Financial & Loan Terms

Navigating the financial side of buying a home in the Philippines can be confusing. This glossary simplifies essential housing loan terms—from Amortization to MRI—used by local banks and Pag-IBIG. Understanding this vocabulary is the key to making a confident and informed purchase for your future home in Bulacan.

Community Mortgage Program (CMP)

The Community Mortgage Program (CMP) is a Philippine social housing initiative by the SHFC that provides loans to organized, low-income communities, enabling them to collectively purchase the land they occupy and secure land tenure.

Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)

A Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) is a real estate professional’s estimate of a property’s value based on the recent sales of similar nearby properties. It’s an essential tool for Filipino homebuyers to determine a fair offer price and negotiate effectively.

Home Equity

Home Equity is the portion of your property’s value that you truly own (its market value minus your loan balance). For Filipino homeowners, it’s a key measure of wealth that grows over time through loan payments and property appreciation.

Refinancing

Refinancing is the process of replacing your current housing loan with a new one that offers better terms, like a lower interest rate. For Filipino homeowners, it’s a key strategy to reduce monthly payments and save on interest, but it involves costs that must be considered.

Interest Rate Fixing Period

The Interest Rate Fixing Period is the initial timeframe of a housing loan where the interest rate is locked in. For homebuyers in the Philippines, it provides crucial stability for their monthly amortization before the loan is repriced to current market rates.

Pre-payment Penalty

A pre-payment penalty is a fee charged by a lender if a borrower pays off their loan early. For homebuyers in the Philippines, it’s a critical clause to check, though many lenders like Pag-IBIG do not impose it on standard housing loans.

Loan Term

The Loan Term is the duration for repaying a housing loan. For Filipino homebuyers, choosing between a short term (higher monthly payment, lower total interest) and a long term (lower monthly payment, higher total interest) is a key financial decision.

Housing Loan

A housing loan, or mortgage, is money borrowed from a lender like a bank or Pag-IBIG to buy a home. It’s the primary financial tool that enables Filipinos to purchase property and pay for it in manageable monthly amortizations over time.

Loan-to-Value (LTV) Ratio

The Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio is a percentage used by lenders in the Philippines to determine the maximum loan amount for a property. It directly impacts the cash down payment a first-time homebuyer needs to prepare.

Asking Price

The Asking Price is the seller’s initial listed price for a property, serving as the starting point for negotiations. For homebuyers in the Philippines, it’s crucial to distinguish this from the Fair Market Value to make an informed offer.