Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (April 25): PR1MA homeowners can now start applying for the special end-financing scheme via four financial institutions: Malayan Banking Bhd, CIMB Bank Bhd, RHB Bank Bhd and AMMB Holdings Bhd (AmBank).

In a statement yesterday, PR1MA which stands for Perbadanan PR1MA Malaysia, said the scheme, known as Skim Pembiayaan Fleksibel, announced by the Prime Minister during the tabling of Budget 2017 last year, has been made available since February this year.
 
“The scheme, a joint-effort by Bank Negara Malaysia, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and the partner financial institutions, and exclusively for PR1MA homebuyers, was designed to increase the chances of getting a home loan, especially for first-time homebuyers by providing access to a higher loan amount than they would otherwise be
eligible for with conventional loans,” PR1MA said.
 
The scheme comes in two options — the step-up only or the step-up with EPF Account 2's withdrawal.
 
“For both options, borrowers will only be paying interest in the first five years. The principal will kick in from the 6th year onwards until the loan is settled,” PR1MA said.
 
“If homebuyers would like to get a larger loan amount, they may choose the second option where EPF Account 2 is utilised,” it said.
 
As of April 2017, PR1MA said its Members of Corporation have approved the development of 265,033 units of PR1MA homes nationwide, of which 136,569 units are in various stages of construction.
 
Some 1.41 million Malaysians to-date have registered for PR1MA homes nationwide, of which 166,972 of them had applied for the homes.
 
EPF had previously said members must be aware that on choosing to use their Account 2 under the end-financing scheme, all other pre-retirement withdrawals under this account, namely medical, education, age 50 and hajj withdrawals, will no longer be available until full settlement of the PR1MA loans.
 
Established under a Parliamentary Act in 2012, PR1MA is mandated to plan, develop, build and maintain quality homes for the middle-income group in urban and sub-urban areas, with a household income of between RM2,500 per month and RM15,000 per month.

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