Those with income below RM3000 need not make down payment on house. First time house buyers with a family income less than RM3000 per month need not pay the 10% down payment under the My First House Scheme (SKIM Rumah Pertamaku) home loan.

The 10% down payment will be guaranteed by Cagamas Bhd for houses priced between RM100,000 and RM220,000. This will allow the first time buyers to obtain 100% home loan with will enable them to buy houses costing between RM100,000 and RM220,000 with a repayment period of up to 30 years. The scheme does not cover refinancing of a home.

To qualify for the scheme, which is for both houses under construction and completed properties, house buyers must be those working in the private sector and are confirmed employees with a minimum of six months in the job. The self-employed do not qualify for the scheme while joint applications are allowed, provided that both are in the private sector and are family members, such as siblings or spouses.

The monthly financing repayment sum must also be not more than one-third of the applicants’ monthly gross income. However, this sum can go up to 50% of their income if additional credit is permitted under the banks’ underwriting policy.

They will also be given stamp duty exemption of 50% on instruments of transfer on a house not exceeding RM350,000. The government also proposed a stamp duty exemption of 50% for loan agreement instruments to finance first-time purchasers.

The scheme sees the participation of 25 conventional and Islamic financial institutions including major banks like AmBank, CIMB, Hong Leong, Maybank, Public Bank, RHB and Standard Chartered.

For government servants, the goodies include an increase in the maximum loan eligibility from RM360,000 to RM450,000 effective 1 Jan 2011.