The Government Service Insurance System yesterday unwrapped a housing loan package with a fixed interest rate of 8 percent and an easy repayment period up to 30 years.
Winston Garcia, GSIS president and general manager, said the demand for mass housing units by government employees is expected to balloon with the introduction of what he called the best housing loan program in the country. “You can’t find a program that provides more security to the borrowers anywhere else in the market. We practically gift-wrapped this program to our members so they can afford to buy a house of their own,” Garcia said.
Although some banks might offer the same or even lower interest rate, only GSIS offers a fixed term totally independent from the loan value, Garcia said.
Unlike the state-run pension fund manager, commercial banks recompute the interest rate every year based on market trends, Garcia said.
Under the new program, GSIS will charge each borrower 8-percent interest rate compounded annually and fixed for the entire term of the loan. Repayment is from five years to 30 years.
“This interest rate applies to any approved loan amount,” Garcia said.
The maximum loanable amount will be based on the appraised value of the property, and the paying capacity of the borrower.
The loan may be used to purchase a vacant lot or a house-and-lot package, or a condominium or a townhouse intended for residential use. The repayment of loan could be in five, 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years but should not exceed the difference between 80 and age of borrower at the time of application.
The loan should be paid either through payroll deduction, post-dated checks or direct payment.
Last year, GSIS generated P313 million from the sale of 344 foreclosed house-and-lot units.
Another state-run fund, Pag-IBIG, also offers housing loans for as low as 7 percent for a loan of P750,000 or lower. Pag-IBIG caters to private sector employees while GSIS serves some three million government employees and retirees from public service. -Lawrence Agcaoili, Manila Standard Today
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