NIC Bank and Brihat Investment entered into and agreement today to promote home loan products.

“The trained agents from Real Estate Marketing Agents (REMA) from Brihat Investment will be working as direct selling agents for the NIC Bank to sell home loan products,” said Purnima Rajbhandari, CEO of Brihat Investment that has been advocating and lobbying with the banks, the government and Nepal Land and Housing Developers’ Association (NLHDA) to establish REMA profession.

Brihat Investment has trained the REMA professionals for ethical buying and selling of houses, she said, adding that they have the expertise to asses and the ascertain quality of an asset and help buyers find good value for their investments.

Under the agreement, REMA will facilitate the prospective buyers for acquiring home loan from NIC Bank for purchase of residential houses/apartments.

NIC Bank has demonstrated its leadership in the home loan league through its popular product NIC Ghar Subidha for its comprehensive product bundling. “The Bank believes that the arrangement with Brihat Investment-REMA, our customers will have better access to our services and quick turn around time in availing home loans,” said the bank.

The licensed agents for the real estate sector will help boost the sector as they can bring professionalism in the sector that has been facing slowdown recently, Rajbhandari said, adding that the NIC Bank and REMA both can work jointly to facilitate the home buyers.

Currently, the real estate and housing sector has around Rs 200 billion investment and the central bank has also been seriously working on to help the sector that creates employment.

Though, the land plotting and land transaction has been discouraged, the central bank has also accepted contribution of the real estate and housing sector to gross domestic product (GDP).

Meanwhile, the central bank governor has also urged the developers to build houses that are under common people’s purchasing capacity. “The housing products should be within the purchasing capacity of the people,” he said in an interaction recently.

source: The Himalayan Times(2011),"NIC Bank and Brihat Investment to promote home loan products",The Himalayan Times,14 feb 2011

Photo courtesy: The Himalayan Times