A "low interest" loan shouldn't mean you have very little interest in paying it back!
Women, these days are being equal participants in investing in residential properties as assets. Gone are the days when only the men in the family took financial decisions or decided to buy properties and such. Women of today are proving to be better and sensible investors with very few defaulting on the same. If you are a woman planning to purchase a residential property, worry no more as our country has now opened up to providing special offers and rates to women for home loans.
With the rising inflation, we cannot sustain without sufficient savings. Women too have realised the importance of saving and investing for their future. Not just for themselves, women have now taken charge for saving in the name of their dependants as well. Lower interest rates offered to women encourages more and more women to invest in all sorts of sectors from properties, to gold, to businesses.
Funding a property or a house can be a huge financial responsibility. A home loan can be a very effective source for making that decision. Although, joint borrowing can ease the burden a bit, women should have an individual independence when it comes to owning a house by themselves as well. Creating an asset base for themselves, helps women in securing their future
Some of the positives of women home loan borrowers are:
However, to be able to avail exclusive home loan rates, a woman must either be the co-owner of the house property or be the primary borrower.
Owing to a lower risk profile than men, women enjoy better and reduced home loan rates by various lenders. As the interest rates of home loan is directly based on the risk profile of the applicant, women tend to enjoy a concession on home loans. However, it is important to note that irrespective of gender, the bank does not offer any home loan if the Credit Score is not satisfactory. Also, the required documentation must be provided to the bank to approve your home loan.
Many banks have introduced exclusive home loan packages for women. HDFC’s ‘Women Power’ home loan and SBI’s ‘Her Ghar’ for women are some of the loans being offered exclusively to women at discounted rates. The lowest rate being offered to women borrowers until 2015 was 9.85%, while for male applicants, it was recorded to be 9.90%. Some states offer an additional benefit for women where they can avail a home loan at lower house registration charges than men applicants.
Although all lenders do not introduce special schemes and offers, their preferred choice for approving home loans are women. Women, as applicants as well as co-applicants are considered a safer bet.
Some of the main factors that prove beneficial for women home loan borrowers are:
Interest rate of a home loan is one of the most important factors that decides whether it will prove economical to you or not. Even a small difference in your home loan interest rate can have a great impact on your Equated Monthly Installments (EMIs). And if you are taking a home loan for a huge amount, a concessional interest rate can help you save a good amount over an extended period. If you are a women and a primary applicant of a home loan, you can enjoy lower rates as well as take a home loan, without making it burdensome.
Although the difference in the interest rate between home loans being offered to women and men is a mere 0.05%, it helps in saving over a long period.
While applying for a home, eligibility plays a crucial role in getting an approval. Most lenders offer loans which are 55 to 65 times of borrower’s net income per month. Apart from the income, the credit record and repayment capacity also aids in enhancing your home loan eligibility. With the rise in property prices, it is an advantage to be able to become eligible for a loan of higher value.
By applying for a home loan jointly or co-borrowing, you can ascertain the bank of a relatively more stable financial status in the future. Apart from husband and wife, co-borrowing, other possibly combinations who can borrow together are brother-sister, father-unmarried daughter and mother-unmarried daughter.
When availing a home loan jointly, the payout may tend to be very huge. However, when claiming tax deductions, the tax benefit can also be doubled for each joint applicant. Joint borrowing can also increase tax exemption when a property purchased using a loan is let out. In this case, the interest paid after deducing rent, can be availed for tax exemption.
Some of the popular exclusive home loan schemes for women are:
State Bank of India offers a special home loan scheme for women called as the Her Ghar, where women can avail an interest rate as low as 9.5%. In this scheme, the processing fee is also waived off for women borrowers. SBI offers this to women applicants, only if she is an independent owner or co-owner of a property for which she is seeking loan.
Tata Housing in collaboration with SBI has also introduced a scheme for women home loan buyers. Under this scheme, women borrowers are required to just 20% of the property’s prices and the remaining 80% can be paid for, post possession.
HDFC has also launched Women Power, where home loans are provided at an interest rate of 9.85%. This is also made available to sole or co-owners of property. The Women Power scheme can also be availed by women without their own income.
A Kolkata based real estate company has also come forward in introducing an exclusive scheme for women. BGA Realtors offers affordable booking amounts to its women customers. Apart from this, women borrowers can also enjoy a subsidy of Rs.2.20 lakh on Rs.6 lakh worth of home loans.
A Mumbai based finance company has also introduced a home loan scheme, meant only for women, called as the ‘Mahila Awas Loan’. Women borrowers can avail a loan amount of Rs.2 lakh to Rs.12 lakh from this lender at low interest rates of 10 – 12%.
States such as Rajasthan and Haryana, women borrowers are granted home loans with lower stamp duties by 1-2%. The lower stamp duty does not depend on whether or not the woman is an independent or co-owner of the property. Additionally, women can also avail tax exemptions of up to Rs.2 lakhs on the interest rate against home loans.
Owing to these schemes and offers by lenders and banks, women can succeed in buying a dream home for themselves, without depending on anyone.Â
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