Tag Archives: mortgage

How to apply for a home loan and make sure the process is hassle free

Buying a home is probably the biggest purchase anyone will ever make. For most of us it is the ultimate ‘status symbol’, the ultimate ‘we made it’ sign. Everyone realizes buying a new home isn’t easy. It involves a lot of work and effort, sometimes even years of preparation. When the moment finally arrives and we’ve decided on the house of our dreams how does one go about paying for it? Almost everyone opts for a home loan, besides the obvious benefits like ease of payment, tax benefits and not blocking up capital, home loans are also easy to apply for, especially with so many banks offering the home loan. With that being said, as a potential new owner, one needs to do a few things that ensure that the home loan approval happens on time and smoothly.

1) Plan within budget: The first step is to plan the budget of your house. As someone going for a home loan do not worry about the project cost, you need to pay closer attention to the EMI (Equated Monthly Installment). Ensure that the EMI is within your budget. This is something the bank looks into as well. When they get your bank statements they cross your earnings to your expenses and saving and then see how much EMI an individual can afford.

 Calculator

There are many EMI calculators online which can help you plan your spending. Just enter the amount of home loan, the tenure, approximate interest rate and voila! Your answer is in front of you 🙂

2) Keep your documents handy: Buying a new home can be overwhelming; the last thing you need is the stress of running around for documents at the last minute. Save yourself the trouble and keep the documents ready beforehand. Most banks ask for more or less the similar documentation like –

  • Identity Proof: Voter’s ID, PAN Card or any photo ID
  • Income Proof: Latest salary slips and Form 16 documents or if you’re are self-employed, last 2 years IT returns and certified computation of income.
  • Proof of residence: Electricity Bill, Water Bill, Telephone bill, Bank account statement, Property documents etc… or other such bills with your name on it can be used.
  • Last 6 months bank statements: Salaried or Self Employees they usually ask for these.
  • Guarantors: Some banks might ask for a guarantor so ask a couple of friends and family and be ready in case the bank asks for it.

Each bank has different requirements so be sure to talk to your home loan officer in advance, alternatively, you could check out your bank’s site and get that info as well.

3) Track your Credit rating: CIBIL (Credit Information Bureau India Limited) tracks people’s credit history and allots a rating to them. When purchasing a home, people plan months in advance. This is when you need to start tracking your credit rating. If it needs improvement, this is the best time to do it. Start paying off loans and credit cards on time, & make sure you have no cheque bounces and outstanding payments etc…

 CIBIL Credit Rating Scale

 The credit score is rated on a scale of 300 to 900. The higher the rating, the higher the chances of you getting the loan approved. A Credit score of around 800 is ideal, failing which 700 should be the target. For a small fee, you can check your CIBIL credit score by logging on to their website.

Additional Tips:

  • Check with your own banker for a loan. Since you already have a savings or current account there getting a loan might be easier.
  • If you are buying an apartment or Villament, try to get the loan through the banks that the builder has tied up with. The banks are aware of the property and this sometimes helps expedite the process.
  • Before you decide on a bank cross-check with other banks to ensure that you are getting the best interest rate possible.

Buying a home is a big decision. Don’t let the smaller details of applying for a loan make you sweat. Follow these simple guidelines and you should be in our new house in no time 🙂

Top 10 Things to Consider When Buying a New Home

Before you lace your boots and set out on your next house hunting expedition, here are some vital survival tools that need to go in your backpack. Not one for well-crafted metaphors? 🙁 Well, all we saying is if you’re in the market for a new home, our list of “Top 10 Things to Consider When Buying a New Home” can help get your search off to a right start 🙂

While the square footage, the number of bedrooms and the size of the living room are all important, there are other things you should consider before cashing in that final offer. Let’s start with the basics which you probably already have on your checklist:

Location

“Location, Location, Location!” A phrase that everyone in the real estate business or anyone who isn’t new to buying a home, is more than familiar with; and for good reason too. You can work around almost any imperfection within a house, but the one thing you cannot change once the home is bought – is it’s location. A safe and friendly neighbourhood with warm friendly neighbours, will make it a lot easier to follow the Bible’s preaching “Love thy neighbour as thyself” 🙂

When you are choosing your home, in addition to the charm of the neighbourhood, also consider these following essentials – proximity of neighbouring homes, noise from neighbours, traffic levels at rush hour, distance from the nearest main road, ease of parking, convenient to home a pet if your a pet person, and finally access to good restaurants, shopping outlets, schools, offices, parks, and public transportation.

buying-a-new-home-featured image
Credibility of Ownership

The last thing you or any one wants, just after moving into your new home, is finding out that the previous owner who sold you the house was not the rightful owner of in the case of a newly constructed home, the land on which the home is built on, belongs to someone else. It can be quite a traumatizing experience, having random stranger(s) knocking at your door, claiming their land or ancestral property. And this has become quite a common practice in India, to an extent that goons have starting using it as a method to falsely extract money from home owners, by making false claims of land ownership and creating havoc if they don’t get compensated.

We suggest having all the necessary paperwork, reviewed and thoroughly inspected by not one, but two lawyers to be doubly sure. It may cost you a little more to do this, but in the larger scheme of things, it’s a small price to pay for a peaceful mind 🙂 Also, talk to some of the older residents of that neighbourhood to find out if they might have any stories to share 🙂

Budget

Certainly number one on every house hunter’s check list. This list would be but incomplete without a mention of budget. While we all want to own that inexpensive dream home, budget yourself properly to a home that suits your lifestyle, as you don’t want to be caught paying through your nose on the mortgage, over the years to follow.

Also, staying up-to-date with the real estate market can help you get the best value within your budget. For example, Villaments are a fairly new concept in the real estate world which offers home buyers the luxury of a villa at the affordable cost of an apartment.

Loan Approval

Speak to a reputed home-loan agent and ensure you pre-qualify for a home loan first. This will put you in a better position to negotiate on the final offer, as this will tell the seller that you are financially ready to make a purchase.

According to a recent news article, home loans of affordable homes may drop by 8-10%! So now might very well be a good time to consider investing in a new home, even if your aren’t in the market.

Access to Essentials

In addition to basic amenities such as 24/7 running water and electricity (which to be honest, not much can be done about the irregularly regular power cuts in India, other than finding out if the local service personnel are responsive and quick to fix any issues other than scheduled power cuts) , ensure that your other essential service providers (like internet, LPG connection, cable television and practically any other service that’s important to you) are able to provide their respective service at the new address. Every so often, we’ve heard our own colleagues cursing ACT or Airtel, for not being able to provide a new internet connection at their new address, stating they do not have access points in that neighbourhood; and how they are being forced to settle with other internet service providers. Only way to make sure this doesn’t happen to you, is to make a few calls and find out directly.

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.Do you have a checklist of your own, that you’d like to share with us and our readers? If so, please do so in the comments below 🙂