Advantages for woman home loan applicants

If you live in India right now or are an Indian citizen, then let us tell you that there couldn’t be a better time for you to invest in property in this country. The real estate market is rife right now and with all the cash inflow that the banks saw during the PM’s demonetisation drive, they have decided to slash interest rates significantly on home loans. But if you’re a woman seeking a home loan in this country then you’ve got an added advantage. There are a lot of schemes and subsidies exclusively available to women seeking home loans. Here are the benefits that women receive on applying for a housing loan.

1.      Lower Interest Rates: Home Loan Interest rates are a huge deciding factor when it comes to choosing a home loan provider. People usually choose their loan provider on the basis of who’s offering them the lowest interest rates. Since a housing loan is a huge amount, even a slight variation in interest rates can make a huge difference. Woman applicants usually get lower interest rates or interest subsidies on their home loans. But these are applicable only when the woman is the sole or primary applicant for the home loan.

2.      Lower Stamp Duty Rates: The stamp duty rates for new property are decide by the state government and differ from state to state. In many states the stamp duty for women is lower than that for men. Women usually receive a concession of one or two percent on stamp duty while purchasing property. This makes a huge difference to loan amount borrowed. For example, it could mean a straight price cut of Rs. 2 lacs for a house that costs Rs. 1 crore.

3.      Higher Approval Chances: Women who are primary applicants for a housing loan are more likely to get their loan sanctioned than men. This does not mean that a bank or NBFC will overlook their other criteria for women. They will still study their eligibility and credit score, but it is a common perception that women are more likely to repay their loan on time and are more reliable and hence their applications are more likely to get approved than those of men.

4.      Special Schemes: Like banks offer special account facilities for women, they also offer special schemes when a woman is the sole or primary applicant for the home loan. In addition to these some developers and builders also provide certain time bound financial schemes for women to encourage them to invest in property. 

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Everything you need to know about the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

In his much-awaited address to the nation on the eve of the New Year, the Prime Minister of our country announced the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana for the middle-income groups. This is an interest subsidy scheme that has been named as 'Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme for Middle Income Groups - CLSS(MIG)'. As per this new subsidy, middle-income groups with incomes in the eligible range will get a subsidy on their interest rate of three to four percent.

The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is mainly focused on home loans for the middle-income groups. Here’s who is eligible for the subsidy under this scheme:

1. People whose incomes falls in the range of 6 lacs to 18 lacs are eligible for this subsidy under the CLSS.

2. People whose housing loans were approved and those whose home loan application was in review since 1st January 2017 are eligible for this subsidy.

3. Peoples who have an annual income of 12 lacs are eligible for a subsidy of four percent on their home loan of up to 9 lacs. People who have an annual income of 18 lacs are eligible for a subsidy of three percent on a home loan of 12 lacs according to the Prime Ministers’ address on the eve of New Year.

Here’s is how home loan EMIs and interest rates will be affected under the new scheme:

1. The interest subsidy of four per cent under CLSS(MIG) will bring down EMIs of borrowers by Rs 2,062 per month on a housing loan of Rs 9 lakh and interest subsidy of three per cent would lower the EMI by Rs 2,019 on a loan of Rs 12 lakh, if the normal housing loan interest rate is taken as 8.65 per cent.

2. The total interest subsidy accrued on these loan amounts will be paid to the borrowers up front in one go. This in turn will reduce the burden of EMI on the user.

3. The tenure of these home loans has been specified as 20 years or as preferred by the borrower, whichever is lower.

Under the guidelines of this scheme, preference will be given to women. Widows, single working-women, persons belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, backward classes, differently abled and transgender people will be given more preference.

Non-banking finance companies and micro finance institutions are also recognised under this scheme in order to ensure that maximum number of people can benefit from it.  

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