Further to the Memorandum of Cooperation signed between MCI and Real Estate Development Fund, which allows the beneficiaries of this Fund to acquire real estate units on the map, MCI announced taking the necessary mechanism for activating such agreement by allowing the beneficiaries of this Fund of purchasing real estate units on the map. Workshops were organized and several meetings were held for the purpose of activating this agreement. This comes at a time when Real Estate Development Fund had approved granting loans for building residential units in accordance to the system of selling real estate units on the map.
This agreement stipulates providing loans to individuals and institutions for making private or commercial real estate projects, and creating a competitive environment, which may contribute in increasing the supply of real estate units, and meeting the needs of the beneficiaries of the loans. MCI program of selling real estate units on the map is giving licenses to real estate developers in order to develop various real estate projects, including residential units to be sold on the map before or after the start of construction. After giving the license, the Ministry will be in charge of following up these projects, based on the technical and financial periodic reports.
MCI program of selling real estate units on the map will mortgage these units, after issuing the instruments, in favor of the Real Estate Development Fund as soon as the developer has finished building. The sale contract signed by both the buyer and the real estate developer should contain a condition that the buyer agrees to transfer his due loan into the project's escrow account.
It is scheduled that the Real Estate Development Fund would approve the requests of those eligible for loans, who want to buy real estate units on the map, and transfer the loan payments from the Fund to the escrow account approved by the program. Furthermore, the Fund would include a clause in the residential loan contracts, giving the program the power to request mortgage of the real estate unit in favor of the Fund on behalf of the beneficiaries of the loan.
The program of selling real estate units on the map is considered a mean to own a property, and thus allows the buyer to obtain the property at a lower cost, as well as it allows the real estate developer to obtain direct financing through the payments of buyers.
The projects supervised by the Ministry exceeded 18 thousand real estate units in various regions of the Kingdom, valued more than SR 20 billion riyals. These projects include villas, apartments, offices, commercial units, land development.
It is worth mentioning that this program is giving licenses to sell real estate units on the map whatever the purpose is, as well as selling undeveloped lands on the map, also marketing real estate on the map inside and outside the Kingdom, and displaying real estate units in the exhibitions.
The mechanism of selling, developing and purchasing real estate on the map is considered one of programs applied globally, as it gives flexibility to buyers in purchasing and financing process, and it helps them choosing and designing their real estate units as they wish. This would contribute in reading the market requirements of the types of real estate units before starting construction, as well as giving variety of prices to buyers in the early stages of construction.
Notably, the regulation is strictly prohibiting the advertisement, displaying, marketing or selling real estate units before or during the construction without getting the approval of the MCI program of selling real estate units on the map. In case of any violation, a report would be submitted to the Notification Center in the Ministry on 1900, so the Ministry would proceed in referring the proved cases of violations to the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution, in preparation for referring the cases to the General Court for the issuance of penal verdicts for such violations.
MCI invites the public and those interested in getting an idea on the conditions and requirements of selling real estate units on the map to visit the website re.mci.gov.sa