By Siti Nurain Ratani
KUCHING: The Housing Deposit Assistance Scheme (HDAS) is aimed at helping people in the B40 and M40 groups to buy houses, said Mutiara Mortgage and Credit Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Shaharony Mat Nor.
According to him, this scheme is one of the initiatives of the Sarawak government to help buyers from the groups to pay a house deposit of up to RM10,000.
“HDAS is a bonus to the people of Sarawak from the state government led by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg to help those eligible, especially the young, to own a home.
“What is interesting is that no repayment will be charged to successful applicants of the assistance,” he said in an interview at his office at Wisma Sultan Tengah here, yesterday.
Elaborating on the HDAS application, Shaharony said it involved two steps — first, the buyer could buy the house based on the developer registered with them, and the developer would help the buyer to apply for the scheme.
“Second, buyers can build houses on their own land through the Village Expansion Scheme (SPK) or the Resettlement Scheme (SPS) programmes,” he explained.
He added for buyers who apply for housing loans from them, Mutiara Mortgage and Credit Sdn Bhd only charged a fixed interest rate of only one per cent (throughout the loan period).
“For HDAS, we will provide loan assistance of 10 per cent of the property purchase price or construction price, or RM10,000, whichever is lower,” he said, adding the deposit money would be credited directly to the developer.
For buyers who want to build a house on their own land (approved by the Land and Survey Department), they can apply directly at the Mutiara Mortgage and Credit Sdn Bhd office.
“Buyers can come to our office to get the application form and make the application directly without involving a third party.
“However, these applicants need to ensure that their land is in their own name,” he said.
