JEDDAH: Authorities are working on a final draft defining a plan to allow Saudi citizens to obtain a interest-free government mortgage loan from the state-owned Real Estate Fund and another one from a private financing firm to buy houses within only a few months of filing an application. Hassan Al-Attas, Acting Director of the Real Estate Bank, said the new arrangement will make it possible for loan seekers to get loans for buying residential units in a period of four months, effective from the date the loan application is submitted. Al-Attas said that the new wait-time for a government mortgage loan is a big boost for the industry as citizens used to wait for an average of 15 years to get it. Those who are eligible for these loans are married people who are at least 21 years of age, unmarried people aged 24 and older and widows who are at least 40-year-old, Al-Attas said. Last month, the Council of Ministers announced that Saudis applying for free-interest government mortgage loans from the Real Estate Development Fund would receive SR300,000 and they would not need to present any land ownership deed to submit with the loan application. Before the announcement, the bank had received over 550,000 loan applications and they would be given a priority, Al-Attas said. The bank offers loan plans that allow big families to finance an apartment complex.
