buying a house…

…is one hell lot of work. not to mention involves a lot of work. and also the most important thing – MONEY.

which translates into one big word – HEADACHE!!!

the headache starts the moment you planned to get one.

finding a house that you like is one thing. finding a house that you like AND you can afford is another thing. will we be able to pay for the downpayment? will we be able to pay for the monthly installments, plus the maintenance fee and the utility bills for the next 30 years?

which means there were countless hours of going through the newspapers, looking around banners, asking friends/family for any good properties and asking agents.

next thing is to see if there any anomaly in the building. if there is, we will have to ask the respective experts as whether the building is safe to occupy or not.

then, it will be the security of the area. is it safe? is the crime rate high in the area? how was the security there?

once everything is A OK, proceed to purchase the house from the owner or developer.

ok, this is just the beginning. the next part will really involve in parting of our hard-earned money…

once (or before) the Sales and Purchase Agreement has been signed (not to mention paying 2% of downpayment), it’s time for the mad scramble of finding the right loan from the right bank.

if comparing the rates that the bank is giving you heading, wait till you see the kazillion products that the offer. you’ll be eating double doses of painkillers that you normally take…

which type of loans to take? conventional or Islamic? fixed or variable? or both (if any)? easy entry cost or non-easy entry cost? how about the Insurance? MRTA or MLTA?

the list goes on…

and yeah, i’m currently at the above dilemma. the jargons that they use are so complicated… it’s like you need a Master in Rocket Science to comprehend it.

and of course, applying it will not guarantee that your loan application will be approved. just hope that our bank accounts are healthy and the powers-to-be will approve it.

if everything goes right, will have to pay for the rest of the downpayment (8%). and also the legal fees, which cost around RM3K (if i don’t want the Bank to absorb it) and also SPA fees which also cost around RM3K.

and the rest is history. we will be in debt of the next 30 years or so…

it’s all about the money.

not to mention headaches…