A checklist for women buyers

A matter of choice

Single women who have migrated to bigger cities tend to be thorough in their research and base their property purchase on factors such as high safety and security in the neighbourhood.

The average sizes of apartment women prefer ranges from 500 to 800 sq.ft. (In metros) as they often attach greater importance to security rather than the size of the home. Women prefer investing in properties that have functional security solutions and alarms in place, and are willing to pay a premium for the same.

Special Concessions

Recognizing the trend of more women buyers entering the real estate market, both the developer communities as well as lending institutions have special concessions for women. For instance, in states such as Delhi and Haryana stamp duty for women is 1-2 per cent lower than that for a man purchasing property.

Lenders who often view women as better customers as they tend to be more regular with timely repayments have a spate of women oriented loans where the rate of interest offered to a woman purchasing a property is 0.25-0.50 per cent lower than regular home loan products. Further, women are eligible for a tax deduction of up to Rs. 2 lakh on the interest paid on home loans.

Plan your finances

The first thing that to consider while taking a home loan is affordability it can be done through Home Loan Repayment Calculator. A mortgage should be well planned for and invested for through proper investments (the down payment component). At the beginning a career considers equity investments.

Don’t overstretch yourself

Your home loan should not ideally exceed 40 per cent of your salary. If your affordability does not allow purchasing the apartment you have set your heart on, do not stretch beyond your means.

If that means waiting for a while, and investing for a longer time, do so and do not be in a hurry to purchase property. Else, you could consider investing in a smaller apartment for the time being.

Pick lender after scrutiny

As mentioned earlier, there are quite a number of loan products that are directed towards women. For the first level of research go online and make a comparison of all the loan products that seem suitable to your needs.

With many online aggregators, the features of each loan product should be fairly simple to assess. Once your online research is complete and you have a shortlist, make a personal visit to the bank branch and speak to the sales representative to fully understand the features of the loan product you are interested in.

[Source: http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/homes-and-gardens/A-checklist-for-women-buyers/article15633667.ece]