Are you planning to refinance your mortgage loan but not sure if it’s the right time? In this episode of Money Talks Explains, Clive Chng, head of relations at Redbrick Mortgage Advisory, gives a breakdown of what homeowners should consider – from loan tenure to interest rates – before making the move.  

Here's an excerpt from the conversation:

Andrea Heng, host:  Going back to some of the considerations you talked about, let's get into the details of that. What about considerations like tenure affordability?

Clive Chng, Redbrick Mortgage Advisory:  When you purchase a property, the requirements are usually a little bit more stringent. So in terms of your loan tenure for example, the maximum loan tenure you can get from HDB - if you qualify for it - it's going to be 25 years when you start.

So for example, business owners, where cash flow is really quite important, you want to lengthen the loan tenure just so that your housing loans, your mortgage burdens aren't as high.

Andrea: Just more manageable.

Clive: Exactly. So you manage the mortgage that way.

Andrea:
You do, but is it really a lot more?
 
Clive:
It's always based on individual circumstances. For example, if a business owner knows that they need cash flow in the shorter term, they may lengthen the loan tenure first. And then maybe a couple of years later they can still shorten it (so it's) something that you can still move around, quite flexible.