Chairman of the New Building Society (NBS), Dr Nanda Gopaul today announced that effective from tomorrow, borrowers will see a reduction in mortgage interest rates.
Persons will now have to pay 3.50% interest instead of the usual 4.00% for loans of $1 million to $4 million. Similarly, persons with loans $4 million to $9 million will see the interest rate reduced from 5.95% to 3.75% and those with loans from $9 million to $20 million will now pay 5.70% instead of 5.95%.
Speaking at a press conference at the NBS head office, he said that these decisions had been arrived at following meetings with President Irfaan Ali.
“With the drop of the interest rates, some 9,634 mortgagors will benefit from a reduction, by approximately $210M in reduction in their installments for 2022 and this reduction will continue for the duration of the loan period,” Gopaul said.
“The Society wants to make housing loans not only affordable but also easily accessible to every Guyanese holder of house lots. So, [persons] need not hesitate or they need not have any fear over repayment affordability, since the repayment in most instances is cheaper than having to rent properties. In these circumstances, therefore, we urge all Guyanese who are owners of vacant lots with Titles or Transport to visit any of our offices to be facilitated with a mortgage with ease,” he added.
In addition to the reduction in interest rates, Gopaul announced that NBS would no longer require that persons have a certain amount of money at the commencement of the construction phase as the government has agreed to make immediately available for every new construction, the grant of a limited amount of cement and steel rods to those who want to commence construction.
According to Gopaul, this will qualify persons to draw down on immediate instalments from the Society for the purpose of continuing their building.
For mortgage holders who wish to upgrade existing homes, Gopaul says, NBS will improve loan amounts to facilitate expansions and improvements. NBS will also facilitate new loans for existing homeowners, desirous of home improvement activities.
Effective January 1st, 2023, the interest calculation will be changed to reduce the monthly balance upon the payment of every monthly sum due and payable.
Meanwhile, it was also announced that since the Housing Expo nearly 500 persons were prequalified for loans and to date 302 have had theirs processed. The approval criteria now allow for persons to easily access loans as they no longer must bring estimates. If a person has a house lot in the form of Transport or Title and an approved plan, the loan requested will be approved almost immediately.
“We have advised our lawyers that once the mortgage is approved by the Society and that should be within a 24-hour period that the process of filing to the Deeds Registry and other Government agencies responsible for the processing of mortgages should be one within 48 hours. This will see a rapid improvement in the waiting time for borrowers to access their approved funds,” Gopaul said.
“The Society is heartened by the housing drive and the opportunities provided to financial institutions at this point in time to be a partner in the Government’s development plan for housing,” he added.
As it relates to mortgages, Gopaul said NBS appreciates the government’s support to increase the mortgage ceiling from $15 million to $20 million – which will see a reduced interest rate of 5.70%. Previously mortgagors were paying the same interest rate for $15 million mortgage.
“The Society believes this is a golden opportunity that persons, who are holders of Government house lots around the country, should take immediate steps to cash in on the NBS’s concessionary loan approvals at this point in our country’s history. There are no impediments in you owning your own home, once you have a transport or title for a house lot. Do visit the society’s offices to clarify any doubts you may have or to fast tract a previous application,” Gopaul said.
NBS will also be establishing four new branch offices. These will be located in Lethem, the East Bank, East Coast and West Coast. President Ali has approved lands for the construction of these branches.
In Region Nine, NBS will be providing initial loans to 300 borrowers at $2 million per mortgagor at the rate of 3.50%.
“The Society is a mutual organization and as such our business model is profit sufficiency rather than profit maximization. Our policies and strategies are done to ensure that our mortgagors and savers received the optimum benefits,” Gopaul added.
