Is FundMyHome subprime lending ?


Subprime lending means making loans to people with poor credit who may default on their repayment schedule. Lenders have the right to foreclose to repay the debt owed. In a severe macroeconomic crisis where asset prices collapse, the problem of ‘negative equity’ may arise where the market value of the home falls below the outstanding mortgage. Borrowers however will still have to service the debt.

Here is how FundMyHome differs from and is NOT subprime mortgage lending:

Not conventional mortgage debt

The homebuyer  pays 20% of the purchase price. The remaining 80% is raised from investors and is secured against the property. Investors’ recourse for repayment of the 80% is against the property. They cannot come after the homeowner personally for the shortfall in the event the proceeds from the sale of the property are insufficient to repay the 80% funded by them. It is thus NOT a conventional bank mortgage.Losses are capped

Losses are capped

Should the property market suffer a catastrophic crash, at worse the homeowner under FundMyHome loses his or her capital invested which is 20% of the original purchase price and nothing more.  The homeowner’s exposure is thus limited to the amount they have paid when they entered into the transaction.

Shelter of five years

Under a normal mortgage, foreclosure can happen anytime should theborrower default in paying the regular loan instalments.  Under FundMyHome, the issue of default in loanservicing does not arise as there are no loan instalments to be paid.

Natural filter

FundMyHome requires an upfront payment of 20% of the purchase price.This acts as a filter for responsible finances at the outset. Those who have been able to tap or accumulate personal savings or raise a personal loan to meet the 20% payment would have gone through some credit screening by banks.

Profit- and risk-sharing model

Conventional mortgages are based on the paradigm of caveat emptor or “buyer beware”. Under this framework, the system can pursue defaulting borrowers at all costs. This is the original sin that underpinned the US subprime mortgage crisis.

In contrast, FundMyHome draws on Islamic finance and is based on a profit- and risk-sharing model for home ownership. It realigns the mortgage market with a new social contract where all key participants ( buyer, lender,vendor) have a stake in the performance of the underlying asset over the life of the contract.  This creates a wider system of accountability compared to conventional mortgage lending.

In conclusion: FundMyHomeis an innovative and inclusive homeownership framework whose financial and legal instruments apportion risk and rewards in a fair, balanced and sustainable fashion.

A good scheme to own a home at lower entry cost, say attendees of FundMyHome public forum

The FundMyHome public forum moderated by EdgeProp Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk Tong Kooi Ong has offered a clearer picture of how the scheme works and has won more support from the public, according to attendees of the event today.

The forum, which was held at the Sheraton Petaling Jaya Hotel, has attracted more than 550 people, with one of the attendees named Rama lauding FundMyHome as a good scheme to help first-time homebuyers to set their foot on the housing ladder with a lower entry cost.

“This is a good scheme in helping young people to own a home. And as a property negotiator for many years, I don’t see this scheme as threatening the [real estate agency] industry.

“I believe this scheme could lower property selling prices for first-time homebuyers and this is a good news for all, including us property agents because we are facing difficulty in selling property due to high property prices,” he told after the forum.

Another attendee, David Lim, who claims that he has been investing in real estate for about 20 years, thinks FundMyHome is a “fantastic scheme” for the homeowners as they can gain full ownership of the house with just 20% of the house price in the first five years.

“This is a fantastic deal for the homebuyers as the risk is low for them. If the house prices go down after the fifth year, they can buy it cheaper. So, what is the worst [for them]?” he asked.

C M Lai, who also attended the session, concurred that FundMyHome is an attractive scheme, adding that today’s session was clear in explaining the role of the three main stakeholders — the developer, institute and buyer.

“I came here to know more about this scheme and how it works. For a buyer, it is an attractive scheme, as although you still need to repay your personal loan if you opt for one to come out with the 20% down payment. However, getting a personal loan is easier than getting a mortgage especially when you have just joined the work force,” he said.

“It is also easier to get friends and families to be your personal loan guarantor because the amount is not as big as well. Literally, you can own a home even if you are a hawker and cannot present a financial statement to get a mortgage, or a fresh grad who just started your first job and getting RM3,000 per month,” he elaborated.

Introduced by EdgeProp, FundMyHome allows one to buy a property featured on by paying just 20% of the property price.



Currently, CIMB and Maybank Group are the participating institutions while nine developers are offering about 1,000 homes priced below RM500,000 to eligible individuals through

The FundMyHome platform was launched on Nov 4, 2018 in an event officiated by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

*Original article appeared in, November 18, 2018, by Shawn Ng



Paying the 20% with savings

Let’s say you now rent.


Table 1

Paying the 20% with a personal loan



Table 2

If I can’t get a mortgage today, how are my chances improved in 5 years under FundMyHome?

Buying through FundMyHome rather than renting during the first five years puts you in a better financial position for a mortgage thereafter.

Continuing your journey as a homebuyer under FundMyHome, by Year 6, you would have accumulated RM60,000 or 20% equity in the home (see table below). Should you choose to apply for a 80% mortgage to buy the home, you need no further funds to meet the downpayment. This scenario assumes the home price is unchanged at RM300,000. Even if the home price rises, to say RM350,000, you would only need to top up RM10,000.

On the other hand, if you had stayed in a rented house through the first five years, you would have no equity in the home and would need to freshly raise RM60,000 towards the downpayment of 20% to purchase the same home costing RM300,000. If the home price has rises to RM350,000, you would need to raise a higher sum of RM70,000.

The reality is, you will NEVER be worse off with FundMyHome compared to renting. If the house price falls by 10%, you would still have positive equity value of 10% of the original house price. Even with a fall of 20%, you are not worse off than renting. 

The positive equity value created is what helps you to eventually own the home completely.

FundMyHome or a Mortgage?

The answer depends on your individual circumstances, risk appetite, mortgage terms, investment horizon and your expectations for how home prices behave over the five years.

To buy a 3-bedroom apartment costing RM300,000, a homebuyer under both options needs to pay RM60,000 upfront. Over the next  five years, with a mortgage, you need to keep up with  RM1,216 in monthly repayments. With FundMyHome, there is no monthly repayment.

By the end of the fifth year, with a mortgage, you would have paid nearly RM132,960 and still owe RM218,779.  Under FundMyHome, you would have paid only RM60,000 and have a balance of RM240,000 outstanding.  

Another way of looking at it is that the amount already paid plus the outstanding loan payable would be RM351,739 under a bank mortgage. Under FundMyHome, the equivalent amount is only RM300,000 or nearly RM52,000 cheaper. This is because much of the payments in the early years under a mortgage went towards interest.

However, should home prices rise by more than 17%, you would be better off with a normal mortgage. On the other hand, the risk of losses due to a fall in home prices is much higher under a mortgage. With FundMyHome, your loss is limited to the capital you invested, which is 20% of the original house price.

In summary, if you have the access to a bank mortgage, prefer not to share your capital gains and do not mind bearing all the loss as well, FundMyHome is not for you.

On the other hand, if you do not have access to a bank mortgage, are willing to share your capital gains and mitigate your potential loss, then FundMyHome may be for you.

Is it fair that the upside from any capital gains is mostly enjoyed by the developers while the first 20% of any capital loss is borne by homebuyers?

FundMyHome works because developers only receive 80% of the home price upon sale. The balance of 20% is only earned at the end of Year 5, provided the home price appreciates by 20%.  Otherwise, the developer forfeits the 20%.

That 20% is set aside to pay a fixed 5% interest rate to institutional investors over the 5-year period,acting to incentivise them. Without a fair return, it would not be possible to attract investors  to fund 80% of your home.

In short, the first 20% of capital gains paid to the developer at the end of Year 5 is a repayment of their 20% set aside upon sale of the home in order to pay the 5% interest rate to the investors.   Developers will never get more than the original selling price of the house.  Instead, they risk losing up to 20%, even if the house price stays unchanged.

FundMyHome aligns the interests of developers and homebuyers such that developers are incentivised to uplift the value of your property.

Landlords get richer if most Malaysians can’t afford their own homes


The issue is not availability. It is affordability.






Renting is what the central bank encourages.



What are the solutions?








