Planning to buy your dream home? It is not always possible
to have so much savings or ready cash for purchasing a home. Thanks to the
facility of home loans that give us the opportunity to own our dream home. Many
banks and financial institutions give us tempting offers to avail loans in the
real estate market. However, one must be careful to collect all the related
information before opting for any offer for loans. It is crucial to understand
all the factors, terms and conditions of repayment. Once you make up your mind,
the next step is getting the money. Getting a home loan may appear a
challenging task, but it can be made simple by keeping a few points clear in
our mind.
Affordability
People usually get emotional when it comes to their homes.
However, the decision of buying one should be out and out practical. The
purchase of your dream home should not make a hole in your wallet. Thus, you
must check beforehand whether the down payment and the EMIs are within your
range or not. The down payment you decide to shell out should be planned in a
way that you still have the money to meet any emergency, while the EMIs should
be planned as per the basic rule of not exceeding 45% of your total income.
Deciding on the
Lender
Since the loan taker is the customer, the option of choosing
from the lenders is in his court. So, one should do enough research to decide
on the bank or the financial institution. Keep in mind that don’t go by the
offers of just one, but consider at least 5-6 companies before making your
decision. Do check the terms and conditions they are offering and what exactly
suits your requirements. While evaluating the lenders, consider both
quantitative and qualitative aspects of the loan. For instance, the interest
rate is important and may not vary much between the banks but the customer
service, internet banking facilities and other such features may differ
extensively. You must consider these things as you have to manage with them for
the rest of the loan tenure.
Interest Rates
First of all, people obviously look for loans that come with
lower interest rates. During festival season, many banks and institutions offer
home
loans at discounted interest rates. Before making any decision, you
must cautiously check as well as have the clear understanding on the
calculation of interest rates. Now the question is whether you’ll go for fixed
or variable interest rates. As we know fixed rate of interest is generally
higher, the monthly EMIs would obviously be higher. So, it is always better to
go for variable or floating rate of interest on your loan. Keep a check of the
interest rate trend. If the interest rates have drastically increased in a
short span of time, you need to reconsider your decision as it may increase
your future EMIs considerably. For this, it would be better to have a timely
follow up with the bank so that you can save on interest, when the rate changes
in your favour.
Loan Tenure
Usually people tend to go for the longer tenure seeing that
the EMIs are more affordable. However, it also means that you finish off paying
more interest. Consequently, your dream home becomes more expensive. For people
who have started working, it is apt to choose long tenure as affordability would
be a major concern. There are chances that you pay EMIs before the time. In
later years of working life, it gets difficult to manage long tenure loans.
Credit Score
Before approving the loan, every bank or financial
institution checks for your credit score. Credit score is the score card of
your financial life until now. With this, the bank reviews your financial
credibility and the risk associated with their loan payment. A bad credit score
will get you nothing, thus letting your dreams crashed. That's why it is
important to know your credit score from the CIBIL website. It will help you to
fix any mistakes in the score.
Though home loans offer a nice opportunity to buy homes
without ready cash, it is up to you to understand the terms and conditions associated
with it to enjoy the advantage and save money. As you take a home loan, you are
entering in a long term relationship with your lender.
Taking a home loan entails a long term relationship with
your lender. Hence, keep these pointers in mind while you hunt for the right
home loan for your dream home.
