Home loan for an NRI.

Staying away from the motherland can’t stop you from building a house of your dream. The home loan for NRI from the banks and other financial organizations can help people working abroad to invest money in buying properties in India. There are many public and private sector banks that have come up with the financial aid for the borrowers. The amount of money an NRI can avail as the loan amount depends on three main factors; the educational qualification, place or country of residence and gross monthly and net monthly income. The financial institute’s haveset a minimum criterion for earning based loan application.

The properties that are covered by the home loan for NRI scheme are of four types;the properties that are already constructed, under-construction property, properties that are to be constructed over pre-owned plots and existing properties, which requires change.

The NRI home loan tenure and the rate of interest differ from that of a residential home loan. Indians can get tenure up to 30years for repayment, but, an NRI’s tenure is restricted to five to twenty years. The tenure is based on the financial institution granting the loan and the loan amount. Some organization charges 0.25-.50% more on the base rate of interest as compared to a residential home loan. But, some banks punches the same rate of interest as the residential home loan of 8.7-9.2% in general and 8.65-9.15% for women borrowers. The borrower can select between adjustable/floating rate of interest and fixed rate of interest. The floating rate fluctuates depending on the market situation, but, the fixed rate doesn’t change. The borrower should ensure that no hidden charges are there.

Copies of passport, valid visa and permit for work, employment contract, work experience certificate, salary circulars and employment card are some of the required documents required for the application of home loan for NRI. If the NRI borrower wants a resident back home to do the document submission on his behalf, then the NRI has to grant that person a Power of Attorney, so that the resident can complete the process for him. The NRI borrower has to make the down-payment of 10-30% of the loan amount as margin money, rest is disbursed by the lending organization. The amount may change with different organizations. As a security the bank keeps the allotment letter of the lending property with itself, and returns it to the borrower, once, the loan amount is paid.NRI borrowers can also avail tax benefits under section 80C, Income Tax 1961.

For repaying the loan amount one has to possess a Non-resident external (NRE) or a Non-resident ordinary (NRO) account, and the payments can be done only in Indian rupees. During the repayment procedure, if the NRI borrower decides to become a resident of India, the various aspects of the loan; such as loan amount, tenure and rate of interest, all will change to residential home loan borrower. Some banks offer the borrowers the option to reduce the applicable rate through Conversion Facility. The NRI borrower can take the advantage of this facility by paying a nominal charge.

Like the residential home loan, the home loan for NRI also includes 1.25% of the loan amount plus the taxes as processing charges.

Though the procedure is common for all financial institutions, but, every organization can have slight variations in their mode of operation. It is best for the borrower to learn the variations before-hand, so that when the individual applies for the loan, the process is streamlined.