Republic Bank Limited can make your dream of a new home a quick and affordable reality through a range of Mortgage loans that are especially designed to meet your specific needs. These include:
Republic Bank's mortgage package is designed with you in mind, tailored to suit your individual needs. We offer you affordability and quality service as well as other value added features. Our competitive packages include:-
The Mortgage Certificate is a form of pre-qualification for the loan and is presented to you after Republic Bank analyzes your current income, debt servicing and basic credit history to determine the maximum loan amount for which you may qualify. This is of course subject to the value of the property representing an acceptable loan to value ratio and the location of the property being acceptable to the Bank
Your Mortgage Certificate is valid for a period of three months from the date of issuance and allows you the opportunity to locate your land, dream home or building contractors (when constructing your home). If you do not have all the required documents (listed below) on hand when you visit our branches, our Sales Officers can still calculate the financing for which you qualify by asking you a few questions during the interview. You will get the official Mortgage Certificate when you bring in the required documents at a later date.
At the first stage, the Bank determines the level of financing for which you qualify, therefore you will be required to produce documents that show your financial standing. These are:-
The Sales Officer will also require your authorization to perform a credit check.
This is the most involved and important stage of the three stages. it entails:-
If you are purchasing your home or land and have identified the seller, the Sales Officer can complete the mortgage application using the documents you supplied in the first stage and you just need to supply the address of the property and the purchase price. (Please note the different procedure in the "Building your home" section)
When your mortgage application has been approved you will receive your Letter of Offer which confirms that the Bank is extending mortgage financing to you and outlines the main terms and conditions of the mortgage.
In order to arrive at the stage of disbursement the Bank needs to determine that the property you wish to purchase is of acceptable security. Therefore you will need:-
The documents required for the purchase of land are the same as for the purchase of a home, except that in the case of land purchases the land and building tax will be replaced by a land tax receipt and the Completion Certificate is not required.
If you own or are buying land and want to build your own home, you will need Bridging Finance. The purpose of this financing is to bridge the gap between construction and completion of your home by providing the necessary funds during the construction phase.
Unlike the procedure when purchasing your home, you will need to supply additional documents before the application form can be completed. These documents will confirm the level of financing you request.
The documents required for home construction are the same as for purchasing a home, in addition to the following:
Upon completion of the building, a Completion Certificate from the Local Government Authority and an Electrical Inspection Certificate from T&TEC will be required.
If you are purchasing a townhouse or a condominium, you will need to provide the same documents required for purchasing a home, as well as the following:
Insurance is also required at this stage to protect the borrower's family and the premises. All the plans are available under Republic Bank's affordable Group Plan.
Life Insurance Coverage
Life insurance coverage gives you the peace of mind that if you (the borrower) were to unfortunately pass away; your family will not have to bear the burden of the
mortgage instalments or even move out of the premises. The insurance will cover the outstanding balance of the mortgage loan.
Comprehensive Insurance Coverage
Insurance coverage on the property provides protection against the threat of fire and other risks on your home.
It is taken for the amount recommended in the valuation report.
Mortgage Indemnity Insurance
Republic Bank's normal lending criterion is 80% of the lower of cost or market value, however up to 90% financing is also available.
Mortgage Indemnity Insurance is insurance required when the loan amount required is in excess of the 80%. This insurance is available up to
a value of $100,000. Instead of paying for Mortgage
Indemnity Insurance, you can use other security e.g. equity in another property, cash/investments; to cover the "excess" requested over 80%.
Mortgage Instalment Protection (optional)
Upon your acceptance of the Letter of Offer, an attorney will then be assigned to:
Searches
A search will be conducted at the Land Registry to determine that the prospective property is free of all encumbrances. A search of the Judgments Register will also be conducted on
the vendor (if applicable) and on the borrower to ensure that there are no judgments against either party.
Legal Documents
A Deed of Conveyance is prepared by your attorney, or by Republic Bank's attorneys at your request, to transfer ownership, once the property is deemed transferable.
Along with the documents and insurances required at this stage, there are some other costs that you will be required to cover. You can see the Summary of Costs table as well as the Mortgage Costs example. The costs to cover at this stage are:-
Downpayment
A normal downpayment is 20% to 25% of the selling price of the house or land; however a minimum of 10% may be accepted, subject to the discretion
of Republic Bank. It is important to note that the Bank will finance 90% of the lower of the cost or market value of the property.
In the instances where the market value is less that the cost of the property you will have to pay more than 10% of the cost of the property.
Valuation Report Fee
Most of the valuators have a table of fees with varying percentages charged for different ranges of property values. Although the cost differs among different valuators,
a general estimate for the valuator report cost is ¼ of 1% of the market value of the property.
Handling Fee
Upon signing and accepting the Letter of Offer you are required to pay the low handling fee of 1% of the mortgage value, which is the Bank's processing charge
Deed of Conveyance costs
To determine these costs you will need to first establish whether the property that you are purchasing has a deed
that is R.P.O (Real Property Ordinance) or Old Law. You can get this information from your vendor.
Lawyers use a standard schedule of fees to calculate the cost for the Deed of Conveyance which is made up of -attorney fees,
stamp duty and search fees (See summary of costs).
Deed of Mortgages costs (downpayment)
A Deed of Mortgage will be prepared by the Bank's attorneys outlining the terms and conditions of the mortgage. You will be required to make a deposit
of $2000 towards the preparation of this Deed upon acceptance of the Letter of Offer, and the full balance at the disbursement stage.
The charges associated with this deed are based on the mortgage value and like the Deed of Conveyance are made up of attorney fees, stamp duty and search fees.
Purchasing your home/land
At this stage you must have already provided all the documents, insurances and obtained the Deed of Conveyance. To draw down on your loan you are required to sign the Deed of Mortgage. The attorney/s will be paid by you for his/their services as well as for any stamp
duty that may apply to the two Deeds. These legal documents will then be stamped by the Board of Inland Revenue.
In the case of T&TEC, in order to obtain a transfer of the electrical supply in your name on an existing building, the following must be provided:
| Amortisation | This is loan repayment by equal periodic instalments including accrued interest on the outstanding balances, calculated to pay off the debt at the end of a fixed period. |
| Borrower | One who applies for and receives a loan in the form of a mortgage. |
| Bridge financing/ construction loan | Financing for constructing a home. |
| Building permit | A certificate that must be obtained by the property owner or contractor before a building can be constructed or extended. This can be obtained at the City or Regional Corporation overseeing the area where the property is located. |
| Certificate of completion | Confirmation that the building has been completed to the construction standards that were approved in the initial application to the local Government Authority. This can be obtained at the City or Regional Corporation overseeing the area where the property is located. |
| Closing date | Date when the purchase is final and you take ownership of the property. |
| Closing/settlement | Meeting between the lender, the buyer and seller or their agents where the property title and funds legally change hands. |
| Credit report | A report documenting the credit history and current status of a borrower's credit status |
| Default | Failure to meet legal obligations in a contract or mortgage payments. |
| Downpayment | This is the deposit you must make up front to the vendor or vendor's agent toward the purchase of your home, thereby reducing the amount of the purchase price. |
| Debt Servicing Ratio | This ratio is calculated by dividing your mortgage loan instalment (plus any other loan instalments) by your gross monthly basic salary or GMBS (i.e. your monthly salary before tax and other deductions). |
| Equity | The difference between the market value of the property and the debt, secured by the property. |
| Freehold title | Indefinite ownership of property. |
| Foreclosure | A legal process by which lender or seller forces a sale of a mortgaged property because the borrower has not met the obligations of the mortgage. |
| Gross monthly basic salary (GMBS) | The borrower's monthly basic salary before tax and other deductions. |
| Holdback | An amount of money withheld by the lender during construction to ensure that the work is progressing as planned at every stage. |
| Interest rate | The rate of interest payable at the outset will be the rate in force at the time the loan is advanced. From time to time this may be varied (upward or downward) with three (3) months' notice in writing being given by Republic Bank. |
| Leasehold title | Ownership for a stated period of time. |
| Market value | The highest price that a buyer will pay and the lowest price a seller will accept on a property. |
| Mortgage loan | A loan given to purchase real estate. |
| Mortgagee | The lender. |
| Principal | The amount of debt excluding interest left on a loan. |
| Valuation report | An estimate of the value of the property, made by a qualified professional valuer. |
| Real Property Ordinance (R.P.O) & Old law title | Old law titles were given in the past where new deeds were supplied when title was transferred. R.P.O. title replaced old law title where only a stamp at the back of the deed is required when title is transferred. |
| Panel of Valuators | Panel of Lawyers |
| Raymond & Pierre Ltd. | J.D. Sellier & Co. |
| Linden Scott & Associates Ltd. | Pollonais Blanc, de la Bastide & Jacelon |
| Brent Augustus & Associates Ltd. | Hobsons |
| G.A. Farrel & Associates | Lex Caribbean |
| Terra Caribbean | J.B. Kelshall |
| Ray Pierre | Daltons |
| Mervyn Thompson | RC Chadeesingh |
| D.W.H. Knott (Tobago) | |
| Charles B. Lawrence & Associates | |
| Deloitte & Touche Real Estate Services | |
| BCQS International Limited |
Mortgage applicants sometimes underestimate the costs that they must cover themselves. Therefore Republic Bank will like to provide you with the following information which should help you better prepare for your mortgage expenses.
| Mortgage related costs | Calculation | When Due |
| Down Payment | 10%- 20% & over the cost of property 25% & over the cost of land | Upon signing of vendor's sale agreement and before the Bank presents you with the Letter of Offer |
| Valuation report cost | ¼ of 1% the market value. | Before the Bank can disburse financing |
| Handling Fee | 1.0% of the mortgage value | Upon acceptance of the Letter of Offer |
| Mortgage Indemnity Insurance(Charged when financing property over 80%) | (% financing) x lower of cost & market value minus 80% x lower of cost & market value Result x 11% plus 6% tax |
Upon acceptance of the Letter of Offer |
| Deed of Conveyance costs | Fees + Vat rough averages)(1.2% market value Old law; 0.8%, market value R.P.O) plus Stamp Duty (no exemption for land purchases) (Nil under $450,000, 5% $450,001-550,000, 7.5% $550,001-650,000, 10% 650,001 and above) plus Search Title (average) $1,000 |
Due before disbursement of loan |
| Group Life Insurance | Ranges from $0.12-$0.95 per $1000 of mortgage value | 3 months premium due after acceptance of Letter of Offer, before loan can be disbursed |
| Group Fire Insurance | $3 per $1000 + 6% tax | After acceptance of Letter of Offer, before loan can be disbursed |
| Deed of Mortgage costs | Fees + Vat rough averages (1.2% Mortgage value Old law; 0.8% Mortgage value R.P.O ) plus Stamp Duty (no exemption for land purchases) (Exempt up to $315,000, thereafter 0.2% NB if you already own a mortgage and you are refinancing the charge will be 0.4%) plus Search Title (average) $1,000 |
$2,000 down payment due upon acceptance of the Letter of Offer and remainder due on draw down date |
| Cost of Property | $600, 000 | Qualifying Income* $11,097 Instalment $4,439 |
| Market Value | $600, 000 | |
| Financing | 90% | |
| Mortgage Value | $540, 000 | |
| Land Value | $200, 000 | |
| House Value | $400, 000 | |
| Downpayment | ||
| 10% | 60,000 | |
| Handling Fee | ||
| 1% | 2,700 | |
| Valuation Report Fee | ||
| 0.0025 | 1,500 | |
| Deed of Compliance | ||
| Old Law | 7,200 | |
| R.P.O. | 4,800 | |
| Stamp Duty | 8,750 | |
| Search Title | 1000 | |
| Morgage Indemnity | ||
| 11% | 6,600 | |
| 6% | 386 | 6996 |
| Life Insurance | ||
| Worst case Scenario | ||
| 0.00095 | 1.539 | |
| Fire Insurance | ||
| 0.003 | 1,200 | |
| 6% | 72 | 1,272 |
| Mortgage Deed | ||
| Old Law | 6,480 | |
| R.P.O. | 4,320 | |
| Stamp Duty | 1,080 | |
| Search Title | 1,000 | |
| % of Cost of property | ||
| 17% | Old law | 99,517 |
| 16% | R.P.O. | 94,957 |
| If both deed performed by same lawyer | ||
| 16% | Old law | 95,277 |
| 15% | R.P.O. | 91,797 |
