IDFC First Bank is launching credit cards where the borrowers will have to pay only 9% p.a. as Annual percentage rate (APR) or the interest rate. This comes as a healthy surprise since we are used to 36%-40% p.a. APR on credit card debt. If you are new to this terminology, 36% p.a. APR means… Continue Reading
You just got your annual bonus. You want to decide between whether to use the bonus to prepay the home loan. Or put this money away in a bank fixed deposit or any other investment. The approach is simple. If the post-tax cost of your loan is HIGHER than the post-tax return from the supposed… Continue Reading
Loan interest rates have been going down over the past 18 months. It is also evident in the examples that we use for various illustrations in our posts. Earlier, we used 9-10% p.a. for long term loans. Now, we use 7-8% p.a. in the illustrations. If you use Amazon or Flipkart, you would have noticed… Continue Reading
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
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
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
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