A home loan is a secured loan taken from a financial institution for the purpose of buying a residential property. You can avail of a home loan to buy a ready-to-move-in house or apartment or one that is under construction. Home loans can be availed from both banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs).

These have varying interest rates which are often linked to your credit score. Home loans typically have a tenure of up to 30 years and have to be repaid as Equated Monthly Installments. You can also get tax deductions on both the principal and interest component of your home loan under Section 80C and Section 24 respectively of the Income Tax Act.

Before signing up for a home loan product, it’s best that you compare loans offered by different banks and lending institutions. While comparing, consider the interest rate, Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio, processing fees, and tenure offered by the bank. Use a home loan EMI calculator and calculate your EMI based on these factors. Compare multiple home loan products by various banks by using this method. Also, certain lenders roll out home loan offers with reduced interest rates from time to time. Keep an eye on that too while looking for a loan. Also, know your requirements first before applying. You can go through the above list to get an idea regarding which bank’s home loan would suit your requirement.

Usually, it takes 3 to 4 weeks to get a home loan sanctioned. However, you need to keep a few factors in mind for a better understanding. First of all, you need pre-approval of your home loan from the concerned lender to get your loan sanctioned. However, pre-approval doesn’t always mean that your loan will be disbursed immediately and depends on certain external as well internal factors. For instance, your loan sanction can be delayed if there’s a delay in the submission of property or income-related documents.

Age, Annual Income, Occupational stability, Resident type [Indian Citizen, Non-Resident Indian (NRI), Person of Indian Origin (PIO), Number of co-applicants, Co-applicant’s income, Credit score, Other ongoing loans, if any

The rate of interest associated with fixed rate loans remains unchanged during the entire tenure of the loan. On the other hand, the interest rates applicable on floating rate loans can be revised from time to time depending on the RBI’s key policy rates. The equated monthly installments can increase or decrease depending on the prevailing RBI rates in the case of floating rate type loans.

Yes, you can choose to prepay your outstanding loan amount either partially or in full before the completion of your loan tenure. While banks do not charge any prepayment fee on floating rate loans, fixed-rate home loans attract a penalty of up to 2% of the loan amount if prepaid through refinancing.