A common question asked around coffee machine these days is; should I prepay my home loan? The trigger for this question is quite obvious. Most home loan borrowers in the last 5 years have taken floating rate loans and banks have increased interest rates on these loans three or four times in the last one year itself.
Many home buyers, who thought they were fortunate to have got a floating rate loan at 7 per cent in 2003, are now finding that their sense of "luck" was misplaced. Banks are now charging them around 11.50 per cent interest rate. If the loan was for Rs 10 lakh and the original tenure of the loan was 20 years, the increased rates would change the EMI from Rs 7753/- to more than Rs 10,000/- or if one were to keep the EMI amount same, then the tenure would increase by more than 10 years. Typically, banks would let the tenure increase to a maximum of 25 years.
Author: Harsh Roongta A silent revolution is taking place in our lives and most people are still unaware of it.
Our bill payment habits are being tracked and the entire results are already available online at the click of button. The organisation that does this tracking is called a credit bureau.
So what are credit bureaus? How do they get information on our bill payment habits? What do they do with this information?
Credit bureaus are independent companies which collect the bill payment records of all the customers of various lending organisations like banks, credit card companies, housing finance companies as well as consumers of telecom companies (or consumers of any services which involve credit and/or periodic payments) and even keep track of any bankruptcy proceedings or alimony payments ordered by the courts.
When applying for a home loan, opting for interest rates is a cause of dilemma. Should one opt for 'floating' or 'fixed' rates of interest?
Interest rates have been fluctuating since the last 6 years, so much so that the consumer is not sure of the future.
In March 2000, the interest rates on home loans were about 14%; which started falling quite steeply. By the last quarter of 2003, the interest rate (floating) on home loans fell to 7%. Again the loan interest waves have splashed to a high of around 10.00% (floating rate of interest) in January 2007. This hikeis dramatic; considering that it is a jump of 3.50% since the historic low of 7% reached in 2003.
Act in haste, repent at leisure. This adage might as well apply to a home loan seeker just as much as to a bridegroom. Here are 7 golden rules which will ensure that you do not repent in future.
Rule 1: Never choose a lender till the property is identified.
Speak to your bank about home finance only after you have identified the property you want to buy. While most banks will provide finance for ready-to-move-in properties, some banks do not readily finance a property which is being self-constructed or a property under construction. Also, if the property is very old or is being developed by a relatively unknown builder, the bank might have an issue with providing a home loan. Take a sanction for the loan only after identifying the property. Banks are known to reserve the best deals for immediate disbursement cases.
Opening a bank account may not be a big deal for most of us. But for a large part of the population living on low incomes, getting one was rather difficult. Whether it's your maid servant, the sweeper in your building, the vegetable vendor from whom you buy vegetables, or a construction worker -- a bank account was simply out of reach earlier.
While not many banks may be willing to lend money to this section of people because of the risks involved, the RBI is, now, pushing banks to make it easier for them to open accounts. It has suggested that banks open 'no-frills' accounts, with the simplification of 'know your customer' norms.
Despite falling housing sales, builders are continuing to hold their price line without effecting the much anticipated downward correction. This is despite various attempts by the Reserve Bank of India in the last one year to cool real estate prices by raising housing loan interest rates. RBI measures, though, had the positive effect of putting a stop to further rise in real estate prices.
The situation is developing into a tug of war between builders and home buyers. The banks, a crucial player in the housing industry through home loans, have been urging builders to reduce housing price. Leading spokesmen of home loan industry - HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh and ICICI Bank Chief Executive KV Kamat - have at many times in the past few months indirectly hinted that housing price should correct itself by 10 to 20 per cent.
You know a word has entered into the popular lexicon when they leave the preserves of blue chip investment banking offices and become the stuff that people in the Mumbai local train discuss. Suddenly news and television headlines are screaming "sub-prime" at us and everything from inflation downwards is blamed on this phenomenon.
So what is the sub-prime mortgage issue about, and what exactly happened in the US? Will India ever face a similar situation?
Home Loan Articles 
When applying for a home loan, opting for interest rates is a cause of dilemma. Should one opt for 'floating' or 'fixed' rates of interest?
Act in haste, repent at leisure. This adage might as well apply to a home loan seeker just as much as to a bridegroom. Here are 7 golden rules which will ensure that you do not repent in future. 
Opening a bank account may not be a big deal for most of us. But for a large part of the population living on low incomes, getting one was rather difficult. Whether it's your maid servant, the sweeper in your building, the vegetable vendor from whom you buy vegetables, or a construction worker -- a bank account was simply out of reach earlier. 
Despite falling housing sales, builders are continuing to hold their price line without effecting the much anticipated downward correction. This is despite various attempts by the Reserve Bank of India in the last one year to cool real estate prices by raising 
You know a word has entered into the popular lexicon when they leave the preserves of blue chip investment banking offices and become the stuff that people in the Mumbai local train discuss. Suddenly news and television headlines are screaming "sub-prime" at us and everything from inflation downwards is blamed on this phenomenon. 