Budget 2025 has made the New Tax regime more attractive, but we know that the new tax regime comes with certain restrictions. You do not get tax deduction for investments under Section 80C, specific expenses (health insurance under Section 80D, house rent/HRA) and loan repayments (home loan and education loan). Hence, as a taxpayer, you… Continue Reading
Given the prices of houses in our country, almost everyone must take a home loan to purchase their dream house. It is not that all buyers lack the capacity to buy a house out of their own funds. However, from what I have been, as the income (affordability) rises, so does the desire for a… Continue Reading
Almost everyone wants to close their home loan soon. A home loan is a big liability and getting this burden off the head is important for most households. Of course, there is only one way to close the home loan soon: Pay more than the EMI. There is no other way. Yes, a reduction in… Continue Reading
I have not found too many people who are not in a rush to close their home loans. For some, the obsession is so high that they put everything else, even long-term investments, on the back burner while they focus on closing their home loans. Do you belong to the same group? Nothing wrong in… 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
Bajaj Housing Finance has extended the tenure of its home loan products for new borrowers up to a maximum of 40 years. We are not used to seeing home loans of 40-year tenure. Before this, the maximum I had heard was 30 years. So, that’s a sharp jump. I don’t want to go into specifics… Continue Reading
RBI has increased repo rate from 4% p.a. to 6.5% p.a. since May 2023. If your home loan is benchmarked to RBI Repo rate, that means a hike of 2.5% in your home loan interest rate. Impact of Interest Rate Hike on Your Loan Tenure Usually, the default option in case of interest rate hike… Continue Reading
Every home loan borrower wants to close the home loan quickly. After all, you truly own your house once you have repaid the entire home loan. How Does the Home Loan Amount Go Down? We know how loan mathematics works. Most home loans are reducing balance loans. With reducing balance loans, a portion of EMI… Continue Reading
An interest rate hike hurts all borrowers. For the same service (loan), you must pay more every month. Or pay the same amount but for a longer period. Neither is a desirable outcome for a borrower. And yes, the rate hikes hurt the borrower running a tight budget a bit more. In such cases, the… Continue Reading