I am in interested in buying a house in Islamabad, and i live in the US and would like to know how I can get financing for the house? What the process is like? Thanks in advance.
Hi,
Financing a house in Pakistan is not a good idea actually. I assume you are property owner in US with a mortgage. Same is here in UK but NOT in Pakistan due to massive interest rates.
A Kayani
Hi Rahim,
I found a very helpful blog post buried in the archives. Take a look at the following link, please. I am sure you'd find it helpful.
In Pakistan there had been mortgage facilities and still are but of course interest rates are far too high compared to west. Prime reason is the double digit inflation which is taken usually around 15% plus the bank's interest of 3-5% which adds up to a total of 18 - 20%
However, I think House Building Finance Corporation (HBFC) - government institution would still offer better option than a commercial bank coz the payment period is quite flexible - 15 - 25 yrs may be.
Brother Nafees the blog you posted link of is almost 19 months old and in Pakistan prices change twice a month.
Brother Rahim, for you we do not advice to go for Bank financing as golden times for house financing were during General Musharaf marshal law as bank rates were too low but now you will end up paying a quarter of your total worth to the banks.
We would rather recommend to buy in cash.
Ali MEYAAR Builders
Dear Ali,
Thank you for pointing that out. I think it's time we went and reviewed that. Wait up for a fresh post on the subject from Zameen's blog.