» Home Loan Benefits for Women in India

Buying a new home is an important milestone for every individual. Nowadays even women are earning a good income and are readily investing their money in real estate. For some, buying a home will be a necessity to support their families while others look at it as a good investment to secure their future. Whatever be the reason, owning a home gives a sense of pride and security for women. Most of the working professionals opt for a home loan as it gives the flexibility to pay back the loan through monthly installments. Women are eligible to get some additional benefits when it comes to home loans in India.

So what are the different home loan benefits for women in India?

• Lower Interest Rates
• Reduced Stamp Duty
• Eligibility for High Loan Amount
• Longer Repayment Tenure
• Tax Benefits
• PMAY scheme benefits

Lower interest rate

Lenders or banks offer reduced home loan interest rates exclusively for women. This is to encourage more women to buy assets in their own names and become financially independent. So if you are a woman who wishes to take a home loan in India, you can get the interest rates subsidized.

For example, if the home loan interest rate by SBI is 7.20%, then women applicants can get it reduced to 7.15%. Even though this difference seems to be small, it can give a significant reduction in the monthly EMI burden.

Reduced stamp duty:

Stamp duty is another expense that is involved in the purchase of a home loan. As part of women empowerment, different states in India offer’s stamp duty concession for women who are availing home loans. So women are eligible to get 1% or 2% reduction in stamp duty charges while buying a home. For instance, if you are purchasing a house for Rs. 50 lakhs, you may be able to save around Rs. 50,000 or more. So this becomes a substantial saving for women borrowers.

Eligibility for High Loan Amount:

Women are considered to be responsible borrowers and this gives them the eligibility to get higher loan amounts sanctioned. Along with the simple eligibility criteria, unlike male members, the process of applying for a home loan becomes much easier for women in India. For more details about the eligibility criteria, you can contact any nationalized bank.

Longer Repayment Tenures:

While male counterparts are usually offered loan repayment tenure of 20 years and 65 years age limit to repay the loan amount, female borrowers will be offered repayment tenure of up to 30 years and up to 70 years age limit to repay the loan (whichever is early). This will reduce the EMI burden, helping women pay back the amount without affecting their daily expenses. Another benefit is that women can avail loan foreclosure and part prepayments without any extra charges.

Tax benefits:

Women can avail income tax benefits on their home loan repayments. A maximum tax deduction of Rs 1.5 lakhs on principal amount and Rs. 2 lakhs on interest repayment can be availed if you have taken a home loan. These tax deductions are applicable even if the woman is a co-owner of the property and has a different source of income.

PMAY scheme benefits:

Additionally, women home loan buyers can get also avail benefits by applying for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), a credit-linked subsidy scheme by the government. PMAY scheme offers interest subsidy up to Rs. 2.67 lakhs. Inorder to avail this subsidy, it is mandatory to have a female member of the family as owner or co-owner of a housing property. Only a limited number of applications get approved under this scheme each year and women applicants are given high preference. Many banks also offer special interest rates and benefits for women applying for this scheme.

We know that owning a house is no easy venture but with proper planning and preparations, every woman can achieve this dream just like anybody else. If you wish to know about your home loan eligibility and customized loan benefits, talk to a reliable financial advisor or you visit your bank. Purchase your dream home and take the next step towards financial independence.