When you opt for a home loan, the bank/NBFC concerned will require you to comply with a multitude of eligibility criteria, the most basic one being that you must be a citizen of India and at least 21 years of age, along with other parameters related to your income, employment, credit score, etc.
Let’s take a look at some of the most important factors that determine the maximum loan you can avail at minimum interest rates.
Age: This is a prime factor in your home loan eligibility and all the other parameters are measured against it. The lender takes into account the number of years you have left in the workforce as a salaried or working professional, making it easier to draw out the loan repayment structure. Applying for a loan in the early years of your career or much before retirement makes approval of a higher home loan amount with low interest rates easier. For example, if you’re 30 years old, you can get a home loan for a tenure of up to 30 years since the standard retirement age is considered 60. Want to check how much home loan you’re eligible for? Find out now with Fincity’s Home Loan calculator.
Income: The loan amount you’re likely to get sanctioned depends on your yearly income, based on the city you work in. Bigger metropolitan cities like Delhi and Mumbai come with more stringent requirements compared to others. Banks generally offer 60-65% of total gross or (sometimes net income i.e. gross minus taxes) income. On a general note, a bank can offer you loan for a tenure of 25-30 years with additional value-adds like EMI holiday (moratorium period when you’re not required to pay EMI), top-up loans with low interest, repayment flexibility, etc.
Employment Status: Eligibility is also determined by the kind employment you hold, i.e. salaried, self-employed professional (SEP), self-employed non-professional (SENP) and also by how frequently you change jobs. Being employed by a reputed company or being self-employed with a steady income is a plus.
Existing Debt Obligations: Banks consider your existing debt / loan obligations and calculate your monthly payment dues toward those existing loans. Why is this important? Because banks use the ratio called FOIR which means fixed obligation-to-income ratio to calculate your eligibility. For example, if your monthly income is Rs. 50,000 but you have fixed monthly loan payments of Rs. 15,000 for existing personal loan or vehicle loan, then Banks will consider only Rs. 35,000 as amount available which can be used to pay your Home Loan EMI (equated monthly installment).
Debt Repayment Track-record: Banks are more concerned about your payment pattern when it comes to dues than the number of loans you actually have or the payment due on your credit card. Behaviour such as missing your EMIs regularly, not paying credit cards regularly and repaying after the due date are red flags for the lender. Settling your outstanding amount and following some basic debt clearing rules will open up your chances to get a higher amount sanctioned.
No of Dependents: Interestingly, your loan eligibility is also influenced by the number of dependents you have. Lenders want the assurance that your income is high enough to handle home loan EMIs after supporting dependents. Banks apply a ratio ranging from 40% to 70% on the available amount as you would have daily/monthly expenses to support your household and dependents.
Credit score: Your credit score is calculated based on your credit history that includes your past and current debts (loans, credit card, etc), repayment pattern and payment defaults.
This gives the lender an idea of how you’ve handled your monetary responsibilities in the past, determining your financial credibility, and how capable you are to pay off the loan. A minimum credit score of 750 is considered ideal for home loan eligibility. There are multiple credit bureaus like CIBIL, Experian, Equifax and CRIF-Highmark who are authorised by Govt of India / RBI. {Check your free credit report}
Down Payment / Own Contribution: Paying a higher down payment, i.e. 20% or more, also increases your eligibility in getting a loan easily at competitive interest rates. The lender funds up to 80% of the property value called Loan-to-Value (LTV) and up to 90% if the loan amount is Rs.30 lakhs or less. In order to entice home purchase, some banks or real estate developers have schemes running like 10-80-10 which means you may 10% now while bank will fund 80% and remaining 10% to be given at the time of possession. Before loan disbursement, banks will ask you to provide proof of your Down Payment or Own Contribution which in banking parlance is called Own Contribution Receipt (OCR).
Property Valuation: The banks will be keen on evaluating the value of your property as this serves as the collateral/ security as Home Loan is a secured loan vs. Personal loan or credit cards which are unsecured in nature. Hence the rate of interest on Home Loans tend to be lowest when compared to any other loan type. Selecting a property that is worth high in an area where the valuation is likely to rise will ensure that you get a higher loan amount. Banks generally have outside valuers on panel who are asked to submit the report. Most banks generally ask for two valuations and take lower of the two.
Now that you know where you stand in terms of home loan eligibility, feel free to run a quick check on how much loan will make paying them off a smooth ride for you with Fincity’s Home Loan affordability calculator.
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