Borrowing Options For Emergencies

Family budgets are great to schedule expenses and monthly outgoings, but every now and then disaster strikes. From an accident to an urgent home repair and illness, there are several things that can threaten your bank balance and cause long term money troubles.  

My son just bought a new house in Fermont and the processing of taking a loan is under process.  Buying a house is easy, just sign a few forms and that is it.  But the process after that can be quite a hassle.  Getting loans from financial institution, banks and comparing their interest rate, that needs a lot of time and adjustment on the buyer's side.  My son has to go through every detail on how much loan he could be able to borrow, interest rate, tenure, the monthly instalment, all these have to be taken in account and that is where the borrowing online options comes in. He needs to go through a selection and compare their rates, after which he will select and lock the one which offers the best.

Buying a house is an investment in a way, other than that, if you don’t have a savings plan implemented in your family budget yet, you will need to review your finances and set up one. An emergency fund will help you survive crises, such as losing your job, having to move, or getting your car fixed. Instead of relying on family members and payday loans, you should have the money ready to deal with whatever life brings your way.  In this Money Mutual, you only have to fill in a simple form with the information requested and once it is reviewed by the lenders, the loan will be deposited within 24 hours.  That sounds simple, right?

If you are unable to save up for emergencies, the next best thing is to get a credit card that is only used when you need it. There are some deals that offer no monthly fees, so you are not increasing your family budget by taking out a card. Paying by card will also give you an extra level of security when booking vacation deals or buying high ticket items.

To avoid money problems, you need to know and learn to eliminate the risks. Prevention is always better than cure. Maintain a healthy lifestyle and exercise regularly, to avoid falling ill. Stick to your car manufacturer’s guidelines for checkups, and always get your vehicle serviced by a professional who offers warranties. Teach your kids how to stay safe at home and on the street. 

There are simply too many things that can go wrong in a family. From serious infections and accidents to having to move or natural disasters, you should be prepared to deal with crises. If you have a healthy budget that is reviewed regularly, and you are covered  by medical insurance, you can save money. If you need professional help with adjusting your budget to unexpected situations, or you need advice, you should seek free consultation services that help you budget better in the future and recover the cost of injuries and long term illnesses. 

My Ways Of Beating Inflation

Money can be difficult to get right, and most of us start thinking about our finances at this time of year since Christmas is coming up. If you’re forever running out of money especially with the Covid-19 pandemic looming over our heads, unsecured jobs opportunities and surviving day by day till payday, this is the time that we need to think carefully on daily survival.  I am a retiree with a minimum pension to bide me by.  Even though my kids are all grown up and not dependent on me, I am still very frugal in whatever I spend on, as the saying goes, saving on rainy days ahead.... 

I have thought of getting a remortgage on the house I am living in right now.  Due to the inflation, some banks are charging a slightly lower interest rate and it might be a good time to get some cash to tide things over and at the same time, making sure that the monthly instalments will not "bite" into my flesh, literally speaking.  To calculate the currency rate and interest, I would recommend this Savings Calculator website, using the US dollar as the default currency symbol.  Other than the US currency, this calculator website also allows different compounding frequencies and a feature which allows you to create growth table of savings over time.

Talking about finance and budgeting ourselves, it doesn’t matter how much money you’re bringing in, if it’s not being managed properly then you’re always going to end up falling behind. You need to work out exactly what comes in each month and what goes out, and have a system so that your bills are always being paid on time. One method that works well is to find out what your monthly outgoings are, and then divide that by four. Then each week you can transfer that amount to a separate bills account, and have everything come out of that account by direct debit. That way you pay the same amount each week (so don’t have some weeks where you’re struggling) and you don’t even need to make any phonecalls or go online to pay anything. 

Make sure there’s some extra money in there at first as a buffer, and then every time you get paid, you only need to make one transfer. You can then buy groceries and cover things like fuel or travel costs with what’s left, and the rest is yours to save or spend. It really streamlines bill paying and takes out the guesswork. With all of your bills and outgoings being taken from a bank account separate from your main account, you never accidentally spend onto it. Once the money has been transferred it’s essentially ‘out of your hands’ which can make budgeting much easier and finances will be pretty well planned out for future retirement.

One place that most of us overspend is on groceries, well, I am certainly one of them. I hit the grocery store and pick up whatever I fancy, and give in to all of the marketing ploys which are designed to make me part with my money. This can lead to a poor diet, running out of things we need midweek and wasting other items. It pays to get organized, and the first way to do this is to create a weekly meal plan.

Another way for me to be frugal is to stop overspending are the monthly subscriptions such as music, Amazon Prime, Netflix, fashion magazines and more.  Well, I think I will keep at least one of the movies channels, after all, I need to take time off to relax, right?  It’s easy to overlook these as by themselves they don’t cost much, but they do add up.  When I am in a good financial position later on in life3, I can always resubscribe later and meanwhile I won't be wasting my money on paying for these extra subscription plans.

These are a few of my suggestions of budgeting myself, after all I don’t need to wait until the new year to start getting my finances in order. Give these things a try today!

Don't Let Debts Get You Down

At some point in our lives we will all experience anxiety regarding our financial security, in fact, it is a normal part of adult life as we have so many responsibilities resting on our performance at work. We are not born with the knowledge we need to successfully manage our finances; it is something we learn or have to teach ourselves, and if we do not, we can end up in debt. 

Many people believe that debt is inescapable, so they resign themselves to a life of serial borrowing and worry once they’re in that situation. However, there is a lot you can do to get yourself back on the straight and narrow, and once you’ve done so you’ll have the tools to make sure you never find yourself into that situation again. 

Income

One of the most important things you need to do is take a serious look at your income sources and decide whether or not there is anything you can do to increase them. Is it time to find the confidence for a change of career to make the most of your skills, or consider whether or not it would be fair to ask your current employers to review your salary taking into account your achievements and loyalty? Furthermore, is there anything you could be doing outside of work to earn a little extra income? 

Do you have any valuable belongings that you never use, that you could sell online? Do you have skills that you could sell on a freelance basis, for example teaching or advising others? If you’re feeling really adventurous, could you start your own business so that the money you make from your work goes directly to you rather than your employers taking a cut? 

Outgoings and Savings

As well as trying to top up your income, you need to cut down on your spending. First of all, make a thorough list of all your regular outgoing expenses and separate what you can and could not survive without. It might be time to put an end to any luxuries like music streaming or magazine subscriptions. Secondly, try to re-negotiate some of your regular expenses such as utility bills; could swapping to another provider also help you to save money? 

Once you have a firm idea of what needs to go out every month, create a spending budget which incorporates transferring a certain amount into a savings account. Knowing you have a buffer to fall back on will give you great peace of mind as well as helping to keep you afloat in difficult times. If you do come into possession of any unexpected lump sums of money, put them towards to your debts. This may not sound exciting but eventually being debt free will be a huge weight off your shoulders and will leave you with more to spend on yourself.

Manage Your Debts

Lastly, you need to take control of any debt you are in and minimize the threat you are under wherever possible. There are plenty of money advice services which can help you to tackle this as well as companies who can consolidate all of your debt into one monthly payment and at the same time you can get a cash advance with poor credit.  Knowing that your debts are under control and that no one will be knocking on your door asking for repayments is worth the fee they charge, plus it’s how to go from bad credit to good credit and begin re-building a reputation as a good investment. Something a lot of people do is try to hide the difficulties they’re having from their lenders, but letting them know can lead to them helping you with new, more affordable payment plans. 

Once you’ve upped your income, cut your spending to allow for saving, and taken control of your debts you will feel much happier about your financial situation, and you will be able to envision a future that’s debt free. Any money you earn from then onwards will be available for you to finally spend on yourself. When it comes to clearing debt, money really does buy happiness.

Making Decisions On Buying Cars

Do you think it’s time you went out there and started looking for a new car for the family during this time of pandemic? There are so many different things you will need to consider when looking for a new one, such as the safety features and how secure it is. But there is also another consideration to make as well - should you buy a brand new model or just stick to a second-hand car? It’s certainly a question that requires a lot of thought as both new and second-hand cars come with their own set of advantages and disadvantages.

Ready to make the decision as to which one is the best option for you and your family? Here are some pointers that you need to use to make your decision.

You will have to spend a considerable amount of time looking at different cars so that you can figure out which one is the best for you. If you want to buy new car or a used car, you will have a harder time out shopping compared to if you want a brand new model. That’s just because there is more to check with used cars. After all, new cars are fresh from the factory so should have nothing wrong with them. They are perfect! However, when you look at used cars, you will need to carry out a few checks to make sure that the car you are potentially buying is good value for money. Plus, all of these checks will stop you from being scammed out of your money.

Now, let’s take a look at the cost. Obviously, new cars are going to be a lot more to buy than second-hand ones. If you are on a tight budget, then this could be the deciding factor in your decision. However, you do have a few financing options if you have your sights set on a brand new vehicle. For starters, you could simply go straight to your bank to see if you can get a loan or you can check out https://carpaymentcalculator.net/ for loans repayment. Most big car sellers will be able to offer you payment plans, for instance. This is when the overall cost of the car is broken up into smaller payments that are spread over the course of a few months. This makes new-car ownership a lot more achievable for those on a smaller income. 

When you buy a brand new car, you probably won’t have to worry about maintenance for a few years. At least, that’s usually the case! But used cars will have a history and, depending on this history and their age, you might need to get your used car seen to a lot sooner than you would a new one. Of course, this could be quite expensive, so you need to consider whether you could also afford important maintenance on top of buying the car. Taking out a warranty with a brand new car is also useful, though, as you never know when something might go wrong with an auto!

It’s also a good idea to consider the cost of car insurance. The general rule of thumb in the insurance world is that vehicles that are worth less won’t need to be insured for too much money. That’s because it won’t cost quite as much to repair them after they are involved in an accident. Plus, as the car isn't worth that much to begin with, the owner probably won’t be too bothered if they ever write it off in an accident. For this reason, drivers who own a very old or low-value car don’t tend to pay for full insurance, and just take out the bare minimum. 

As I’ve previously quickly touched upon, you will want to make sure that you buy the safest car for you and your family. With regards to car safety, it’s often best to go with a new car as it will come with all of the latest features that will keep you all as safe as possible while driving. However, that isn't to say that a used car won’t be safe. It will still have some safety features, it’s just that they might be slightly dated. 

Ok, enough about cars.... how about side tracking a bit, there are plenty of games in this website.  Personally, I have tried playing with Go Chicken Go.  The pandemic is still here with us, brooding at home is a disadvantage, we should enlighten ourselves indulging in a game or two online! 

After all being said and done, hopefully, this blog post has made your decision easier!

How To Save And Spend Wisely

There has been an increase in the number of people getting into financial trouble for the past few years. These are mostly people from age 40 years and below. These people are especially from young working adults who have graduated and have been working for one to two years. Many of these admitted that they have very little understanding or knowledge of basic personal financial management. They all agreed that having an early financial education is necessary. They would be in a better position to manage their personal finances if they had some basic skills on how to manage their finances wisely, such as spending within their means and to be financially prepared for life’s uncertainties without encountering any negative impact on their lives in the future.

The benefits of early financial planning.

You many think that financial planning is troublesome and that you have to give up doing things that you enjoy. If you have your own financial plan in place, you will be able to budget your money in a way so as to avoid excessive spending, getting into debts, and unnecessarily borrowing of money from friends or banks. With good financial planning and control, you will be free from financial worries and easier to achieve your personal goals in life.  You can click here for more details and information on your finance and budget.

The importance of saving.

Life is full of uncertainties but with proper planning, you will have some money saved for emergencies such as the breakdown of your car, temporary injuries or sickness that can prevent you from working, and etc. In time to come, this saving will also contribute to your retirement fund.

Little by little, becomes a lot.

The importance of preparing a budget.

It is true that keeping to your budget is not easy and you will need discipline to do so. But it will help you to:

• ·       Spend and live within your monthly income
• ·       Grow your saving
• ·       Prepare for unexpected financial emergencies
• ·       Keeping you on the path to realizing your financial goal
• ·       Develop good habits in your financial management.

A need is something that you cannot do without such as food. A want is something which is not necessary and you can do without. In our present time, a smart phone is a “need” for communicating with people, online banking, and etc. Wanting the latest phone model with the latest feature is not a “need” but a “want”. Do not buy on impulse. Always ask yourself, “Is it something that you really need or something that you can do without?” This will help you to spend wisely and to live within your means. Impulse buying will create financial problems for you.

The safest way is to keep your money in saving or fixed deposit account. The interest is lower and the return slower than other form of investments but it is not risky. You may be able to grow your money faster through other forms of investments, but there is a greater risk and chances that you might lose some of your money or all of it. Do not put all your money into one type of investment. It is important and smarter to spread your money across a variety of investments to minimise the chances of financial losses. Be careful of get-rich-quick schemes that promise high return in very short time. Always remember not to be greedy. Be careful to check with trusted friends, family members whether such schemes are genuine or not.

Do not be tempted to take a loan or use your credit card just because you can have access to ready money upfront without thinking about the repayment. Do not be tempted with the offer of minimum payment of a small percentage stated on your credit card monthly statement because doing so will result in a huge debt due to the compounding effect.

Dodge These Bank Balance Drainers In Your Life

 When you are managing your personal finances, you always need to be aware of the problems that can drain your bank balance. Here are some of the possibilities that you may need to address at some point. 

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Injury 

An injury can be a huge drain on your bank balance. It’s possible that a serious injury stops you from earning a fixed income which is always going to be a nightmare. To deal with this, we recommend that you do think about exploring options such as disability insurance. This means that if you are impacted by a long term injury then you can claim the cushion of cash that you need. You might want to address what caused the injury. Be aware that it’s common for an injury to get worse after a poor surgical treatment. If this does happen, you should definitely think about speaking to medical malpractice lawyers to claim the damages you deserve. 

Bad Mortgage

Next, you should think about how a bad mortgage can impact your bank balance. A poor mortgage will always put you under far more financial pressure overall and could leave you struggling to cover all of your costs. To avoid a bad mortgage, you need to make sure that you do improve your credit before you start seeking alone. There are numerous steps that you can take to improve your credit rating. For instance, you might want to think about getting rid of your debts from sources such as credit cards. 

Legal Trouble 

Another issue that can drain your bank balance is legal trouble. That’s why you need to make sure that you don’t fall on the wrong side of the law. If you are running your own business or side hustle, then it’s important that you are aware of the laws and regulations that could impact you in the long or short term. To deal with this, you should think about hiring a legal advisor. Be aware that this can be an outsourcing solution and will always save you more than it costs. 

Unexpected Repairs 

Finally, an unexpected repair for your car or your home can be a massive drain on your bank balance that you will almost certainly want to avoid. So, how should you handle this issue? Well, we recommend that you make sure that you are completing the necessary checks on your home and your car throughout the year. That way, you can guarantee that it does remain in the right condition. For instance, you should check your heating system on a bi-annual or annual basis. This can help you avoid a replacement and instead may just mean that you need a repair at some. The difference in cost here can be thousands. 

We hope this helps you understand some of the bank balance drainers that you might have to deal with in your life. By tackling problems like this head on, you can make sure that they don’t continue to play havoc with your income. Instead, you’ll be able to keep everything on the right track. 

4 Smart Ways To Secure Your Financial Future

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The future can be unpredictable, and it’s best to always be prepared, so you’re not caught off guard. Your finances are an essential aspect of your future that you always need to work towards, and it’s never too early to start. Statistics reveal that about only 30% of households in the US have a long-term financial plan. Here are some practical tips to help you secure your financial future. 

1. Prioritize your needs over your wants

If you want to become more disciplined with your finances, it would help if you built the habit of putting your needs above your wants. Listing your needs and wants will help you eliminate the ones you can do without and identify which ones urgently need your attention. Doing this will help you minimize impulse buying, increase your savings, and reduce your debt. 

2. Plan towards your retirement

According to financial experts, the money you save towards your retirement won’t be enough if you don’t start planning early enough towards it. It’s best to start considering financial retirement plans to enable you to live a comfortable life even after you retire and reap the rewards long after you stop working. Most companies have retirement plans such as 401(k)s for their employees. It would help if you were aware of these offerings, any other options available beyond your office’s plans, and their advantages and disadvantages to help you make an informed choice. Experts recommend saving at least 15% of your annual income if you start early enough. However, you may need to save more if you start planning late. 

3. Work towards clearing your debts

Clearing your debts can be challenging, but you can always start small, like most financial decisions. You can start by developing a debt repayment plan to work towards clearing your debt by apportioning a little part of your salary, especially if you earn a good income. Having a debt repayment plan will also give you timelines that will guide you in your effort to clear your debts. It would help if you started with the debts with higher interests first and worked your way down. Alternatively, you can start with the smaller ones and build up from there to motivate you. A great place to start is your existing credit card balances. 

4. Consider long-term investments

Aside from having a savings account, an excellent way to secure your financial future is by considering long-term investments. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to have so much money to start; you can start small. Although there’s some risk involved in investing, you can find offerings tailored to your risk tolerance, from moderate to high. You can consider the stock market, investing in properties, and so on. You can also consider investment options tailored to your needs and beliefs, such as an Islamic broker account. These investments often yield high rewards and enable your money to grow over time. There are several options to consider where investment is concerned. 

Keeping the above-listed tips in mind will help get you started on your journey to securing your financial future and give you the peace of mind you need even in challenging times. 

Essential For Opening A Car Repair Garage

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Starting a car repair shop may be the right career move for you if you have a passion for cars and want to turn that passion into a profit. This article will show you some of the essentials you need to think about: 

What Type Of Service Will You Provide? 

A typical auto repair shop tends to offer all general services and repairs. But you could go a step further and offer niche repairs that your local competition may not, like repainting.

Specialising in servicing hybrid or electric vehicles may be a good idea now that businesses are more environmentally conscious.

Your business plan should include your specialities, how many customers you expect per day, the size of your garage, the number of employees, whether you plan to franchise, and your financial projections.

Location Is Important

The location of your auto repair shop can make or break your business. Popular choices include city centres, industrial estates, and highways. Customers won't travel far if you're too remote or can't compete on price.

Small towns without auto repair shops may be ripe for new businesses, especially if residents are willing to travel for services. Many people will be willing to try your services to save time and money on increased travel time.

Your options include building from scratch or buying a property that was previously a garage but has been stripped down or is ready to go.

The Equipment 

After securing a location, purchasing equipment will likely be your largest expense. You could also rent equipment. You'll need specialised mechanic's tools, a diagnostic machine, and a lift.

Qualify Yourself

While it is not required by law, demonstrating your credentials will help you build a loyal customer base. Your expertise and confidence will be evident in your actions, and you will ultimately provide a higher level of service. This will not only boost your self-esteem but also your earnings.

Offering vehicle repair services with confidence require knowledge. This includes managing finances, marketing campaigns, and customer loyalty. Ideally, you'll have worked in a garage or the automotive industry. Using tools such as Dodge Ram factory shop manuals can also help. 

Obtain Licences

Next, before you open for business, consider obtaining the required licences. These will vary depending on the type of auto repair shop and services offered, but here is a list of some of the most common.

• VAN services

• Licence for Auto Repair (MVRB)

• Trade licence plates to avoid having to register and tax every vehicle that passes through your home.

• Registration as a motor salvage operator allows you to buy, sell, and transport scrap metal.

• MOT testing approval

• Local permits

• EPA permits and exemption

• Licence for public surveillance – allows you to install CCTV in public areas.

• Background music licence

Hire A Talented Team

Employers can be difficult to find. You can start looking for nearby colleges that offer mechanic courses for new graduates. Employing both new graduates and experienced mechanics is ideal for your car garage.

Promote Your Firm

To persuade customers to choose your auto repair shop over another, you need an effective marketing campaign. Offering customer guarantees like free repairs if brakes fail within a certain time frame can help. Using guarantees builds customer trust, which is vital for a new business. To keep your customers coming back year after year, you must keep your promises.

Consider a car repair franchise for a less risky route into business ownership. An established brand with a loyal customer base and comprehensive training make setting up a franchise much less stressful.

The Importance of Having a Healthy Marketing Budget: Why it's worth it

 A healthy marketing budget is important for any business, but it can be hard to set aside extra funds. It's not all about what you spend but also how you spend it. You can save money by focusing on the most cost-effective marketing channels for your business.

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We'll review the common mistakes businesses make regarding their marketing budget and talk about some of the best ways to spend your marketing budget without spending too much. We'll also cover why a healthy marketing budget is worth it in terms of ROI. 

Common Mistakes Businesses Make When It Comes to Their Marketing Budget

Many businesses don't have a clear marketing budget. They might not budget for every single marketing channel, or they might spend too much on the wrong media.

But this is key—you need to have a clear understanding of your marketing budget before you start spending money. If you're not sure what results you want or how much you should be spending, ask yourself these questions:

• How many hours do I want my marketing team to work?

• What are my business goals?

• What is the cost-per-acquisition for each type of marketing campaign?

• What are my company's current sales numbers?

• How is my target audience defined?

Why a Healthy Marketing Budget is Worth It

With so many marketing opportunities available to businesses today, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. You need to decide what channels will most impact your business and your bottom line.

But as with all decisions, you'll only make progress by asking the right questions. You have to consider what channels best fit your business's needs, how they will help you reach your target audience, and how much money they will cost you.

It's always a good idea to start with a healthy marketing budget and see where that takes you. The beauty of spending wisely is that it doesn't necessarily mean you're limiting yourself or spending less than other companies. It just means you're making smart choices about where your money goes.

The Best Ways to Spend Wisely on Marketing

Knowing what to do with your marketing budget is essential to getting the most value out of it. You have to think about the goals you want to achieve and optimize different marketing channels for those goals.

You'll also have to decide if using a specific platform for your marketing is worth the investment. Here are some ways that you can spend wisely on marketing without spending too much:

Consider investing in content marketing. In many cases, content marketing is more cost-effective than other types of digital marketing, like PPC ads or SEO campaigns. It's a great option because it encourages customer interaction, which leads to brand awareness and new customers.

Use digital marketing services to analyze your audience further and get you started on the best marketing approach for your business.

Working with influencers can help you cash in on their audience and expand your reach in ways you might not have been able to do before. Blog reviews, social media content, and more are all ways influencers reach their audience and expose your business to new eyes.

Conclusion

When it comes to marketing, it's essential to spend wisely. A healthy marketing budget is more than just a cash flow issue. It's an investment in the future of your business.

Savings During Pandemic

 I’m sure not many enjoy reading about the current situation where the pandemic is just causing so many problems for everyone. Plus, with cases rising, restrictions are just going to be even tighter and more inconvenient. However, I would like to share a story of a thought I have a couple of months ago. This was when cases were still rather high in numbers and I was planning for my financial future.

Between the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, I considered withdrawing a considerable amount of money from my Employees Provident Fund (EPF) account through the I-Sinar program. My thoughts at that time were something like “This money is mine anyway, I should withdraw some of it and put it to good use”. So, I read up on the application process and the eligibility criteria of the program. There were quite a few restrictions on people who are eligible to withdraw their savings. You have to either prove that you are self-employed and have not contributed to the fund for at least 2 consecutive months, of show that you have a deduction of 30% or more in total income if you are an employee. During my preparation, I also thought about how I should spend the money withdrawn from EPF.

During my preparation, I tried to calculate the amount of interest I will give up if I withdraw from my EPF. I found that the lowest dividend rate contributed by EPF was 5.45% for the year 2020. Therefore, assuming that over the next 10 years, the dividend offered stays constant at 5.45%, with a withdrawal of RM10,000, I am giving up a total of RM7,000 in interest alone over the next 10 years. I calculated these figures from this page. In short, if I want to be at a similar net worth in 10 years after withdrawal using the I-Sinar program, I need to at least match the dividend offered by EPF.

With this in mind, I looked for products which can give me similar returns during this pandemic economy. My options were rather limited as the overnight policy rate (OPR) is at an all-time low of 1.75%. This created a situation where savings grow very little, while loans are cheaper than usual. Things didn’t look so good for my plans and I started thinking if I really needed the money at this point in time, Was I in a position where the withdrawn money will help me resolve any immediate problems or diffuse certain situations. This is because, if I withdraw RM10,000 now, I will potentially be short of RM17,000 that I can use for any spending I need 10 years down the road. I tried to weigh all options carefully and made a decision.

While I will not share the decision I made, I hope I have contributed to the discussion regarding this problem. I’m not sure if I was able to present my thoughts clearly in writing, but those were the main issues I was thinking about while pondering my decision at that time.

Property Market during the Pandemic

Data from the third quarter of 2020 about the general state of the property market have been recently released by the National Property Information Centre (Napic), an institute that is a part of the Valuation and Property Services Department. A 7.4% increase in the volume of transactions from the third quarter of 2019 indicate a strong demand for real estate at the end of last year, which is a strong recovery from the slump during the pandemic. However, there is also a 2.4% contraction in the value of transactions when compared to the third quarter of 2019, which means many transactions in Q3 2020 involve properties that are lower in price.

Properties in the retail and commercial sector took the hardest hit with a 10% reduction in terms of volume, and a 37.4% reduction in value of transactions in Q3 2020 when compared to Q3 2019. Residential properties meanwhile experienced a year on year 5.1% increase in volume and 6.9% increase in value of transactions in Q3 2020. 

This increase in residential property transactions can be attributed to the incentives and assistance offered by the government to promote home ownership which was announced in the middle of 2020. This campaign provides stamp duty exemptions on instruments of transfer and loan agreements for the purchase of residential homes between the value of RM300,000 and RM2.5 million. These exemptions were again put forward during the 2021 Budget announcement where full stamp duty exemptions on instruments of transfer and loan agreements are to be applied to any purchase of a first home valued at no more than RM500,000. This contributes to savings of about 2% of the property value in terms of miscellaneous fees and charges in addition to the value of the property and loan interest. 

Another contributing factor that spurred the demand for residential properties is the record low Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) set by Bank Negara since July 2020. The OPR has been maintained at 1.75% since then, with another meeting to revise the rate scheduled in June 2021. This resulted in much cheaper loans for prospective homeowners as banks across the country reduced their base rate. There is no better time to shop for home loans as most banks offer an effective lending rate of around 3.0% to 3.2%, with some as low as 2.85%. The OPR is not expected to increase anytime soon as Bank Negara is looking to encourage spending and alleviating deflationary pressure over the year 2020, where the Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined 1.4% in December 2020 from the year before. Thus, the cheaper rates can most likely be enjoyed for a significant tenure of the loan if a full flexi loan is preferred.

For a first home owner looking for a property valued at RM500,000, with a 10% deposit and a 30 year loan tenure, the total cost of ownership calculated at the interest rates of 2.8%, 3.05%, 3.3%, and 3.55% range from RM715,649 to RM781,981. The calculator used to compute these values can be accessed from here. At the interest rates of 2019, it would have cost roughly RM70,000 more to purchase a property of similar value. It is truly a great opportunity at this moment for prospective first home buyers to purchase a home this year.