All you need to know about home loans.

Posted by Anurag Mishra on October 16th, 2017

A home loan is one of the best ways to finance your dream of owning a home. You can take one at a relatively young age and have your own home twenty years down the line. In comparison to paying rent for 20 years, a home loan is a much better option. But before you apply for one, you need to think about a lot of other things.

You have to think about whether or not you are eligible for a home loan. You need to compare lenders and choose one that suits your needs. You will also have to choose between the types of home loan interest rates, i.e. fixed and floating rates of interest. Then you will have to plan your repayment plan, because going in blindly could result in financial turbulence after a few years. Simply put, there’s a lot of planning & foresight required to ensure a smooth home loan journey.

First let’s tackle the eligibility criteria involved with successfully get your loan approved. One of the biggest factors influencing your eligibility is your credit score. A score above 700 and closer to 900 is ideal for a home loan. If you want to improve you credit score, you can start by making your credit card bill payments on time. Also, if you have any other loans, making timely payments towards the same will again increase your credit score. A good credit score will even positively influence the home loan interest rates you are offered. Eligibility can also be improved by opting for a home loan with an earning co-applicant. Your age, income and overall financial standings also affect your home loan eligibility.

Once you think you’ve got your eligibility criteria sorted out, you can then think of looking for lenders. One of the best ways to do this is to look online. This way you save yourself the trouble of physically visiting lenders and comparing their offerings. Online aggregator sites allow you to compare all the lenders and their deals from the comfort of your home. While evaluating your options, consider things like amount provided, home loan interest rates offered, applicable charges, etc.

Once you’ve finalized on a lender, you need to make one big decision; choosing between fixed and floating home loan interest rates. Fixed as the name suggests refers to an interest rate that is fixed throughout the tenure of the plan. Floating on the other hand will rise or fall depending on market situations and government policies. Floating rates start of lower than fixed rates and could fall lower or even rise over the tenure of the plan; however they don’t allow you to plan your repayment like fixed plans do.

Now that you’ve chosen between the types of home loan interest rates, you should plan your repayment schedule. You can do this by using an EMI calculator. This tool provides you’re a detailed break-up of the repayment amounts for every month over the entire tenure of the loan. Using this tool allows you to properly adjust your monthly expenses to make room for your EMI payments.

These were some basic pointer that will set you on the road to a smooth home loan journey. All the best!