When it comes to buying a home, the prohibitive upfront costs often deter homebuyers, especially first-time homebuyers. The amount of money they need to come up with for down payment can be intimidating, along with other associated costs. Many first-timers also do not understand real estate and mortgage terms and can easily get confused, adding on to their frustration and stress.

Now, there is an easier solution for homebuyers to become proud owners of their very own property.

S P Setia and Maybank have come together for the second year to launch FlexKey, an enhanced HouzKEY by Maybank financing scheme. The new rent-to-own (RTO) home ownership solution is now not only applicable for completed homes but selective new launches too.

For the first time in the industry, homebuyers will be happy to note they now are able to select first-hand their choice unit and preferred location from the newly launched properties offered under this scheme rather than being limited to completed units that are available. This definitely opens up more options for homebuyers and enables them to choose the property that they really want.

What's more, with the downpayment of 10% removed and in place rental fees, owning a home has never been made more affordable. Setia FlexKey is an alternative financing scheme to help first-time homebuyers on their journey to home ownership; homebuyers will be able to enjoy the flexibility of converting a part of rentals paid as down payments towards purchasing a home at locked-in prices.

"The option of choosing a Setia home that is newly-launched is definitely attractive for first-time homebuyers to own their own property. Under the FlexKey scheme, a wide selection of properties to suit respective lifestyles and needs on top of preferred locations are available for qualified homebuyers to choose from, including units from Setia's award-winning townships at Setia Alam and Setia EcoHill 2 in Klang Valley," S P Setia president and chief executive officer Datuk Khor Chap Jen said at the launch.

"The launch of Setia FlexKey certainly comes as a timely attraction for young or first-time homebuyers as it is a smarter alternative to achieve better cash flow considering its low entry cost of only three months' refundable deposit. Therefore, this scheme is also anticipated to appeal to varying target markets regardless of their financial backgrounds," he added.

"The fact that they can now choose newly-launched units is a plus point and Setia is proud to be able to offer this first-of-its-kind arrangement in the industry," Khor highlighted.

In addition, within the fifth year, should the housebuyers decide to own the house, they will be able to purchase it at the locked-in price. Considering the array of benefits offered by this scheme, S P Setia anticipates an increase of home purchases in the coming months after homebuyers get to know more about this offer.

"We are truly proud of this collaboration with S P Setia and we believe that our HouzKey product is the perfect fit for this FlexKey scheme. Working together, we are widening our reach and opening up opportunities for more Malaysians to own properties without having to worry about the high upfront costs associated with purchasing a property. We want to be the game changer in the market and Maybank will continue to lend its support in home ownership programme in Malaysia, in line with the bank's mission in humanising financial services," said Maybank Real Estate Ventures managing director Sally Lye.

Last year, Maybank launched HouzKEY, a rent-to-own scheme to the public- the first by a bank in Malaysia. Designed to assist first time homebuyers, the scheme provides an alternative solution for customers to own their desired homes with a minimal upfront cost of three months refundable rental deposit only. Customers are also given the flexibility to purchase the property any time after 12 months of renting at a locked-in price.

The Setia FlexKey scheme is available for a wide selection of projects consisting of S P Setia's residential properties in the Klang Valley, Johor and Penang from now until Dec 31.