Older citizens in Kazakhstan can find it difficult to secure a mortgage: many are turned down because of their age, but a number of banks are still willing to lend to pensioners, the website infohub.kz reports.
Before granting a mortgage, banks assess not only a potential borrower's income but also their age. In general, Kazakh citizens can obtain a housing loan from the age of 18, but some banks set a minimum of 21 and a maximum of 65–68. Each bank has its own terms.
According to the Krisha portal, some second-tier banks do issue mortgages to pensioners or allow them to act as co-borrowers.
Bank CenterCredit, for instance, is prepared to provide a mortgage if the borrower will be no older than 68 at the time of the final payment. At 63, for example, a loan would be granted for a maximum of 4–5 years. Pensioners can also become co-borrowers here.
Otbasy Bank accepts applications up to the age of 64.5, and the loan must be repaid by age 70. In that case the maximum loan term would be 5.5 years.
Alatau City Bank issues mortgages to borrowers up to the age of 63, and co-borrowers can be up to 65. Age is calculated as of the date of application. These terms, however, are currently available only for buying apartments in one residential complex in Shymkent.
Nurbank and ForteBank do not issue mortgages to pensioners but are willing to consider them as co-borrowers. Terms should be confirmed at bank branches.
So mortgages for pensioners do exist, but they come with a number of nuances to be prepared for: loans are issued only up to age 68–70; because the loan term is short (4–5 years), the monthly payment will be high; and income and debt-burden requirements still apply.
Meanwhile, some citizens in Kazakhstan can count on state support in resolving their housing needs. In particular, Kazakhs can obtain rental housing from the akimat or a subsidized loan to buy their own apartment.
We previously reported in detail on how Kazakhs can take out a mortgage on a small salary.