It is difficult to give an unambiguous answer to the eternal question: to take or not to take a mortgage
Such a big decision must be made carefully, thoughtfully, taking into account many factors. But what should you pay attention to first of all? When is the best time to get a mortgage? Does it make sense to consider the secondary market? Igor Seleznev, Director of the Mortgage Lending Department of the MCB, answered these and other questions.
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“When they ask me: “When is the best time to take a mortgage?”, I jokingly answer: “Yesterday”. Of course, you need to take a balanced approach to obtaining a mortgage loan, but at the same time make a decision fairly quickly, since everything can change: programs, prices, availability of lots, etc.
But is it worth taking a mortgage in the summer? Traditionally, in the summer months, the demand for such transactions falls. Of course, this does not mean that you need to wait for his increase. On the contrary, often when demand decreases, developers launch promotions with more favorable conditions for the purchase of real estate.
But when deciding on a mortgage, you need to carefully weigh all the details. In particular, what kind of real estate do you want to buy — will it be a secondary or primary? What is the amount of your savings? Does your income allow you to comfortably pay off your mortgage? But here it is important to consider how high your overall debt load is. It is also worth remembering that when buying an apartment in a new building, funds will be needed to equip a new home. What subsidies and discounts are currently available,” Seleznev said.
He stressed that, due to the optimization of business processes, the time for considering mortgage applications has been significantly reduced.
“The average time to approve a mortgage application (time to yes) in 2022, after optimizing business processes, decreased by 25% compared to 2021. Now the client can draw up a contract within one business day. We analyze the requests of our clients and adapt mortgage programs according to the current market conditions. At the same time, we see that a steady interest in purchasing housing in new buildings using preferential and subsidized programs remains. There is reason to believe that interest in these products will continue until the end of the year.”
The mortgage portfolio of banks has shown steady growth since the beginning of 2022, according to a study by the DOM.RF analytical center and the Frank RG agency. These indicators, despite market instability, are achieved by developing the mortgage business towards digitalization and automation, reducing client time and implementing projects aimed at developing and adapting the product based on market trends,” Seleznev concluded.