Home Loans for Women: All You Need to Know

After a few years of earning your lakhs, you might begin yearning to invest in crores. Once you secure a regular income, many firsts come with it, like purchasing your first two or four-wheeler or a home. Realising your homeownership dreams can be both intimidating and exciting! The hikes in real estate could deter first-time investors, but a home loan could help you make a firm stand. 

One of the most promising investment opportunities for women is real estate. Why? Because the government and banks are actively promoting homeownership among women by providing them better interest rates! Some banks offer such investors enticing deals exclusively meant for them. 

Home Loans for Women

While our economy was busy recuperating from the pandemic, housing rates have sky-rocketed. In metropolitan cities like Mumbai and Bangalore, viable real estate investment opportunities are available but exorbitantly priced! Fortunately, the progressive strides of women’s empowerment and financial independence have brought several benefits. 

To help arrange the funds for long-term investments, banks offer lucrative home loans to women at low-interest rates. The requested loan amount could be as low as ₹2 lakhs and go up to ₹10 crores. Though, there are different eligibility criteria to avail of specific home loans designed for women. The following are a few common prerequisites. 

●    Age: 18 to 70 years 

●    Nationality: Indian Citizen, Non-Resident of India (NRI), or Person of Indian Origin (PIO)

●    Employment Type: Salaried or Self-Employed 

●    Residential Address: Permanent or Rented (min. one year) 

●    Credit Score: 750 or more 

Though, criteria like annual income and credit score depend on the standards set by the bank. Such prerequisites may vary as per their policies and rules. Post-eligibility confirmation, gather your documents for submission. It consists of documents like identity proof (PAN, Aadhar, etc.), residence proof, and other documents like bank statements and salary slips. 

Also watch: Tips to Increase Your Home Loan Eligibility

5 Benefits of Women-Specific Home Loans 

With multiple home loan schemes curated for women-borrowers, the stream of benefits is endless! Listed below are the top five benefits of availing women-specific loans. 

1. Lower Interest Rates 

Nothing attracts the attention of keen investors like low-interest rates on loans – especially home loans! Since most financial institutions view women as reliable borrowers, they encourage investments in assets like real estate and offer them better interest rates. The interest rates are a few points lower than the market rate, somewhere between 0.05% – 0.1%. 

2. Longer Repayment Tenor 

When it comes to loans, most of us prefer those with longer tenors – longer tenors mean lower EMIs! Home loan lenders allow women to choose a tenor of up to 25 years. Also, women-borrowers can easily make part-prepayments or foreclose their home loan without additional charges.  

3. High Loan Amount

While purchasing your first home, why settle for the cheapest property around? With banks sanctioning higher loan amounts to women, you could easily invest in your dream home! To make the process easier, lenders have simplified the eligibility criteria – making it easier for women to avail these loans. 

4. Stamp Duty & Tax Benefits 

After the property purchase, you need to pay the stamp duty fee. For women, stamp duty charges are lowered by 1-2% to save a substantial sum. Women can claim tax deductions of ₹1.5 lakhs and ₹2 lakhs on the principal and interest repayment for a self-occupied home. 

5. Government Schemes (PMAY) 

The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) is a government initiative created to promote homeownership among women. It makes co-ownership with women mandatory, offering an interest subsidy of ₹2.67 lakhs. Furthermore, it gives preference to women applicants – hiking the number of women home loan applicants by 6%! 

On the surface, these rate differences may seem minute, but they significantly impact the EMI amount. It makes the home loan repayment process easier and stress-free for women! Certain provisions allow housewives to apply for this loan as co-borrower. If you’re a working woman, jointly apply for a home loan with your husband and be equally entitled to the benefits.