Need More Funds For New Home? Here is How a Home Loan Can Help You
With inflation soaring to new heights, the cost of house purchase or construction has gone up significantly.
While earlier, most financially stable individuals could have purchased a house with their savings, now it is a rarity.
If you are serious about constructing or purchasing a house and need money beyond your financial capability, you should apply for a home or housing loan.
What is a Home Loan and Why Should You Apply For a Home Loan?
A home loan is a secured loan that lenders approve against the property papers.
The lender evaluates your repayment capability and the property valuation to arrive at the loan amount. You need to submit photocopies of essential documents, including original property papers and the processing fee, to confirm the loan application.
On successful verification of documents, borrower’s profile, and the property, the lender transfers the loan amount to the borrower’s bank account.
You may apply for a home loan for various reasons.
First, it gives you a higher amount for house construction or purchase.
Second, housing loan interest rates are much lower than other loans.
Third, you can repay conveniently over an extended term of thirty years.
Fourth, almost any Indian citizen can apply for a home loan.
The Features of a Home Loan
Broadly, applying for a home loan enables you to avail of the following benefits:
High Loan Amount
Lenders typically provide a loan amount of up to 90% of the home’s market value. You need to pay a minimum of 10% of the loan amount as the downpayment.
If you want to avail of lower housing loan interest rates, consider making a higher downpayment of 20% to 30%.
Affordable Interest Rates
Housing loan interest rates usually start from 7.35% and may go up to 9.55%. The rates depend on your income, the nature of income, credit score, age, and property value.
Some lenders are very particular about the borrower’s credit score and rarely entertain loan applications from people with a credit score of 750 and below.
However, some lenders, such as PNB Housing Finance, do not place much weightage on the credit score and approve loan applications even when the borrower’s credit score is near zero. The interest rates will be higher, though.
Convenient Application Process
When you select a reputed lender, applying for a home loan can be a blissful experience. You may open the lender’s website and apply online.
Some lenders offer doorstep service, and you can hand over the documents to the lender-appointed loan officer when they visit your registered address.
Although the online method is more convenient, it is wise to choose a lender with branches at major locations since you can visit the branch for addressing issues that cannot be resolved online. PNB Housing, for instance, has branches in almost all major cities in India.
Simple Documentation
There is no denying the fact that you need to submit quite a few documents while applying for a home loan.
Since the loan is secured, the lender verifies the documents carefully to minimize the risks of default. Keep documents like age proof, address proof, income proof, property papers, etc., ready to increase the chances of home loan approval.
Easy Eligibility
If you are an Indian citizen whose age is between 21 and 70, you are qualified to apply for a home loan.
However, 70 is the maximum age during loan maturity, meaning the maximum age depends on the repayment term you choose. For example, if you choose a thirty-year repayment term, the maximum age decreases to 40.
But, if you choose a repayment term of twenty years, the maximum age increases to 50. Lenders also take a look at your income to determine the risk and housing loan interest rate.
Conclusion
By applying for a home loan, you agree that you will repay the loan EMIs diligently.
When you are serious about the loan and repayments, nothing can stop you from owning a house of your own.
