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Things to Ask Before Taking A Home Loan

Things to Ask before taking a Home Loan

Becoming a homeowner is a heady experience, but for the average person, this dream is usually possible only with the backing of a home loan. The practice usually involves making a down-payment which is roughly 20% of the cost of the property. The remaining is paid by the bank providing the home loan.

Home Insurance – Things to Look Out for

Home Insurance - Things to Look Out for

Having a home of your own is a great achievement in life. But just the way you take car insurance and personal insurance seriously, you also need to take on home insurance. After all, your home is one of your biggest investments and hence worth protecting.

Kids Play Area in the Living Room

Kids Play Area - Fortius Waterscape

With cities running out of spaces, homes are also getting smaller with some rooms having to play double-duty roles. The living room is the space meant for socializing, lounging, watching TV and generally relaxing with friends and family. For the smaller children, the living room is also space where they can play all they want comfortably as many homes may not have a designated playroom.

However, your living room can get messy and cluttered as children tend to spread out toys all over the room. This makes your relaxing zone feel a little crowded and you need to consider ways to clear the clutter. Here are some ways to provide a designated area in your living room where the young ones can play without taking up the entire living room space.

Storage spaces

The most important tip is to provide ample storage space in your living room. These can be in the form of drawers, cupboards, trunks or stylish bins where toys and other bric-a-bracs can be neatly stowed away.

Designated space

The best way to separate the play zone is by using a visual divider that children can understand easily. Providing a colorful rug in one corner of the living room along with comfy throw pillows and bins to hold toys will create a boundary for the children to keep their toys in.

Playpen

Alternatively, you could also install a playpen area and furnish it thoughtfully with child-friendly seating. This will keep all the kid’s toys within a restricted zone.

Low-seating nook

Add a low table which can double up as an activity or writing table and keep toys, etc. Low puffs or overstuffed pillows will make great seating as the kids stay busy in their own world.

Colorful alcove

If you have a recessed area in your living room, it can act as a great play area. You could color it brightly to demarcate the area from the main living section. Place colorful seating, a bright rug along with nifty storage for your kid’s toys and paraphernalia.

Hard-wearing materials – Use easy–to-maintain sofa materials that can withstand stains. Your walls can be coated with paints that can be easily wiped. These types of materials are essential when kids are at play!

This way you can still have a stylish living room that is easy to tidy up even with kids playing around. Check out the ready-to-move-in Fortius Waterscape apartments in Krishnarajapuram, Bangalore that are thoughtfully-designed to provide spaces for all family activities.

Ready-to-move-in vs Ongoing Apartment Projects

ReadyToMoveinApartments

Making the commitment to buy a home can be really exciting, but this decision comes with its own set of dilemmas. Aside from deciding on whether to go with a villa or an apartment home, you also need to zero in on whether you want a ready-to-move-in home or one that is under construction. There are a number of pros and cons associated with both categories of homes and here’s a brief analysis to help you decide what works best for you:

Real Estate Investment – Points to Consider

Real Estate Investment

Real estate investment is a popular form of investment where you own a property for the purpose of gaining profits. It involves a large capital investment initially along with sufficient time gap and guaranteed returns. However, you do need to get your homework done before taking the plunge and investing in property. Here are some factors to consider before getting involved:

Steady income

Since property investment is a capital intensive investment and it takes time before you can get profitable returns, you need to ensure you have a steady source of personal income too. Initially, it can be financially challenging as you will be putting in more than getting back.
Capital – Investing in real estate is capital intensive. You will need to have access to large amounts of money and a bank loan is the best way out. This will ensure that you don’t have to sell off the property before you have earned significant profits.

Type of Property

Real estate property can be in the form of residential, commercial, retail and industrial. Of these four, residential properties are the most in-demand and the safest to invest in too.

Loan

Aside from the initial down payment, most people prefer opting for a loan to pay off the remaining amount. While most banks stipulate the down payment to be 20% of the property cost, the larger your down payment, the lower the loan amount taken and lower the EMIs. Since different banks offer different interest rates, check around for the best options.

CIBIL score

The health of your credit score matters when it comes to applying for a property loan. Before applying for a new loan, ensure that you have a favourable CIBIL score with no outstanding sums to any creditors.

Property evaluation

The real estate property that you want to invest in, needs to be properly investigated too. You will need to physically go there and check out the infrastructure available in the area as well as the type of neighbourhood it’s located in. Finally, make a comparative market analysis to determine the profitability potentials of the property you are interested in. Only then should you proceed with the buying formalities.

If you are interested in investing in ready-to-move-in residential apartments, then check out the Fortius Waterscape apartments available in the Krishnarajapuram area of Bangalore. These apartments are nestled in a 2.3-acre plot with 80% of the land reserved for open lung spaces and greenery. It’s strategically located close to the Whitefield IT hub and the Old Madras Highway.

How to Reduce Home Loan EMIs

Home Loan EMI

Everyone desires to own a home of their own, a place to bring up their family or a nice pad to retire to. However, buying your dream home involves a huge investment and this is usually overcome by opting for a home loan.

Most banks offer low-interest rate home loans to finance your dream homes with 10-20% of the principle being paid by the homeowner in the form of a down payment; the remaining amount is paid for by the banks. This is usually a substantial amount and is repaid over a period of 15 to 20 years through EMIs (Equated Monthly Installments). Hence, when taking a home loan, the tenure of the loan and the interest paid on it, become the key determinants of the EMIs paid.

Repaying the EMIs can sometimes become a little taxing, especially if the EMI exceeds 50% of the homeowner’s monthly income, thus making it difficult to pay regular monthly bills, etc. Here are some significant ways to attain a low debt-to-income ratio and reduce your EMI repayments:

Larger down payments

Contributing higher down payments than the mandatory 10-20% advocated by your lending bank translates into smaller home loans taken. This reduction in the principle amount borrowed automatically reduces your EMI repayments. Hence by opting for a larger down payment, you can reduce your EMI rates.

Longer tenure

Another way to reduce EMIs is by going for longer loan repayment tenures. However, do note that though the monthly EMI might be smaller, you will end up paying more interest over a longer tenure.

Prepayments

Making regular prepayments on your home loan during the tenure helps in bringing down the overall interest payments on the principle borrowed as well as reducing the loan tenure.

Revise EMIs

With most salaried people, salary hikes are a given and can allow you to increase your EMI amounts. For a 10% salary hike, you can increase your EMI payment by 5%. This enables you to reduce the number of EMIs paid and shorten loan tenures.

MCLR

For home loans taken after 2016, the borrower can benefit from Marginal Cost of fund based Lending Rates (MCLR) or changing interest rates. Loans took before 2016 can be switched to MCLR to avail this benefit thereby reducing your EMIs.

For those interested in buying a home, check out the ready-to-move-in Fortius Waterscape apartments in Krishnarajapuram, Bangalore. Nestled in a green 2.3-acre campus, these apartments are strategically located close to the IT hub of Whitefield as well as the Old Madras Highway.

A Beginners Guide to Home Buying

Home Buying Tips

Buying your first home can be an overwhelming, emotionally-charged experience where a lot of pride and commitment go hand in hand. Aside from this, buying a home is also a major financial commitment which you need to be sure you are ready for before taking the plunge into becoming a homeowner.

To make the whole process of buying your first home easier, here’s a beginner’s guide:

  • Buying a home is an exciting adventure where your dreams finally come true, but you need to be financially prepared for it first, as well as be ready to settle down in one place. Don’t make the commitment in a hurry
  • The normal procedure for financing homes in India is to have a decent-sized nest egg saved to serve as the down-payment while a bank home loan pays for the rest of it. Most banks require you to pay 20% of the total amount as the initial payment.
  • Before you can approach a bank for home loans, you need to ensure that you have a good CIBIL score. This basically means that you have a good credit history with no defaults and preferably no other outstanding loans either.
  • Banks are bending over backwards these days, offering home loans at very decent rates. However, to become eligible for a home loan, you will need to provide a steady income proof along with proof of income tax payments. Getting a pre-approved home loan is even better as it gives you an idea of the funds available to buy your home.
  • Once you have an idea of how much funds you have access to, you can start the exciting part of home buying! You first need to finalize on a good location and a reputable builder to go with. Ensure that your dream home is located in a good neighbourhood with easy access to important infrastructure and facilities.
  • It is your choice, whether you decide to go for a ready-to-move-in or an under-construction project; but do make it a point of visiting the property and chatting with the neighbours. You also need to ensure that all the paperwork is in order and that the builder has obtained all the necessary permits. Finally, before signing the agreement papers, it’s wiser to have a property lawyer go through it first.

For those on the lookout for apartment homes, there are some really exciting 2 and 3BHK Fortius Waterscape Apartments available in Krishnarajapuram area of Bangalore – and these are ready-to-move-in too!

Ever Ready to Buy Ready Homes

Ready to Buy Homes In Bangalore

The economic slowdown has affected all sectors of industrial growth with the real estate segment also witnessing a minor meltdown. However, this loss in momentum has thrown up an interesting feature in home buying.

Maximizing Storage Solutions in your Home

Home Storage Solutions In Bangalore

Having adequate space to store all the things you collect over time seems to be a universal problem. Aside from de-cluttering regularly, the next solution is to have adequate storage spaces in your home. However, this can get a little daunting, especially when you are living in a constrained space. But as with everything else, there are solutions to maximizing storage spaces in apartments too. Here are some nifty storage tips to get you started: