Steps first time home buyers should follow while applying for home loan

Are you apartment hunting or looking to buy a home for the first time? Here are our tips and insights to guide you through the process of buying that dream house with all the amenities without compromising on your budget.

1. Understanding your home loan better- What is essentially a Home Loan? It simply means, a sum of money borrowed from a financial institution or a bank to purchase a house. The Home Loan is repaid over an agreed time period, together with interest thereon. Do a thorough background research and find out which home loan suits you the best. With a plethora of options available and with aggressive marketing by banks, it can get a bit confusing to decide what will be optimal for you so we suggest you to look out and discuss about these with a professional before buying a loan.
2. Checking your credit score is important- For first-time homebuyers, having a good credit score is very crucial because the banks consider this as one of the key factors when they issue loans. Obtaining your credit score is very easy. A score between 700 and 750 is considered excellent, and a score lower than 550 will provide the reason for banks to hesitate before approving your loan. In case if you have pending repayment of loans, clear them up because that secures your chances to have a clearance with the approval of the loan that you are applying for.
3. Make an informed decision- It is important to read about certain things before selecting the best-suited loan for your home for example home loan calculators, loan eligibility criteria, EMI, repayment terms and conditions, benefits if you prepay your loan, changes in market conditions and interest rates, effect of change in rate of interest etc. It is better if you assess your exact needs for purchasing the property, narrow down your requirements according to your needs and get your finances right.
4. Go loan shopping and secure your loan We suggest you to go shopping for a home loan as it will provide you a great market insight, help you to select the best suited option after you have thoroughly compared loans and negotiated with the banks.Once you are aware of what each bank is offering you in terms of rates and fees, negotiate for the best deal.One of the most important ways to secure your home loans is to purchase the loan insurances. This will ensure security for your form family loan liabilities and for unfortunate scenarios within the policy term.
5. Know the payment terms and plans- Most banks offer home loans with the requirement of a down payment. It allows banks to gain confidence and is indicative of the buyer’s credibility. After having your home loan and your EMIs all figured out, you need to think about the property taxes that you are liable to pay. While doing your finances, ensure that you find out all about the taxes that you need to pay to the landowner. Look out for the available rebates, for example, for women, senior citizens, military personnel, etc. various rebates are credible at times. However, rebates will not apply if you plan to rent out your property after purchasing it.
6. Knowing the benefits of availing a home loan:

• Buying a home loan can permit you to buy a flat without having to wait until you have saved enough.
• The repayment tenure can be extended up to 20 years.
• The ROI (rate of interest) of home loans is comparatively lower than other loans.
• The income tax department offers several benefits for people who are repaying their home loan.
• You can purchase a property in joint ownership and can avail the loan. This makes the buying process easier, for example by buying with parents, brother or even your spouse can actually ease the financial pressure.