Recently, I came across a borrower who had opted for ICICI Smart Fix Home loan. Under this loan product, your loan is fixed rate for a few years (3 years in this case) and thereafter becomes a floating rate loan. Intuitively, such a loan product could be useful if you expect interest rates to go… Continue Reading
The Reserve Bank of India recently cut Repo rate by 0.25% from 6.25% p.a. to 6.0% p.a. You have heard that the rate cut by the Reserve Bank will lead to lower EMI. However, despite this rate cut, let’s say, your loan EMI has not gone down. What could be the reasons and what can… Continue Reading
Home loans are long tenure loans. 15-30 years. And even a difference of a few basis points can make a huge difference to your overall nominal outgo. Assuming the interest rates stay constant, here is the difference between the cash outgo to repay a Rs 50 lacs home loan in 20 years. Interest Rate 7.50%… Continue Reading
The Reserve Bank has come out with two separate circulars in the middle of August 2023. First about levy of penal interest and the second about the reset of interest rate in retail floating rate loans. We discussed both these topics when the RBI broached these topics for the first time. Coming Soon: EMI Defaults… Continue Reading
A car is an expensive purchase, and many families take a car loan to purchase the car. In this post, I discuss aspects that you must keep in mind while taking a car loan. #1 Processing Fee Car loans are short to medium term loans. Usually, 3 to 5 years. Hence, the impact of processing… Continue Reading
Want to take out a home loan? What should be the loan tenure? 15 years, 20 years, or 25 years. Similarly, what loan tenure would you choose for your personal loan? 18 months, 36 months, or 60 months? OR What is the ideal tenure for a car loan? As always with personal finance, there is… Continue Reading
Home loan interest rates have been moving down over the last couple of years. At some point in time, the interest rates will bottom out. Some of us may feel that the interest rates have already bottomed out. In that case, if you are planning to take a home loan, is it a good idea to… Continue Reading
You have taken a personal loan an year ago. Interest rates have moved down since and you can get a personal at a cheaper rate. Lower interest rate means lower EMI. Without any friction, you would move to the lower interest rate right away. i.e., take the new loan at a low rate and use… Continue Reading
The great Indian festive season (that started in August) just got over with Diwali. Be it a house, vehicle or a gadget, you can get good deals on all the products that you have been planning to buy for a long time during festive seasons. The sellers and the banks/finance companies can provide you relief… Continue Reading
If you want to repay your home loan quickly, the only way out is to make some prepayments on the home loan. Many use their annual bonuses to make big prepayments on their home loans. Not surprising that average home loan tenure in India is about 7-8 years. What if you can’t manage very big… Continue Reading