Collateral — Page 2 — Pagibig Financing

“The ending is everything. Plan all the way to it, taking into account all the possible consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that might reverse your hard work and give the glory to others…” –Robert Greene, The 48 Laws of Power

This is very much applicable for first–time home buyers.

How much can you afford to spend?

That is the first question that you have to ask yourself. And once you get the answer, you’d most probably realize that you’ll have to borrow money to finance your dream home. This is what we call a mortgage.

For home buyers, taking out a mortgage is a big problem. And why is that? It’s because financial institutions, such as your local bank, might not want to lend you the exact amount that you need. It has a lot to do about the risk involved in lending you the money.

When you get pre-qualified for a mortgage loan, financial institutions are basically looking for answers to the following questions:

Do you make enough money to pay back your loan?
What is your credit rating?
Do you have assets that you can use as collateral?

With these questions, you are related to concepts of Income, Credit Worthiness and Collateral. Let’s tackle each one of these.

Do you make enough money to pay back your loan?

Banks would not only want to know how much money you currently have; they also would want to know how much you would likely be making over the next thirty or so years. They would also want to know your assets and liabilities, current and non–current. Your other properties, like your car and home, are also considered by the banks before they lend you anything.

Generally, banks would require you put 20% equity of the value of your property before they grant your mortgage. But some banks offer special financing arrangements that minimize the equity requirement.

What is your credit rating?

Credit rating is among the most important factors considered by the banks or lending institutions to determine the risk of lending you the money. What happens is they take a look at your financial history, your ability to pay your credit card bills, how much is your income and your expenses. A poor credit rating adversely affects your chance of getting a loan.

Do you have assets that you can use as collateral?

A collateral is simply a form of security usually an asset that you pledge to the lender should you default on your loan. It is a way for banks and financial institutions to shield them against the risks of lending you the money.

Collateral can be in any of the following forms:

Real Estate (home, land, farm, etc)
Cash Accounts
Shares of Stock
Insurance
Future Collectibles

What happens is you are giving them the right to take over the collateral should a loan default happen.

Don’t let this happen to you.

Now that you’ve understood the bank’s point of view, it’s time to look at your point of view.

Your Timeline

How long do you plan to stay in your new home? Make economic sense in your investment by not just buying and then selling it after three or so years of staying in the house. You do know that there are costs of buying and selling the property, which will be a lot if your property does not appreciate in value quickly enough to cover these costs. Weigh the pros and cons of buying and selling so quickly.

Your Comfort Zone

So the bank loaned you Php 8,000,000 to finance your new home, eh? That’s good. But how do you plan to repay this loan? Do you plan to repay this for the rest of your life?

The point here is, know your limits. Can you really afford to loan this amount when you have other obligations? Remember: your house payment is just a piece of your financial puzzle. Ask yourself what you’re ready to sacrifice in order to make that dream house a reality.

So if you’re planning to buy a home, look at the end. Can you afford it? If you see yourself eventually becoming homeless in the streets, then you have to reconsider. Maybe it’s not yet time to take that first step.

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Can You Afford That House is written by Kyro Jo as a guide for first-time home buyers. Kyro considers this to be the first step any home buyer should take when thinking about buying a home.

Real estate properties are seldom bought on spot cash. The vast majority are purchased with a little down payment and mortgage loans on the balance.

A mortgage loan is a form of secured financing; that is, the lender gives you the needed financing and in return you pledge the property as collateral.

In a mortgage loan, there are two very important documents that you will be committed to:

Note – is a promise to repay the loan on a timely basis
Mortgage or Deed of Trust – is a pledge to secure the loan with the real estate in question in case the borrower fails on his loan obligations.

A mortgage creates a lien on the property, which gives the lender the right to foreclose the property in question.

A loan default happens when you fail to repay the loan “on time” as stipulated on the contract. If that happens, the lender can foreclose the mortgage and take on the property.

Interest Rate and Loan Term

A mortgage loan has two very important components that you need to be aware of.

Interest rate – is the price of using the lender’s money and is applied to the principal balance. A lower interest rate means a cheaper use of the lender’s money and should be good for you.
Loan term – the time it takes to pay off the whole amount borrowed. Loan term usually spans a number of years.

These two factors primarily affect the installment payments, which is usually on a monthly basis.

The amount shown on the monthly installment schedule always remains constant. When you pay off a loan, a portion goes to the interest payment and another portion goes to pay off the principal amount. In other words, the principal balance is reduced with each payment that you make. And as a consequence, the interest is also reduced as the loan matures. Early installments mostly go to the interest payments while later installments mostly cover the principal.

Down Payment and Mortgage

Most lenders will not grant you a loan that is equivalent to the selling price of the property. In many cases, they will have to appraise the property and you will be asked to put a down payment and loan the remaining balance of the appraised value.

The down payment is sometimes referred to as equity on the property.

The standard down payment is 20% of the appraised value of the property; 80% being your loan or the financed amount.

The more money you put as down payment, the lower your loan will be. And always remember that the loan bears an interest.

Now comes the question: Which is better of the two?

A low down payment and large loan.
A large down payment and small loan.

There are arguments favoring one over the other. It’s all up to you and your circumstances. But sometimes, the lender will force you to take on lower loan (with large down payment) to lower their risk of loaning you the money to finance your real estate purchase. That’s just pure business.

Pag-IBIG Mortgage Loan

Depending on the property and where you are buying it, Pag-IBIG Fund may give you a large amount of loan which is almost equal to the selling price of the property. But always bear in mind the maximum loan amount the Pag-IBIG Fund can grant you. If you find the amount too small for the property you are considering, you may need to come up with a large down payment or you may use an alternative financial institution.

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Mortgage Loan Fundamentals is written by Carlos Velasco.