Maybank Islamic Bhd is the first bank to launch a rent-to-own (RTO) housing scheme, HouzKEY, in the country.
The RTO scheme aims to help first-time house buyers or even those who want to upgrade their homes to purchase a property.
“HouzKEY is a milestone achieved by Maybank Islamic, and we believe it will help address the growing issue of concern in Malaysia for affordable home ownership,” said Maybank Islamic’s CEO Datuk Mohamed Rafique Merican.
The RTO product offers an alternative solution for affordable home ownership, as it does not require any down payment while offering a lock-in purchase price for buyers.
It aims to address the challenges faced by many aspiring homebuyers in coughing up sufficient upfront payment for the down payment when purchasing houses.
HouzKEY will be offered to Maybank employees in the initial stage, and then it will be made available to the general public in early 2018.
It is the first RTO product in Malaysia that allows its customers to apply and submit the supporting documents in relation to this scheme online.
Applicants for HouzKEY are required to have a household income of at least RM5,000 and commit to a minimum rental tenure of five years.
After one year, the applicants will have the option to purchase the property at a pre-agreed price.
“This product is our solution to the current challenge of home ownership and also our way of supporting Malaysia’s national agenda on homeownership,” said Mohamed.
The HouzKEY website will include properties in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor developed by a few well-known developers such as Eco World Development Group Bhd in the initial stage.
“We intend to progressively expand our offering to include properties in other locations throughout Malaysia as well, and include more developers over the coming months to give Malaysians an even wider choice of homes to invest in,” he said.
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