Do Not Wait Endlessly for Property Prices to Come Down

As the interest rates fall, the difference between the house rent and the home loan keeps coming down. Let us say you pay a monthly rent of Rs 20,000. Following are the EMIs for 20-year home loans for different loan amounts and loan tenures. Loan Principal 50,00,000 75,00,000 1,00,00,000 Loan Tenure 20 years Interest Rate… Continue Reading

How to Deal with a Recovery Agent?

I came across an instance in a Youtube video about how borrowers are harassed by recovery agents. A news organisation uploaded the video on their Youtube channel. Do note the media does not smell of roses and tends to sensationalize things. I have not independently verified the claims of the concerned media channel. Broadcast media… Continue Reading

Ask Your Bank for a Lower Interest Rate Today!

The interest rates have been going down for over a year now. I have written many times about how banks and housing finance companies are reluctant to pass on the lower rates or move you to a more transparent interest rate regime (Base Rate to MCLR or MCLR to Repo Rate Linked loans). Even if… Continue Reading

Borrow More for the Same Amount of Gold

The Reserve Bank of India has increased the Loan-to-Value (LTV) for gold loans offered by banks from 75% to 90%. This is to increase the availability of credit to households and small businesses during these difficult COVID times. Many Indian households hold gold. And gold makes for an excellent collateral. From a lender’s perspective, it is… Continue Reading

Loan Moratorium out, Loan Resolution In

The Loan Moratorium ended on August 31, 2020. While I have written about various measures to manage cashflow stress beyond August 31, let’s explore the relief that RBI has afforded to individual borrowers in a circular issued in August 2020. On August 6, 2020, the RBI provided a framework for Resolution of COVID 19-related stress.… Continue Reading

Merchant EMI vs. Credit Card EMI

You plan to buy an expensive phone from Flipkart or Amazon. You do not have the free cash to buy the phone outright or settle the credit card dues in a month’s time.  What can you do? You can buy the phone on EMIs. You have two options. You take the EMI offer available on… Continue Reading