How To Pick The Right Home Loan Tenure?

Selecting the right tenure for your loan can reduce your overall loan burden. Hence, do your due diligence on your income, loan amount, and time left to service your loan to opt for the right tenure 

Buying your own house is one of the biggest investments in life. Since it is a high-ticket transaction that cannot be undone or undertaken often, it becomes important for buyers to evaluate every step of the process carefully. One of the critical things we need to assess at the time of purchasing a home is the home loan. And while there are multiple factors to consider and negotiate on, one factor that has a significant impact on your money outflow, in the long run, is the tenure of the loan.

Why is it essential to analyze and negotiate on a home loan tenure? Here are five factors that impact the loan tenure and understanding them better can help you choose the right tenure for your home loan.

Deciding tenure
Typically, the repayment tenure for a home loan can start from five years and go up to 30 years. Some lenders are maybe even willing to look at 35 years in exceptional cases.
The tenure has a direct impact on your EMI and the interest you end up repaying. This is because the interest payable on the loan is calculated at the beginning based on the projected tenure and then the principal and interest are split into monthly installments, i.e., the EMI. So, the longer the tenure, the higher the interest accrued on the loan. A longer tenure gives you the benefit of smaller EMIs, but the overall interest you end up paying goes up. Similarly, if you choose a shorter duration then your EMI will be higher but your total interest will be much lesser.

Age matters
If you are in your 20s or 30s, then it makes sense to choose a longer tenure of 20-30 years. Doing this will help you manage your loan well in the current time, which will have a positive impact on your credit score. You may even be able to use this opportunity to negotiate for a lower rate basis your consistent repayments in the first few years of the repayment. You can always clear your debts when you have got additional money to pay your home loan partially or fully. But ensure your home loan lender allows you to pre-pay or foreclose the loan without any penalty.

Income
Your tenure is also a function of your income. A simple calculation can tell you what will be your EMI obligation if you choose a particular tenure. Lenders consider the Fixed Obligations to Income Ratio (FOIR), which is a measure of your overall obligations including EMIs, fixed expenses such as rents, food, groceries, etc. while considering a loan application. Typically, It is advisable to keep the overall FOIR around 50-60 percent. This means you should not have an EMI of more than 30-40 percent of your total monthly income so that managing all other expenses and emergencies does not put any undue stress on your finances.

Home loan amount
A higher amount home loan means a higher EMI as the principal and the interest accrued on the principal are both high. So, the shorter the tenure, the fewer would be the installments but higher would be their size.

courtesy:TimesIndia.com