Roshan Apna Ghar Brings Home Financing For Overseas Pakistani

Update (Oct. 13, 2021): President of Pakistan Arif Ali introduced the Roshan Digital Account Scheme in UAE in a high-profile event. While addressing the occasion, the president appreciated the great potential of the Pakistani community living in the UAE. Regarding UAE as their second home, the community has significantly contributed to the progress and development of its host country.

Mr. Reza Baqir, the governor of the state bank of Pakistan, also addressed the event. A speech of his clip has recently been shared on the official Twitter handle of SBP, shared below:

To learn more about the Roshan Apna Ghar Scheme and how it will benefit overseas Pakistanis, continue reading this blog!

In a bid to increase the inflow of foreign investments and facilitate overseas Pakistanis, the federal government in collaboration with the State Bank of Pakistan has already introduced groundbreaking initiatives under the umbrella of the Roshan Digital Account including the Naya Pakistan Certificate (investment scheme), Roshan Apni Car (car financing scheme), and Roshan Samaji Khidmat (charitable programme).

Roshan Apna Ghar is yet another landmark move in this regard. Announced by the Prime Minister of Pakistan in a recently held high-profile launch event, it is a ‘game-changing’ housing finance scheme targeting non-resident Pakistanis. In this blog, we have put together all the latest information we have on the Roshan Apna Ghar initiative including the eligibility criteria for applicants, the application process, and types of financing available

So, without further ado, let’s begin!

More About Roshan Apna Ghar

Roshan Apna Ghar can be termed as a ‘long-awaited’ initiative as it finally allows overseas Pakistanis to buy a property in Pakistan with their own savings or through a bank financing facility. While launching the product, Prime Minister Imran Khan termed it a “game-changer”.

“I think this [initiative] will help us attract a lot of money because Pakistan needs dollars and overseas Pakistanis are the only source to decrease the gap between the country’s exports and imports,” PM stated while addressing the launch event. 

The financing facilities in Roshan Apna Ghar are available in both conventional and Shariah-compliant modes for a period between three and twenty-five years at highly competitive rates. The initiative is based on an end-to-end digital process based on a simplified mechanism that makes it very convenient for Overseas Pakistanis to apply for housing finance or proceed with investing in the country’s property sector. 

Features of Roshan Apna Ghar for Overseas Pakistanis

Here are some of the noteworthy features of Roshan Apna Ghar:

• Availability of both conventional and Sharia-compliant financing modes.
• Highly flexible and convenient loan repayment tenures of 3 to 25 years.
• Free insurance for every purchased property through the financing scheme.
• Highly attractive financing rates (choose between fixed and variable rate options).
• The option to include other non-resident Pakistani(s) as co-borrower(s).
• The physical presence of the borrower is not mandatory except for non-lien-based financing.
• Off-plan financing is available for pre-approved projects.

Banks Associated with the Roshan Apna Ghar Initiative

As of now, all major commercial banks have joined hands with the SBP to facilitate the applicants of the Roshan Apna Ghar scheme. Their names have been listed as under:

• Bank Alfalah
• Habib Bank Limited
• United Bank Limited
• Standard Chartered Bank
• Faysal Bank
• Muslim Commercial Bank
• Meezan Bank
• Samba Bank

Types of Financing Facilities Available in Roshan Apna Ghar

There are two types of financing facilities available in the Roshan Apna Ghar Scheme: Standard Financing and Government Mark-up Subsidy Scheme. Further details about these two financing facilities have been shared as under:

Standard Financing

Standard financing has been further divided into two categories: Lien-based and Non-lien-based financing.

Lien-based Financing

While obtaining a house finance facility against a lien while using the Naya Pakistan Certificates or RDA deposit balances, banks can finance up to 99% of the total property value to Overseas Pakistanis if they are purchasing or constructing a house. On the other hand, if you are borrowing a loan to renovate a property, financing has been capped up to 40% of the property value in such a case. The borrower is required to sign all the financing documents digitally. However, physical presence is not compulsory even for the execution of sale or transfer deed.

Non-lien-based Financing

In this type of financing, the loan amount is released against the mortgage of the property to be purchased. For non-lien-based applicants, banks fund up to 85% of the property value when it comes to purchasing or constructing a house. Similarly, the financing is capped up to 30% of the property value if the financing facility is being availed for renovation. 

Despite the fact that the borrower is required to digitally sign the financing documents, their physical presence is also mandatory. Well, if it is not possible, then they need to release the Special Power of Attorney in favour of the person who is doing transactions on their behalf. It is a compulsory requirement to obtain the property title documents from the Registrar.

Roshan Apna Ghar Offers Attractive Financing Rates

Note: The borrower will have the option to choose between variable and fixed financing rates. To get more info on KIBOR and PIB PKRV rates, click on the highlighted text.

Government Mark-up Subsidy Scheme (GMSS)

The Government Mark-up Subsidy Scheme home financing facility is also available for the applicants of Roshan Apna Ghar. In this case, the financing rates will be applied according to the already defined criteria based on the following tiers:

Note: For more information in this regard, don’t forget to read our detailed blog on the FAQs about Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar Scheme.

Eligibility Criteria and Requirements for Roshan Apna Ghar

Details regarding the requirements and eligibility criteria for Roshan Apna Ghar have been provided in the table below:

How to Buy a Property With Roshan Apna Ghar Directly

Non-residents Pakistanis can also buy property directly using their Roshan Digital Account under the Roshan Apna Ghar initiative without applying for any type of home financing. The process is very simple and elaborated in a set-by-step manner below.

• First of all, they need to visit the official webpage of one of the commercial banks that are in partnership with the RDA.
• Overseas Pakistanis are then required to simply select the property, deposit copies of all the mandatory documents.
• Of course, they won’t be physically present here, they would have to nominate a person in Pakistan in order to complete the sale or purchase transaction.
• In the next step, transfer formalities will be fulfilled to transfer the property in the name of the investor.
• The bank will only release payment after the screening and verification of the seller as well as the valuation of the property for security reasons.

How to Buy a Property with Roshan Apna Ghar Using Available Financing Facilities

The Roshan Apna Ghar scheme has been devised to facilitate overseas Pakistanis as they can now easily obtain home financing from all major commercial banks in Pakistan. Here are some of the key things you should know before proceeding with home financing:

• The financing facility under the Roshan Apna Ghar initiative can be availed against self-chosen properties as well as from the list of real estate projects available at banks’ websites. 
• The applicant can select the property before applying for the loan or after the approval of the financing limit by the bank based on the applicant’s cash flows and repayment capacity.
• If you are applying for lien-based financing, you may not need a co-applicant. However, for the applicants of non-lien-based financing, the presence of co-borrower(s) is mandatory. One of them should be a permanent resident of Pakistan.

For more information on the digital application process for the Roshan Apna Ghar financing scheme, click on one of the listed links, based on the type of financing that suits your requirements.

• Lien-based Financing Complete Application Process
• Non-Lien-based Financing Complete Application Process
• Self-financing Complete Application Process
• Off-plan Financing Complete Application Process

*Aforementioned links have been fetched from the State Bank of Pakistan’s official webpage on Roshan Apna Ghar.

There you have it — a detailed overview of the federal government’s newly launched Roshan Apna Ghar financing home scheme for overseas Pakistani. For any questions or feedback related to the topic, feel free to reach out to us at blog@zameen.com.

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