Looking for a home? Ask these questions!

ant to buy a home?

Ask yourself these four questions to get a good start to your house hunt.

• Would you like to tell us about your search for a home/ home loan? Do you have any experience you would like to share? We would love to hear from you!

Question 1: Are you ready to buy a home?

A friend of mine moved into a cozy little apartment in a Mumbai suburb for a monthly rent of Rs 15,000. Her constant whine is: this money could have easily gone towards paying the Equated Monthly Installment of a home loan.

She figures Rs 15,000 would not be 'gone forever', but will be invested towards a home.

She has a point. So does her husband, who has many reasons for disagreeing with his wife. 

For starters, he may be transferred to another city on work. He is unsure of being in Mumbai for long.

He is also not sure whether he wants to buy a home and live in Mumbai eventually. In fact, he is unsure where he wants to live. And he is not interested in a buying a home to sell it later. When he buys one, it must be for keeps.

Property prices are now shooting up. He is convinced this is the wrong time to make a buy. He is willing to wait a few years for it to slump.

In this situation, he has logically concluded that it makes more sense to rent a place. He figures he will buy a house when he is psychologically ready to take the plunge.

• Should you rent or buy a house?

Question 2: Do you have a ballpark figure?

You must have a ballpark figure when looking for a home.

For this, you need to know how much loan you can get. This will entail meeting a few home loan companies. Show them your earnings and investments, and let them come up with a figure.

Home loan companies generally finance around 85% of the cost of the home. That is their limit. You will also need savings to pay for the balance amount, which is referred to as the down payment.

If your family is willing to help out, or you are expecting a huge bonus or windfall, or if you have substantial savings that you want to utilise, you can add to this figure.

Once this is done, you know how much you can afford.

Else, you will be wasting your time scouting for homes you just cannot afford. You may even end up looking at homes that are way below your budget.

• 10 MUSTs before you buy that house

Question 3: Have you done the finance rounds?

Now, you have to get cracking.

Ask anyone and everyone -- relatives, friends, colleagues -- where they took their loans from and their experience. If they have a contact name to offer, so much the better.

Or snoop around on your own.

Visit your bank and check out what they are offering. Visit other banks in the neighbourhood.

Get on to the web sites of home loan companies and banks. Here are a few:

ABN AMRO
Bank of Baroda
Canara Bank
Central Bank of India
Citibank
Corporation Bank
Dena Bank
Dewan Housing Finance
HDFC
HSBC
ICICI Bank
IDBI Bank
Kotak Mahindra Bank
LIC Housing Finance
Punjab National Bank
Standard Chartered Bank
State Bank of India
Syndicate Bank
UTI Bank
Vijaya Bank

Look at other specialised web sites too:

Apna Loan
Indian Property Loans
India Property Shop
Home Loans India

• What you need to know about a joint home loan

Question 4: Have you drawn up a list of non-negotiables?

By now, you are convinced you want a home. You have a budget. You are aware you will end up compromising on some issues so that you don't sacrifice the rest. But what are you not willing to compromise on?

First, look at the locality.

• Do you want a school nearby?
• Or the market?
• Are you sure you want to be away from the main road?
• Say you live in Mumbai and travel by train. Do you want to reside close to the station?
• Would you prefer a home closer to the city or in the suburbs?
• If closer to the city, what is your cut-off point?

Now tackle the home.

• Do you want a building that offers parking?
• Do you want a garden?
• Do you want a balcony?
• Or huge French windows?

Don't list out too many non-negotiables. Else, you may not get a home at all.

Draw up a wish list and put the non-negotiables -- just one or two -- at the top in red.

It will make your hunt that much more easier and focused.

• House hunting mistakes you must avoid

This should definitely get you started. Remember, house hunting is no walk in the park.

Be prepared to do some serious legwork. It will eventually pay off.

Would you like to tell us about your search for a home/ home loan? Do you have any experience you would like to share? We would love to hear from you!