One does not need to remind you that these are indeed challenging times for the economy. People are looking at every possible option to save money. Therefore, the need for financial assistance to buy a home through a home loan is always a smart option, so you do not dent your savings. However, many experts claim that a home loan is a long term commitment, and if you are not careful about planning your repayment phase, you could be in serious trouble. A borrower should plan his/her monthly EMIs in such a way that there are no hassles during the entire loan tenure. The following section would talk about practical tips to reduce your home loan burden.
Table of Contents
Tips to reduce home loan burden:
Using home loan EMI calculator:
An online Home Loan EMI calculator is a great way to plan your repayment phase. The calculator would provide the essential details of the loan, i.e. principal amount, tenure, interest rate and most importantly, monthly EMI. By this way, you can assess your current income capabilities and also forecast your future income and decide on your monthly instalment amount. One of the most beneficial advantages of an EMI calculator is the transparency in the lending process by which you can formulate your strategy of repayment. You can either take a higher EMI for a shorter tenure or vice versa. If you are making a higher EMI for a shorter tenure, you would be paying the principal amount faster and hence subsequently; your loan burden can be relaxed within a shorter span.
Note that there is a risk of affecting your current income in this regard. Alternatively, shorter EMI for a longer tenure would result in a balanced repayment phase. Still, the issue is that you might be paying the principal later during the tenure, thus resulting in a higher interest rate.
Prepayment:
You can pre-close your home loan or make prepayments to reduce the home loan burden. Prepayment results in paying off a part of the principal amount faster, thus resulting in the reduced interest amount. Most of the borrowers adopt this strategy to reduce their monthly EMI amount.
Changing your lending institution:
Some of the traditional lenders might be rigid in their repayment policies and would not provide options to reduce your loan burden. In such cases, you have the opportunity to move your loan instrument from your existing lender to another lender who would honour requests in a much flexible manner. Some modern lenders also provide benefits if you move the loan to them.
Downpayment:
One of the most significant advice by the financial experts to the borrowers is to pay a considerable sum as down payment while availing a home loan. Such a move would help you in reducing the monthly EMI so that you can have a peaceful repayment phase.
Conclusion:
There is no second opinion to the fact that repaying home loans can be overwhelming, but with the right kind of planning and flexibility from your lender, you can overcome the challenges during the repayment phase.
