They used to help young people, today they are more of a loser. State loans do not attract, where did the mistake happen?

By the end of September, when the deadline for this year had expired, only 12 young couples had applied for a loan. So far, ten of them have approved the loan. Last year, 15 couples showed interest in money from the state, the year before 19. Why is the interest of newlyweds in this support, which was supposed to be an important pillar of the state’s pro-family policy, so scant?

One of the few people who have heard about this possibility, is also Lukáš from Bratislava. He searched for a new roof over his head and wondered what he would pay for. “Overall, I was interested in having a repayment period of 40 years for one percent. It is also tempting that they will forgive you for two thousand for each child, “he says. But then he was taken aback by how lengthy it was to get a loan. Since the seller of the apartment that Lukáš had been looking for did not want to wait and there were enough people interested, he was unlucky. “Unfortunately, without the seller being willing to wait about three months, one cannot afford new housing through this fund,” he explains.

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Experts see the reasons for the failure of state loans for young people in the fact that today they can no longer compete with cheap mortgage interest and approval is lengthy. They also criticize the fact that a minimum of people know about this possibility. “Honeymoon loans are perhaps an uncut diamond, which is hidden in the forgotten office of the State Housing Development Fund, which few have heard of in recent years,” said mortgage specialist Dávid Štefanko of Gepard Finance. may receive a couple under the age of 35 who have entered into a marriage no more than three years prior to the application. They can apply for it by the end of September each year. If they have no children, their combined income may not exceed EUR 1-850. If they have one or more children, their joint income may be higher. The State Housing Development Fund (SFRB) has the agenda under its thumb

How many people know about it?

The experience of our reader Lukáš is also confirmed by financial experts. “The big disadvantage is the approval process. The application can always be submitted by the end of September and the SFRB has until the end of the year to approve it. I think that few real estate sellers are willing to wait that long, “says Vladimír Mandzák from the brokerage house Universal.

Twenty-eight-year-old Lukáš finally took out a mortgage and bought a 3-room apartment with an area of ​​80 square meters in Devínská Nova Ves for 160 thousand euros. His story points out that the good intention of the state to help may not work best in practice.

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The loan for newlyweds offers a loan for 40 years for one percent up to the amount of 120 thousand euros. In addition, for each child born, it is possible to remove from the loan two thousand. The State Housing Fund has five million euros available for lending this year. To illustrate, in July alone, commercial banks gave people more than € 1.2 billion in mortgages.

Long approval

SFRB did not directly respond to the reasons of low interest and their solution. His spokesman Rastislav Lackovic claims that they cannot compete with banks in the interest rate. The housing stock offers a loan for one percent. In contrast, some financial houses claim rates as low as 0.4 percent. These are mainly loans with a three- to five-year fixation. The average rate in these fixations is at the level of 0.7 percent. . Of course, the fixation is shorter and after its completion, there is a risk that interest rates will go up. In this, the state loan has an advantage – the percentage applies throughout the fixation period. “The interest rate is unchanged throughout the loan repayment period if the applicant complies with the contractual conditions, which is a great advantage over commercial banks that do not offer such a fixation,” Lackovič adds for Pravda. a loan for young people as a reasonable option. “To draw a loan of 40 years with an interest rate of one percent, the possibility of forgiving 2,000 euros for each child and using the money for an individual construction project comes to me as a reasonable alternative. We just need to know about it, “thinks Pavel Škriniar from the University of Economics in Bratislava.

Lackovič does not think that no one would know about this possibility for newlyweds. “In the past, the State Fund and the Ministry of Transport and Construction, which is the author of the Act on the SFRB, informed about this product. All necessary information for applicants is available on the website www.sfrb.sk , “Adds Lackovič.

Marián Búlik from OVB Allfinanz Slovensko also criticizes the lack of awareness in this area. “The State Housing Development Fund and another institution do not actively communicate the loan, I estimate that many young people do not even know about it. In the case of financial products, it takes some time for the general awareness of them to be sufficiently spread and it requires the active communication of all actors, “he explains.

It will help but not in Bratislava

Apart from the fact that only a few people know about the newlywed loan, other conditions are also discouraging. One of them is the maximum loan amount of 120 thousand euros. This amount is not enough to buy a house or an apartment, even in larger regional cities in Slovakia, let alone in the capital and its surroundings

At present, housing prices are rising very fast. The latest square meter costs an average of 2,052 euros. A year ago it was 1,730 euros. True, the price varies by region. For example, in the Bratislava region, the price per square meter climbs to almost 2¤800 euros, while the second most expensive region – Žilinský – records a price of “only” 1¤451 euros.

The average two- or three-room apartment in the wider center of Bratislava – Ružinov or Nové Mesto – can cost from 180- to 200 thousand euros. The possibilities of the SFRB offer also far exceed the prices in regional cities such as Košice, Trnava or Žilina. However, the maximum loan amount can also serve as a supplement. “With 120,000 euros, the newlyweds can finance the purchase of an entire apartment in a smaller city or cover half of the missing amount at an apartment for 240,000 euros in a regional city, including Bratislava. These are conditions that are clearly advantageous, “says Búlik.

It makes sense, only adjustments need to be made

Despite the shortcomings, most of the experts contacted do not reject the newlywed loan. On the contrary, if its parameters change, it could be useful. “Such loans certainly make sense, only the rules for their approval should be adjusted. For example, I would suggest approval through a vending machine. When newlyweds meet the conditions of age, marriage, income and do not have an entry in the credit register, they should have a loan approved automatically, “thinks Mandzák from Universal. Štefanko from Gepard Finance also thinks that this product makes sense after adjusting the parameters.

Mandzák says that a newlywed loan can be used if one has time to wait for the loan to be approved. “If someone goes to build a house and does not have to deal with the approval deadline, such a loan can be so interesting for them, because it is up to 40 years,” he says. He adds that the biggest advantage is guaranteed interest, because he expects an increase in interest rates in commercial banks from 2023.

Búlik thinks that the state must decide: either to cancel the loan with the whole apparatus ready for its

Interest in the newlywed loan did not increase even last year’s improvement. Until then, only spouses were entitled to it one year after the wedding. The amount of 15,000 euros was more favorable, while the rest of the loan up to a maximum of 75,000 euros was burdened with 2% interest, which, according to Búlik, was not competitive with banks’ mortgage offers even a year ago.