The beneficiaries of this move will be people who still have to pay outstanding installments of loans for the last two years, Deputy Director of REDF in Jeddah Tareq Bafadl told Arab News.
The move comes in line with the orders of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to solve the economic problems of citizens including providing more housing loans to Saudis. The king has allocated SR40 billion to increase the capital of the Real Estate Development Fund.
Bafadl said the REDF would be giving loans to all applicants in its waiting list after receiving the endorsement of the Finance Ministry.
The REDF will grant loans without the stipulation that the beneficiary should own land, the official said. The SR300,000 loan can be paid in four installments. “The period of waiting for a loan in future will be reduced to eight to 10 years and the method of applying will be simplified,” he said.
He added that the REDF has implemented a new strategy to grant loans based on the date of application. “In the new system all loan applications in the Kingdom will be listed in a unified manner and on the basis of the date of application and with no consideration for the branch where he applies,” he said.
Bafadl said the REDF will implement the decision to not insist on land ownership records after one month. “In the new system an applicant needs only supply details such as his civil status register number. When the turn of an applicant to receive his loan comes he can either bring the title deed of the land he owns or opt to buy a house at a price not exceeding SR300,000.
The REDF will issue an official memo to the current owner of the apartment that the money would be paid in four installments in three months so that applicant can buy a house in stead of building one,” he said.
He added that the REDF is currently studying the possibility of providing loans through banks with REDF serving as guarantor.
The REDF has provided SR157 billion loans for the construction of 751,000 homes in addition to SR5.18 billion as investment loans since its inception. It also distributed SR5.79 billion worth 21,000 residential units under a housing scheme across the Kingdom.
