.

But for your convenience, and since we are already on this topic, we are presenting them below.

Housing Loan Interest Rates Table

Loan Amt	Int. Rate
Up to P 400 k	6%
Over P 400 k to P 750 k	7%
Over P 750 k to P 1.0 M	8.5%
Over P 1.0 M to P 1.25 M	9.5%
Over P 1.25M to P 2.0 M	10.5%
Over P 2.0 M to P 3.0 M	11.5%

From the table, it is clear that the interest rate for Pag-IBIG Housing Loan is 6% per annum for loan amount of up to P 400,000. And the maximum housing loan amount that you can get from Pag-IBIG is P 3 million with a corresponding interest rate of 11.5% per annum.

Note: The minimum amount that you can get from Pag-IBIG Housing Loan is PhP 100,000.

A reader of this website once dropped us a message: “Is the interest rate of Pag-IBIG Housing Loan fixed for the whole duration of the loan term?”

Good question and every Pag-IBIG Member who plans to avail of the Housing Loan should know about it.

The answer? That’s reserved for the next article of this series, plus the following will also be discussed:

Housing Loan Defaults
Pag-IBIG Multi-Purpose Loan Interest and Penalties

So stay in touch for the part 2 of this series and all the other articles we will be posting soon.

Update Notice: Part 2 has just been posted. Check out to learn more about Housing Loan Repricing, Defaults and Penalties for late payments.

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This is the first part of a two-part series of articles on Pag-IBIG Loan Interest rates, penalties and defaults. This article is written by Carlos Velasco.

Pag-IBIG Real Estate For Sale, July 2011

by Pag-IBIG Financing Admin

Here’s a list of Pag-IBIG Properties for sale by individual sellers from the various places in the Philippines.

If you are interested with any of the properties here, please contact the sellers directly. Their respective contact information are also indicated at the proper places.

On the list so far:

A Condo Unit at El Pueblo Manila Condominium
A Townhouse unit in Binangonan, Rizal
Sacrificed Sale: Duplex w/o Garage Unit in Brgy. San Isidro, Cabuyao, Laguna

Details of the properties will be shown below.

If you have a property that you want to sell, too, don’t hesitate to submit it here by using the Form at the Pag-IBIG Marketplace Page. See to that it can be financed using Pag-IBIG Housing Loan.

Pag-IBIG Financing Notes:

If you are interested with the property, please direct your inquiries at the name contact details of the owner indicated.
Other properties that will be submitted to us within the month of July 2011 will also be listed on this page.
If you have a property for sale, please feel free to submit it to us for everybody else to see. Use the form provided at the Pag-IBIG Marketplace page.

Property #1: A Condo Unit at El Pueblo Manila Condominium

Contact Person: Kristine Tomes; 09232284439

Property Location:
4th floor, El Pueblo Manila, Anonas St., St Mesa Manila, adjacent to PUP

Selling Price:
200K-150K, negotiable, assume balance thru Pag-IBIG, monthly amortization is P5.3K

Total Contract Price:
877,000.00 plus insurance, move in fee

Property Description:
13.5sqm, Ready for occupancy, fully furnish condominium, with appliances. Walking distance from PUP, in front of Filinvest Condominium.

Photos of the Property and the Condominium Project:

Why should you buy this property?

In demand for renting out to students studying at PUP and other nearby schools such as CCP, UERM, university belt. They can cook and do their laundry inside. Nice environment with security and cooperative community.

Why am I selling this property?

I have a growing family, I just gave birth and we will move in to my husband’s house near my office.

Again, if you are interested in buying this condominium unit, please send an SMS or call the owner,
Ms Kristine Tomes at this line: 09232284439.

Property #2 : Townhouse unit for sale — Binangonan, Rizal

Location:
St. Monique Valais, Pantok, Binangonan, Rizal

Selling Price:
Php284,800.00 (negotiable), assume balance thru Pagibig, monthly amortization 5,700.00.

Prop Description:

45.50sqm, Ready for occupancy, 2-bedroom upstairs, with dirty kitchen, provision for garage.

Message From The Seller:

We had to move back to my hometown in Laguna where I have also transferred work. The unit is in good shape, neighborhood is awesome, and you will love the place =)

If interested, call or text me at 09323364213 or email at a_alcos@yahoo.com

Property #3 : Sacrificed Sale: Duplex w/o Garage Unit at San Isidro Heights Phase, Brgy. San Isidro, Cabuyao, Laguna

Location: San Isidro Heights Phase-I, Brgy. San Isidro, Cabuyao, Laguna
Selling Price: Php 280k (fixed), assume balance through Pag-Ibig, monthly amortization Php 5,530.45

Selling price is inclusive of processing and notarial fees of the ff:

Transfer of Rights with Assumption of Obligation
Deed of Absolute Sale
Affidavit (Buyer’s Sworn Affidavit)
Special Power of Attorney
Occupancy Permit (Move-in fee)

pag-ibig house for sale in laguna House Features:

Lot Area: 57 sqm
Floor Area: 49.50 sqm
RFO (Ready for occupancy)
With water and electricity
Bare type with one tiled bathroom/toilet
With ceiling (kisame) at 2nd floor
Two-storey (up & down) unit
Approx 2 rooms (on 2nd floor)
With back and side fence
Our unit is a 5-minute walk from the main entrance gate.

How to get there: From main entrance gate, turn left on the 1st road. Block 31 Lot 31 is on the 3rd block, 8th duplex unit.

Why Is This Property For Sale?

We decided to stay here in my hometown at San Pablo City, Laguna.

Our unit is in good shape, and never been occupied. San Isidro Heights is a FLOOD FREE area.

For interested buyers, please contact Ms Mylene Mina at the following:

Landline: +6349-800-3802
Mobile#: +63917-919-4877
Email: mylene_mina@yahoo.com

Again, please take note that if you are interested with any of these properties, contact the respective sellers directly.

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Thinking of selling your property? Post it here for free.

Introducing The Pag-IBIG Marketplace and Online Mortgage Calculator

by Pag-IBIG Financing Admin

This is a short article intended to notify the subscribers and readers of the Pag-IBIG Financing website of a few changes we have introduced lately.

About The Pag-IBIG Marketplace

We have been promising to launch this feature a couple of times in the past. And now finally, here comes the newest and most requested feature of this website: The Pag-IBIG Marketplace.

The Pag-IBIG Marketplace is the name we gave to this virtual marketplace of all Pag-IBIG Accredited Projects and Properties all around the Philippines. That’s right we are trying to put together all Pag-IBIG Projects in the country. We know this is quite ambitious, but come to think about its benefits if you are a buyer:

That’s a lot of options in one place.
You can have an idea of what’s selling in your city even if you are not there, maybe overseas or on-board a ship.
You are better prepared when it is time to visit and take a look at the project or property.

It really boils down to just one word: “convenience“.

This is a new feature and naturally, there are no properties to be displayed yet right at this very moment. But sooner than you think, it should carry a good number of listings from key cities and provinces in the Philippines where there are on-going Pag-IBIG projects currently being marketed.

And, it’s not just for the big real estate companies who are selling real estate properties. It’s also open to any individual seller who wishes to sell a property — provided of course, it can be financed by Pag-IBIG.

buy and sell pag-ibig real estate in the philippines So click this link to know more about the Pag-IBIG Marketplace.

Don’t forget to submit a property that you want to sell. Or if you know someone who is selling, please share that page to him.

Mortgage Loan Calculator

This handy tool was already introduced before in one of the articles here. If you want to understand how the amortization scheme really works, this tool is very useful, giving you a visual representation of the amortization schedule.

Now it is made more visible than ever.

Take a look at the Right Panel of this website and there you will see this cute, little tool ready to be used.

To see it in action, try to enter few parameters and click on the Calculate Button.

It should pop-up a window with graphical results.

Wonderful, right?

Well, one site visitor puts it this way: “Wow! Now I see it’s better to buy a property in cash than finance through PAG-IBIG. The interest almost exceed the principal, you can even buy another house with that interest!”

Agree or not?

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“Introducing The Pag-IBIG Marketplace and Online Mortgage Calculator” is written by Carlos Velasco.