Compare Mortgage Rates Easily With SmartLoans.sg

If you’ve always found comparing bank loan rates to be tedious and time-consuming, SmartLoans aims to make the whole process of getting a new home loan or refinancing your mortgage easy. From the same guys who brought us HomeSpace and RentSpace, SmartLoans is their latest real estate tool geared at the individual consumer.

How it works

Their website is not up yet but the founder allowed me to take a peak at the latest offering. I tried out the wizard to refinance my mortgage and was taken through a series of questions about my current loan (how much of it is left etc.) and what kind of new loan I am looking for (fixed or floating rate?). There were only two-three pages of questions, but what made the whole process simple was that beside each question was an explanation to help the user understand what the question was looking for and the implications of it.

For example, in deciding whether I wanted a Fixed or Floating rate for my new loan, they wrote:

“Fixed rates are usually higher than floating rates because banks cannot charge higher rates on fixed rate home loans should the interest rates rise after you take the loan.

If you expect interest rates to rise during the tenure of your loan, then you should take a fixed rate loan. If you expect the interest rate to fall, floating loans may be more advantageous. If you are not one to regularly monitor the market, fixed rates would offer you peace of mind and you can rest assured of your monthly payment amounts.”

These are helpful little points that guide as well as educate the user.

Easy to understand

Its presentation of the available loans I can take comes in two easy-to-understand formats: a nice chart that shows you the least cumulative interest you have to pay for your loan, and in a corresponding table form. The amounts are shown at present-day value.

Select the loans you’re interested in and SmartLoans will forward your indication(s) of interest to bankers. Then sit and wait for them to contact you soon.