It doesn’t matter, how many breaths you take.
What matters are the moments that took your breath away?
Buying your own home is one such moment. No matter what status of life you are at, the decision of buying a home is always a huge commitment. I have seen that there is a huge upward trend of buying a home during the festive season as it is considered to be auspicious. The Indian sentiments of festivity and offers floating around make it more attractive and lucrative. However, such decisions should not be impulsive but well researched and considered. Here are a few pointers that you should keep in mind before planning to buy a home this Diwali.
- Research the builder and his previous projects. Check if he has given timely delivery, quality of previous constructions etc. Don’t only go for the picture or offers he promises on his new project.
- Hire a lawyer to proofread documents like 7/12 agreement, title deed etc. which can confuse anyone as the legal jargon at times gets tough to comprehend and you might miss on an important point.
- Figure out the add-ons: The final cost of the house has a lot of add-ons like stamp duty, house registration, building maintenance fee, parking etc. so check those numbers and keep them in mind. After which you should figure out your monthly EMI using a home loan calculator. Allocate the add-ons accordingly and if it all fits in. It will be a relief before you buy a home. I know of a few friends who pulled out of an investment after a few months because of this lack of foresight and lost money.
- Compare home loan rates. A good idea will be to figure out rates for woman ownership or co-ownership or senior citizen your home loan eligibility. You might be eyeing a place but the bank may not give you a 90% funding. So before you make your mind to purchase, it makes sense to find out your eligibility using a home loan eligibility calculator.
- If you are buying a house make sure you know the infrastructure that is going to be built around that. Connectivity to prominent places in the city and to your work and kid’s schools. A pretty home/building is as important as the infrastructure around it.
- The market experts say that a good portfolio mix of investment should between equities, debt instruments and real estate and in 40:20:40 mix. When it comes to investing in a home that you will rent, you should also consider, rent minus maintenance charges in returns.
- If you have researched and taken care of all the above then Diwali can be a good time to invest as a lot of builders try to push the buying sentiment by giving interesting offers like cutting prices, or giving the option of not paying the EMI for the first two years or give a car etc.
Diwali may run the sentiment deeper to buy a home but make sure you do your research before you take a call to invest in something which digs deep in your pockets. Happy Diwali!!
