Most people budget for the down payment and not much else. Then the lawyer's quote arrives and there's suddenly another RM20,000 or more to find, usually just when savings are stretched thinnest.
This guide is meant to stop that happening to you. It covers what you'll pay, who you pay, and roughly when, for a subsale home (one bought from its current owner rather than from a developer) in Peninsular Malaysia.
The short version
- Down payment: usually 10% of the price if your bank lends you 90%.
- Costs on top: legal fees, stamp duty and disbursements add about 5% of the price on a RM500,000 home. First-time buyers who qualify for the stamp duty exemption pay closer to 3%.
- Timeline: about three to four months from signing the SPA to getting your keys, sometimes longer if the property needs state consent.
- Biggest saving: the first-home stamp duty exemption, worth over RM11,000 on a RM500,000 home with a 90% loan.
Just want your own numbers? The legal fees and stamp duty calculator does it in about a minute.
How much cash you need
Here's a RM500,000 subsale home with a 90% loan (RM450,000), worked out two ways: for someone who already owns a home, and for a first-time buyer who qualifies for the stamp duty exemption.
| Cost | Not first home | First home |
|---|---|---|
| Legal fee: SPA and transfer | RM6,250 | RM6,250 |
| Legal fee: loan agreement | RM5,625 | RM5,625 |
| Service tax (8%) on legal fees | RM950 | RM950 |
| Stamp duty on the transfer | RM9,000 | RM0 |
| Stamp duty on the loan | RM2,250 | RM0 |
| Disbursements (estimate) | RM1,500 | RM1,500 |
| Total costs | RM25,575 | RM14,325 |
| Down payment (10%) | RM50,000 | RM50,000 |
| Cash needed | RM75,575 | RM64,325 |
On top of that, set aside money for the valuation fee, insurance, moving and whatever the place needs before you can live in it. Those are covered further down.
Worth knowing: many banks will let you add the legal fees, valuation fee and mortgage insurance to your loan. That cuts the cash you need on day one, but you'll pay interest on it for the whole loan, so it's a trade-off rather than a saving.
From offer to keys, step by step
No two deals are quite the same, but most subsale purchases go roughly like this.
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Before you start viewing
Check what you can borrow
Banks look at your debt service ratio: how much of your monthly income already goes to repaying debts. Each bank sets its own limit, and it often depends on how much you earn. Pull your free CCRIS report from Bank Negara's eCCRIS service and check your CTOS report too, so there are no surprises when the bank does the same.
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Day 1
Make an offer and pay the earnest deposit
You sign a letter of offer (sometimes called an offer to purchase or booking form) and pay an earnest deposit, usually 2% to 3% of the price. Make sure the offer says it's subject to your loan being approved, and that the deposit is held by the agency or a lawyer as stakeholder, not paid into the seller's personal account.
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Weeks 1 to 3
Apply for your loan
Apply to two or three banks at once. Each one sends a valuer to check the property is worth what you're paying. If the valuation comes in lower than the price, the bank lends on the lower figure and you cover the gap in cash, so it pays to know this early.
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Usually within 14 to 21 days of the offer
Sign the SPA and pay the balance deposit
Your lawyer runs a land search, checks the title and drafts or reviews the SPA. When you sign, you pay the balance of the deposit to bring it up to 10%, usually to the seller's lawyer as stakeholder.
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Soon after signing
Stamping, searches and consents
The SPA itself only needs a small nominal stamp duty. The big one is on the memorandum of transfer (MOT), which you pay around this stage. If the land is leasehold or has restrictions, the state authority has to give consent before the transfer goes through, and this can take a few weeks or a few months depending on the state.
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After the bank approves
Sign the loan agreement
A lawyer on the bank's panel prepares the loan documents. You pay their fee and the 0.5% stamp duty on the loan. If your SPA lawyer is also on the bank's panel, one firm can do both, which makes the whole thing smoother.
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About 3 months after the SPA
Completion
The bank releases the loan and the balance of the price goes to the seller (or to the seller's bank, if they still have a loan on the property). Most SPAs give three months to complete, often with a one-month extension. If you go past that, you'll usually pay late interest on the unpaid amount, often around 8% a year, so keep an eye on the dates.
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At completion
Collect the keys
You get vacant possession, meaning the keys and an empty home. Inspect it before you accept the keys. The quit rent (cukai tanah), assessment (cukai pintu) and any maintenance charges are split between you and the seller up to the handover date.
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A few weeks to a few months later
Registration
Your lawyer registers the transfer at the land office, and the bank registers its charge over the property. Once that's done, the title is officially in your name. If the property doesn't have its own individual or strata title yet, this works through a deed of assignment instead.
Every cost explained
Down payment
The part of the price your loan doesn't cover. Banks usually lend up to 90% on your first and second home loans. From your third housing loan onwards, Bank Negara's rules cap it at 70%, so you'd need 30% down.
Legal fees
Every lawyer in Peninsular Malaysia works from the same scale, set by the Solicitors' Remuneration Order 2023: 1.25% on the first RM500,000 and 1% on the next RM7 million, with a minimum fee of RM500. You pay this twice if you have a loan: once on the price for the SPA, and once on the loan amount for the loan agreement. Lawyers can't charge above the scale, but they're allowed to give up to 25% off, so it's worth asking.
Service tax
8% on the legal fees. You'll see it on the lawyer's invoice as SST.
Stamp duty on the transfer
Paid to LHDN on the memorandum of transfer. It's tiered, like income tax:
| Part of the price | Rate |
|---|---|
| First RM100,000 | 1% |
| RM100,001 to RM500,000 | 2% |
| RM500,001 to RM1,000,000 | 3% |
| Above RM1,000,000 | 4% |
It's based on the price or the market value, whichever is higher. So if you're buying from family at a "friendly" price, the duty is still worked out on what the property is really worth. Since 1 January 2026, foreign buyers pay a flat 8% instead.
Stamp duty on the loan agreement
0.5% of the loan amount, or RM5 for every RM1,000 borrowed.
Disbursements
Costs your lawyer pays on your behalf and passes on without a markup: land searches, bankruptcy searches, land office registration fees, courier and printing. They vary by state and by the type of title, which is why the calculator lets you put in your own figure.
Valuation fee
The bank's valuer charges for the report. It ranges from a few hundred to a few thousand ringgit depending on the price. Some banks absorb or refund it as part of a promotion, so ask.
Insurance
MRTA or MLTA pays off your loan if you pass away or become permanently disabled. It isn't compulsory, but some banks offer a better rate if you take it. For landed homes, the bank will want fire insurance too. For strata homes, the building is normally covered by the management's policy, though you may still want contents cover.
Moving-in costs
Utility deposits for electricity, water and sewerage if accounts need to be opened or transferred, any maintenance and sinking fund charges that are due, and repairs or renovation. Easy to forget, and they add up fast.
First-home stamp duty relief
For most first-time buyers, nothing else saves as much money as this, so check whether you qualify.
The current rule: Malaysian citizens buying their first residential home for RM500,000 or less pay no stamp duty on the transfer or the loan agreement. It applies to SPAs signed from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027. "First home" means you've never owned a residential property before, including one you inherited or were given, and you'll sign a statutory declaration to confirm it.
The Budget 2027 proposal: announced on 9 October 2026, it would cover SPAs signed from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2030. Homes up to RM500,000 would stay fully exempt. For homes between RM500,000 and RM750,000, there'd be no duty on the first RM500,000 and half the usual duty on the rest.
Take a RM600,000 first home. The normal transfer duty is RM12,000. Under the proposal, the first RM500,000 is exempt, leaving RM100,000 taxed at 3% (RM3,000), and half of that is waived. So you'd pay RM1,500 instead of RM12,000.
Before you count on it: Budget proposals have to be passed into law before they apply, and the final wording can change. The details for loan agreements on homes above RM500,000 also haven't been spelled out yet. If your SPA date is close to 1 January 2027, talk to your lawyer about timing. We'll update this page when the law is final.
Mistakes to avoid
- Paying a deposit before anyone checks the title. A land search costs very little and tells you who the registered owner is, whether the property is charged to a bank, and whether there are restrictions.
- Signing an offer without a loan condition. If your loan isn't approved and the offer doesn't say it's subject to financing, you could lose your earnest deposit.
- Assuming the bank will lend on the full price. A low valuation means a bigger down payment. Ask the banks for an indicative valuation early.
- Not reading the bank's letter of offer. Look for the lock-in period, the early settlement penalty, and whether insurance and legal fees are being added to your loan.
- Leaving no buffer. Keep money aside for the things nobody puts in a quote: a leaking roof, a new water heater, curtains, or six weeks of paying both rent and the new loan.
Questions to ask your lawyer
A good conveyancing lawyer will be happy to answer these. Write them down before your first call.
- What's the full quote, including disbursements and service tax?
- Can you give a discount on the scale fee? (Up to 25% is allowed.)
- Does this property need state consent, and how long is that taking at the moment?
- What's the exact completion date, and is there an extension?
- Are you on my bank's panel, so you can handle the loan agreement too?
- Do I qualify for the first-home exemption, and what do you need from me to claim it?
- What do you need from me, and by when?
Run your own numbers
Put in your price and loan, and see your costs line by line.
Where our figures come from
- Solicitors' Remuneration Order 2023 [P.U.(A) 207/2023], in force since 15 July 2023. Malaysian Bar Circular No 185/2023.
- Stamp Act 1949, First Schedule, for the transfer and loan agreement rates.
- Budget 2026 first-home exemption to 31 December 2027. The Star, 10 October 2025.
- Budget 2027 first-home proposal for 2027 to 2030. The Star, 9 October 2026.
- Service tax at 8% on legal services from 1 March 2024. KPMG Malaysia.
This guide is general information to help you understand the process. It isn't legal or financial advice. Every property and every deal is different, so speak to a lawyer before you sign anything. See our full disclaimer.