Do you know how many people you must meet face-to-face in order to get the best home loan in Singapore? If you asked this question five years ago, the answer is two – your mortgage broker and your banker. But it is 2020 and believe it or not, the number is ZERO! You don’t need to meet anyone face-to-face when you are applying for your home loan. It has now become a contactless process.

A contactless process with your mortgage broker

That's right, there is no need to meet with your mortgage broker face-to-face! The best mortgage brokers in Singapore can connect with you over the phone, or even by WhatsApp. There is no barrier for a mortgage broker to provide you with their expert advice during your home loan application process. There is no need for the mortgage broker to handle any of your required documents.

This means you:

• Get to save time – there’s no need to make an appointment for both parties to meet.
• Enjoy the convenience – Contact your mortgage broker whenever you have time! But of course, try not to call them at 1am.
• Don’t need to wait to have all your documents ready before you get the best advice.

The best mortgage brokers in Singapore will be able to help you calculate your loan eligibility, advise you on types of home loan rates, as well as ensure you have done the necessary before you pay your option fee.

Your mortgage broker will then advise you on the best home loan rates for your current financial situation based on factors including your risk preference. Let them know that you prefer to keep this contactless process going, so that they will direct you to a trusted banker from DBS who will continue this process with you.

A contactless process with your banker

At this point in time, DBS and OCBC are the only banks in Singapore to offer a purely contactless process for their home loan customers.

In the case of DBS, all their bankers, or Home Advice Specialists, will be able to assist you without needing to meet you face-to-face.

Once you have spoken to your banker over the phone, they will advise you of the documents you will need to prepare, including your option to purchase, income documents, and other financial documents such as credit card statements.

All these can be submitted securely to your DBS Home Advice Specialist through DBS iBanking.

Subsequently, once your home loan has been approved by DBS, your Home Advice Specialist will contact you to get you to digitally sign the Letter of Offer as well as any other documents needed.

It’s really that easy! We’re glad that DBS has set the precedent for such a practice and that OCBC has recently introduced this feature as well.

From what we hear, other banks are also in the process of making their home loan application process just as easy and convenient. This is a really good thing for both customer and banker to enjoy the time and cost savings from not needing to meet in person. (This is NOT a sponsored article, by the way. Neither DBS nor OCBC are paying us a cent to say this!)

Meet with the lawyers

For legal reasons, there is currently NO contactless process for conveyancing. You will still need to meet with a lawyer to get the necessary legal documents signed. Based on current laws, a witness (i.e. the lawyer) must be physically present when the documents are signed.

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• The Singaporean Guide to Home Loan Interest Rates