Your first home is more than a loan approval.

Before you pay a booking fee

• Set a monthly housing limit that still leaves room for food, transport, insurance, family commitments, emergencies and future rate increases.
• Check your free eCCRIS report through Bank Negara Malaysia. CCRIS is a financing and repayment record, not a “blacklist”.
• Keep cash beyond the down payment for legal work, valuation, insurance or takaful, moving, basic repairs and deposits for utilities or building management.
• Ask in writing whether the booking payment is refundable if financing is rejected, and under what conditions. Keep the receipt and never transfer money to an unexplained personal account.
• Do not send payslips, bank statements or identity documents through an ordinary website enquiry form. Give financial documents only to the bank, lawyer or other authorised party through an agreed secure channel.

A practical buying sequence

1. Work out a comfortable budget. Stress-test the payment at a higher rate and include maintenance, sinking fund, assessment tax, quit rent, insurance, parking, tolls and repairs.
2. Prepare your financing file. Banks commonly ask salaried applicants for recent payslips, salary-crediting statements and EPF records; self-employed or commission earners usually need a longer income trail, bank statements and tax documents.
3. Shortlist the right property, not only the right price. Check title type, tenure, restrictions, outstanding maintenance, parking rights, approved use and whether promised facilities already exist.
4. View with a checklist. Test water pressure, mobile signal, noise, heat, lifts, parking, access control and the actual peak-hour route. For a sub-sale home, look for leaks, cracks, unauthorised renovation and unpaid charges.
5. Compare written loan offers. Look beyond the headline rate: compare the SBR spread, lock-in period, redraw rules, monthly charges, insurance or takaful, legal-cost financing and what happens when OPR changes.
6. Use your own legal advice. A conveyancing lawyer should explain the SPA, title, searches, conditions, payment dates and loan documents before you sign.
7. Plan for handover. Budget for defects, renovation priorities, utility transfers, access cards and several months of housing expenses after completion.

Public support worth checking

Eligibility is not automatic. Confirm the latest rules with the responsible agency, lawyer, tax adviser or participating bank before committing.

Costs that do not appear in the property price

• Down payment and the timing of each payment under the SPA.
• Legal fees, disbursements, searches and any stamp duty that is not exempt.
• Valuation fees and mortgage insurance or takaful such as MRTA, MRTT, MLTA or MLTT.
• Strata maintenance, sinking fund, assessment tax, quit rent and insurance.
• Renovation, defects, appliances, moving, utility deposits and access cards.
• Interest during progressive construction and the possibility of a higher instalment when the benchmark rate changes.

Pause and check when you hear these

• “Guaranteed loan approval” or a request to alter documents.
• A booking payment to an unrelated personal account.
• Promises about future roads, rail or facilities with no dated official source.
• Refusal to show the title, maintenance position, approved use or material defects.
• A monthly-payment illustration that omits the down payment, fees, variable rate and recurring ownership costs.