Buying a house through the Internet

Buying a house through the Internet

The young couple was cruising slowly in the Raffles Hills
housing estate. This was an important trip -- for house-hunting
-- as they planned to get married in less than a year. Their
entire morning and afternoon were spent with an informative
personal survey on the brand-new houses in this estate and
followed by the other nearby estates in the Cibubur and Cilengsi
areas, such as Citra Grand, Kota Wisata and Legenda Wisata. "Both
of us are of the same opinion: the houses we've seen are
excellent and the location has a healthy environment," said the
man, who had the appearance of an executive.

Next question was the price. Having both mid-priced and
upmarket houses, the houses in these estates were at least Rp 100
million (US$11,750). Besides their personal savings for the down
payment and furniture, the woman was certain that with their
current careers they were eligible for loans from any of the
reputable banks in the country.

Indeed, today, the country's economic situation has much
improved, with the result that banks feel secure in providing
loans to both developers and consumers (see Table One).

At least 40 major banks -- both state and private -- are
actively providing such loans, including the country's two
giants, BCA and Bank Mandiri. Both are currently working in close
cooperation with two professional property brokers: BCA with
Century-21 and Bank Mandiri with Raine & Horne. This means that
loans are provided, not only for purchase of new houses -- the
primary market -- but also for the secondary property segment, or
secondhand houses.

Another leading bank -- Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN) -- which is
well-known for its involvement in building a huge number of
simple or modest houses around the country -- the RS and RSS
types -- has announced that it would allot more of its funds to
the property sector. In 2002, this bank dispersed Rp 1.39
trillion for the purchase of 35,000 houses, while this year the
bank will provide its customers with more than Rp 2.2 trillion
for their housing needs.

Other major banks that have jumped on the bandwagon are Bank
Lippo, Bank Mega, Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) spell out
what it is, Bank Bumi Putera, Bank Danamon, Bank Niaga and Bank
NISP, while real estate analysts estimate that the list of banks
will grow longer in the near future.

Bank Niaga, for example, as of September 2002 had provided
loans totalling Rp 75 billion and estimates an increase of 30
percent for 2003. Its house loan product, Niaga Specta Graha
Kredit, has an 18 percent fixed interest rate for a variety of
housing needs, including purchase of a new or secondhand house,
shop or even house renovation. The credit term is 15 years.

Meanwhile, as of September 2002, Bank NISP had provided loans
totalling Rp 450 billion and this year's plan is a sum of Rp 1.5
trillion. The bank's house loan product, KPR Merdeka,
incorporates the latest IT technology and customers can apply
online through the Internet using their site: kprmerdeka.com.
Their credit term is also 15 years and the money can be used for
purchases of low-priced as well as luxury houses that cost Rp 1
billion each. Once a customer fulfills all the prerequisites the
credit is approved within five days at the latest.

"This IT-incorporated loan product is our newest innovation
that includes a credit simulation allowing the applicant to
calculate and find out his or her ceiling of credit. The
applicant can also accurately calculate the price range of a
house he or she intends to buy based on their ability to make the
down payments and the subsequent installments," explained
president and CEO of Bank NISP Pramukti Surjaudaja.

So, today, with the availability of sophisticated information
technology, purchasing a house -- or to be more precise, getting
your loan from almost any major bank -- is just a click away.
Switch on your computer, browse the Internet and you can easily
find out the entire range of products and features from the
bank's website.

-- Ari Darmawan