Question 1: Interest rates have gone down. I want to buy a house. While I can fund the purchase with own funds, I think taking a home loan is a good idea since the interest rates are low. I can earn a higher return than the loan interest rate on my investments. Plus, I will… Continue Reading
The festival season is here. The developers are sharing offers on their real estate projects too. Now, these offers can take any form. Recently, I came across an article in Hindustan Times, where the author listed different types of offers from various builders. What Form Can Such Festive Offers Take? Upfront discount (You won’t see… Continue Reading
I got this query from one of the readers. He had taken a home loan from a leading housing finance company. Original Loan Amount Rs 39,12,633 Loan Outstanding Rs 37,94,900 Original Loan Tenure 240 months Remaining Loan Tenure 221 months Current Rate of Interest 9.1% EMI Rs 35,455 The loan interest rates have fallen sharply… Continue Reading
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
On the account of Covid-19 related lockdown and associated financial stress, RBI had offered loan moratorium to borrowers. We checked in some of our earlier posts how availing loan moratorium provided immediate relief but increased your liability (same EMI but longer tenure OR same tenure but higher EMI). A component of increase in liability was… Continue Reading
Many banks have come up with loan resolution / restructuring plans for Covid-19 related stress. The relief offered by the banks works within the Loan Resolution Framework due to Covid-19 related stress. We have written about the RBI framework in an earlier post. The eligibility criteria as specified by RBI must be met. The banks… Continue Reading
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
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
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
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