Widow in a rut over unpaid housing loans

The Star

3 days ago

PETALING JAYA: It was a proud moment for factory worker R. Devika when her husband signed the documents for their first home, costing RM250,000, in 2012.
The lorry driver diligently serviced the housing loan but tragedy struck five years later.
A motorcycle accident took his life, leaving his wife to care for their three children with a monthly income of less than RM2,000 from the factory.
Distraught and reeling over the loss of her husband, she did not pay much attention to several bank reminders of the unpaid housing loan repayments until a foreclosure notice was delivered six months later.
Accompanied by a relative, she visited the bank and was dealt with a second blow when she learned that her husband had not insured the mortgage and the house would be auctioned.
Without any savings, Devika, who is in her 40s, was devastated as she faced the loss of her family home in Rawang.
Fortunately, her brother-in-law stepped in. He offered to service the loan on condition that he would take ownership of the property once Devika's children reached adulthood.
Left with no other choice, she agreed.
Devika's situation was related to The Star by a relative of hers, who declined to be named.
Unfortunately, she is just among the thousands of Malaysians, especially those from low-income families, who have overlooked the importance of getting a mortgage reducing term assurance or mortgage level term assurance, said insurance consultant Leonard Tan.
'They see it as an additional financial burden rather than an essential protection.
'But such an insurance is a small price to pay for an asset we have worked so hard to own,' he said.