The upcoming tabling of Budget 2019 has township developer, LBS Bina Group Berhad (LBS), hopeful for policies that will help empower first-time home buyers face the current challenges of home ownership. “As a Malaysian property developer, we remain committed to helping more people realise their dreams of owning a home by providing more affordable homes,” said Group Managing Director, Tan Sri Lim Hock San.
“Our experience in the property development industry, which spans more than two decades, has allowed LBS the opportunity to understand the evolving needs of home buyers. We wish to highlight suggestions to consider for Budget 2019, which we strongly believe can help empower home buyers and help the nation achieve its aspiration of increasing home ownership,” Tan Sri Lim Hock San said.
Firstly, LBS proposes the introduction of a special end financing scheme to ease the high loan rejection rate due to stringent loan financing rules. “In our experience, we have encountered many interested home buyers who experienced either loan rejection or were only eligible for lower-than-expected loans. We believe those in the middle and lower income groups will benefit from the special end financial scheme as it eases the financial burden they face,” he explained.
In its second suggestion, LBS hoped to see more flexible end financing guidelines with the support of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). This will greatly empower first-time home buyers’ financing capacity and bring them closer towards realising their dream of owning a home.
The township developer also shone the spotlight on growing families and the need for easier access to financing in order to upgrade homes for a better quality of life.
“For the third suggestion, we also hope BNM will consider increasing the tenure of housing loans from the present 35 years to 40 years. Our final suggestion is that we hope the administration can consider an exemption for stamp duty on loan agreements involving properties under RM500,000, and greater flexibility with housing loan policies,” Tan Sri Lim said.
“We pledge our support towards efforts that promote better quality of life for the Rakyat and a stable yet thriving economy. Moving forward, collaboration between the public and private sector is key in both raising the local property sector to meet world class standards. We look forward to continue playing an active role on this front,” concluded Tan Sri Lim.
