Here is the Top Reason Why Home Loans Are Better For Women

Nowadays, women are working hard, earning, bringing change to society, and rightfully earning their place at the table. They make important decisions in various fields of life, including their families, workplaces, or wherever they are essential stakeholders.

Women have become financially sound and are making important investment decisions. Home loan finance companies have seen an increase in the number of female borrowers.

Observing this trend, the government is trying to offer home loan benefits to women. Bankers and other lenders are following the trail.

Thus, women borrowers may avail many benefits while applying for home loans.

What Are the Benefits of a Home Loan for Women?

Working women are perceived as financially responsible and capable of repaying the loan on time. Presumably, the chances of loan default are lower.

Women have the following benefits while applying for housing loans:

Simple eligibility criteria– Lenders are a little lenient toward women borrowers. Eligibility criteria for women less stringent compared to men. Even with a lower credit score, women can avail of the same amount of loan as another male applicant. They can gain access to higher amounts of loans at preferential terms, making it easier to own a home.
Lower Interest Rates– Women are considered more reliable borrowers by lenders. Thus, they offer lower interest rates, and the best home loan offers to women. The concession offered is less. It ranges between 0.05%-0.1%. However, in the long run, this may prove to be beneficial as the tenure of home loans is usually very long, e.g., 30 years.
Stamp Duty Charges are low– To encourage house ownership of women, the state governments offer stamp duty rebates of up to 2%. Considering the high amount of property prices, a 2% rebate significantly reduces the cost of purchase. E.g., with a 2% tax rebate, a woman can save Rs. 1 lakh on a property of Rs. 50 lakh.
Tax Benefits– Home loan benefits for ladies also includes other tax benefits. A woman can avail of the benefits of Income Tax deductions under different sections of the Income Tax Act. Section 24(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, allows a tax deduction of Rs. 2 lakhs on home loan interests to the borrowers. Under Section 80C of the same act, borrowers can avail of Rs. 1.5 lakh tax deduction on the repayment of their home loan.
Government Schemes like PMAY and CLSS– The government has begun many schemes for women so that they can benefit from taking loans. PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana) made it compulsory for the property to be co-owned. The government offers a concession on the interest of up to Rs. 2.67 lakhs. Women borrowers offered benefits under this scheme. Ever since it was launched, the number of women applying for home loans in India has risen by 6%. A woman can avail of a subsidy of 3% to 4% on the interest rate if she is the only applicant under the Credit linked subsidy scheme (CLSS).

Best Home Loan Offers Available to a Woman

Navi- Navi is a non-banking financial company providing its clients with seamless and speedy financial services. Navi provides instant home loans with interest rates starting from 7.39% for women applicants. Women may be the only individual owner of the property or maybe co-owner. Applying for home loans at Navi is smooth and quick because all the formalities will fulfilled, and loan verification occurs through an application. By meeting all the criteria and complying with the formalities, availing of a home loan is not difficult through the online process.
State Bank Of India– SBI has a ‘her ghar’ home loan scheme which offers varied benefits to a woman borrower. A woman applying independently or as a co-applicant may get a 20 basis point concessional interest rate. This scheme covers women aged 18 to 70 years. The loan repayment duration may increased up to 30 years.
ICICI Bank- This bank, too, offers special concessions to women applicants, whether they are the sole applicant or co-applicant for a home loan. So, the rate offered by the bank is 8.80%-8.90% for a floating rate home loan scheme. In the case of a fixed rate home loan scheme, the rate offered is 8.70%-8.5% and 8.85%-8.9% for the first 2-3 years and 5-10 years, respectively.
HDFC Bank– HDFC Women Power Home Loan is a scheme launched with the target of supporting women who wish to buy a house by giving them a 5 basis points concession on the home loan interest rate in the category of variable rate loan. However, she can avail of this benefit only in the scenario where she is the only owner or the co-owner of the property. This bank’s resultant home loan rate is 8.70% to 9.30%.
Bank of Baroda– Here, women loan applicants are provided with a house loan at an interest rate of 6.75% per annum. The processing fee concession of up to 0.5% is also available.
Punjab National Bank– A woman over 18 years of age with a consistent income source can easily apply for a home loan with a floating interest rate. She may avail of the loan at an 8.65% interest rate for an upper limit of up to Rs. 75 lakhs and 8.70% for more than Rs. 75 lakhs. In any case, it required that the borrower pays off the total loan before reaching 70 years of age.

It is a delightful sight to see that the government and financial institutions are trying to be the cape to support the flight of the dreams of the ‘superwoman’ of today. Having financial autonomy may have various ripples of benefits for a woman. Studies have found that financial independence eventually leads to decision-making power for a woman at home or at places where she is an important stakeholder.

Numerous schemes from the government and home loan finance companies will enable her to purchase her dream house (a symbol of outstanding financial achievement), fueling her journey toward freedom.