Approval, salary statement, TIN number, bank statement, photographs including those of the guarantors, trade license etc. The loan amount varies on the basis of location.

All fees like registration, CIB, processing and valuation fees and duties and taxes have to be borne by the applicant.

All banks keep the applicant's original documents of flat or house against mortgage.

Bangladesh Bank (BB)

Bangladesh Bank is providing home loan through some banks to facilitate the country's low and middle income groups in urban areas owning their accommodation.

Any salaried individual who does not own any property in the city area and who has a maximum income of Tk. 30,000 can apply for the loan facility.

Under the scheme, only 10% interest is charged and there is no hidden cost like service charges. The loan is much cheaper than any other home loan products of the commercial banks with interest rates currently ranging from 15 to 18 percent.

Under the Bangladesh Bank scheme, a borrower is entitled to a maximum loan amount of Tk.15, 00,000 to buy an apartment having not more than 1,250sft plinth area. The loan is repayable in quarterly instalments over a period of 20 years with one year grace period.

The quarterly instalment for the maximum loan amount is around Tk.49, 000 subject to calculations consistent with the traditional accounting system followed by the commercial banks in Bangladesh.

5 banks and 7 financial institutions signed an agreement with Bangladesh Bank to distribute loans under the central bank's home loan scheme. The banks are National Credit and Commerce Bank (NCC Bank), Mercantile Bank Limited, Prime Bank Limited, Mutual Trust Bank Limited and Trust Bank Limited. The financial institutions are Delta-BRAC Housing, National Housing and Finance Limited, IDLC, United Leasing, IIDFC and Lanka Bangla Finance and Fidelity Assets.

An amount of Tk. 300 crore has been allocated for the scheme, of which Tk. 100 crore has been kept for disbursement during the current fiscal year. The rest would be disbursed during the next 2 years.

In accordance with the BB guidelines, the areas under the six city corporations as well as four pouroshovas (Municipality) -- Tongi, Gazipur, Savar and Narayanganj -- would come under the purview of the new housing loan scheme.

HSBC

HSBC launched its home loan scheme in 2004. The bank offers home loan facilities to assist people financially in purchasing a new apartment or renovating their house. Any salaried individual with a minimum monthly income of Tk40,000 or self employed individual with a minimum monthly income Tk50,000 can apply for a loan. Salaried individuals must ensure that they have been in employment in well established organizations for at least 2 years. Self-employed individuals must have professional experience/a business establishment for at least 2 years.

The amount of loan provided ranges from Tk7, 50,000 to Tk75, 00,000 but the amount cannot be more than 70% of the property valuation inclusive of registration cost. The tenure of loan repayment stretches from 5 to 15 years and the loan must be repaid before the borrower's age reaches 60 years. Loan repayments are made in the form of equal monthly instalments (EMI).

All legal mortgage, registration and valuations fees have to be borne by the borrower.

No personal guarantee or cash security is needed while applying for a loan. The bank's Partial Prepayment fee is Tk1,000 and Early Settlement fee is 1% of the outstanding loan amount or Tk10,000, whichever is higher. The above fees and charges are subject to change without prior notice. Duties and taxes are payable as per government rules.

Standard Chartered Bank

Any Bangladeshi citizen drawing a monthly salary of not less than Tk25,000 can apply for the Standard Chartered Bank Home Loan Scheme. The maximum loan amount provided to an individual applicant under the Scheme is Tk75, 00,000. The loan repayment period covers 3 to 20 years.

The applicant has to provide a bank statement covering a period of at least six months. Also, he/she must be a tax payer or have a TIN number. Other requirements include ensuring personal guarantee.

Prime Bank

Prime Bank launched its Home Loan Scheme in 2006. Any Bangladeshi citizen earning a monthly income substantial enough to repay the loan is eligible for the Prime Bank home loan.

The bank provides loan for buying an apartment or a house not older than 10 years, constructing a new house and taking over regular House Building loans from other banks. The loan limit is Tk50 lakh and the loan coverage ranges from 50% to 70% of the total cost depending on the nature of loan. The maximum period of time allowed for loan repayment is 20 years.

At first, the customer chooses a housing company to buy a flat from and then assesses the price of the flat. Then he/she applies for home loan to any branch of the bank with some documents like the salary statement, RAJUK approval (in case of building a house), trade license (if the applicant is a businessman), etc. On approving the loan, the bank enters into a deed with the applicant.

The bank pays all the money to the housing company on behalf of the applicant and the registration of the flat is done in the bank's name at first. The customer repays his or her loan in the bank in equal monthly instalments. At least 10-12 days is needed for processing the loan.

Mercantile Bank

Mercantile Bank Limited introduced its Home Loan Scheme in 2007. Earlier on it had introduced house building loan.

Any citizen of Bangladesh capable of repaying the loan on time can apply for the Mercantile Bank Home Loan Scheme. Mercantile Bank provides home loan for buying an apartment as well as building a house. The maximum loan amount is one crore taka and limited to a maximum of 50% of the property valuation. The maximum period for repaying the loan is 15 years. Fixing the amount of house building loan depends on the location of house.

National Bank

The applicant has to be a citizen of Bangladesh and capable of repaying loan on time. National Bank provides home loan for buying an apartment or building a house. The maximum loan amount is Tk75 lakh and limited to a maximum of 75% of the property valuation. The maximum period for repaying the loan is 20 years. The tenure of loan repayment depends on the applicant's age. If the applicant's age is 35 or less, he or she gets the chance to repay the loan in 20 years.

Trust Bank

Any Bangladeshi citizen drawing a salary of Tk45,000 + can apply for the Trust Bank Home Loan Scheme. The range of loan amounts is between Tk08 lakh and Tk75 lakh, not exceeding a maximum of 70% of the property valuation. 5-20 years is given for loan repayment. Photographs including those of the guarantors, certificates issued by the local ward commissioner, salary statements etc have to be provided along with applications.

Bank Asia

Any citizen of Bangladesh capable of repaying the loan on time can apply for the Bank Asia Home Loan Scheme. The maximum loan amount is Tk30 lakh and is limited to a maximum of 80% of the property valuation. 15 years is the maximum period of time allowed for loan repayment.

IFIC Bank

Any citizen of Bangladesh with loan repayment capacity can apply for the IFIC Bank Home Loan Scheme. The maximum loan amount is 75 lakh taka but not exceeding a maximum of 70% of the property valuation. The loan can be repaid within a period of 15 years.

Mutual Trust Bank

Bangladeshi citizens who are capable of repaying the loan on time can apply for the Mutual Trust Bank Home Loan Scheme. The highest loan amount is a maximum of 70% of the property valuation and the loan has to be repaid within 10 years, at most.

Premier Bank

Premier Bank provides home loan only for their customers. Any customer of the bank who is capable of repaying the loan on time is eligible for applying for the Premier Bank Home Loan Scheme. The loan amount is settled on the basis of the customer's capability and the loan has to be paid within 5 years, at most.

National Commerce and Credit Bank (NCC Bank)

Any citizen of Bangladesh not more than 35 years of age and capable of repaying the loan timely can apply for the NCC Bank Home Loan Scheme. NCC Bank provides home loan for buying an apartment or building a house. The maximum loan amount is Tk50 lakh but not exceeding a maximum of 70% of the property valuation and the longest repayment tenure is 15 years. Four branches of the bank in Dhaka City provide the loan: Uttara, Gulshan, Mirpur and Motijheel branch.

Uttara Bank

Uttara Bank provides home loan only for house repairing. Anyone wanting to repair/renovate their house can apply for a loan under the scheme called the Uttara Bank House Repairing Scheme. The maximum loan amount is Tk25 lakh, which has to be repaid within 5-8 years.

Islamic Bank Bangladesh

The name of the Islamic Bank Bangladesh Home Loan Scheme is "Hire Percentage under Shirkatul Milk". Any citizen of Bangladesh with the ability to repay the loan within the stipulated time is eligible to apply. Islamic Bank Bangladesh provides home loan for buying an apartment or building a house. There is no maximum limit for the loan amount. It depends on the customer's capability. The maximum time limit for repaying the loan is 10 years.

Bank Interest Charged on Home Loan

Interest charges vary from bank to bank. In some banks interest rates may be relatively low but there may be other costs like extra fees that may ultimately make the cost of loans much higher. So, customers should weigh up all the factors before making the final decision.

HSBC

The current interest rate is 14.5% for 5 years, 15% for 6-10 years and 15.5% for 11-15 years. The loan processing fee is 1.5% of the total amount of loan

Standard Chartered Bank

The current interest rate is 12.5%. The loan processing fee is 1.5% of total the amount of loan.

Prime Bank

The current interest rate is 15%.

Trust Bank

The current interest rate is 15% plus 1% processing fee.

National Commerce and Credit Bank (NCC Bank)

The current interest rate is 15% and the loan processing fee is1% of total amount of loan.

National Bank

The current interest rate is 13.5% without any processing fee.

Bank Asia

The current interest rate is 16% with 1% processing fee.

IFIC Bank

The current interest rate is 15% plus 1% of the total amount of loan as service charge.

The processing fee is Tk5000 fixed.

Mutual Trust Bank

The current interest rate is 15% and the processing fee is Tk1000 fixed.

Premier Bank

The current interest rate is 16% plus 0.5% as the processing fee.

Uttara Bank

The current interest rate for is 13.5% and the processing fee is Tk1000 per lakh.

Islamic Bank Bangladesh

The current interest rate is 15%.

-ET Report