Financial institutions offering special home loan rates for women

As women are getting economically independent, they are increasing participation in financial decisions and planning, whether it concerns themselves or their family. Financial awareness is no longer a male bastion. Not surprisingly, home financiers have come up with special schemes for woman borrowers of home loan products. Prominent among them are State Bank of India (SBI), LIC Home Finance, Tata Capital Housing Finance (TCHF) and Dewan Housing finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL).  

The country's largest bank, SBI has launched a special home loan scheme offering concessional rate to women borrowers. Under this scheme, it offers women borrowers loan at 10.10 per cent for loan up to Rs 75 lakh and 10.25 per cent for loan above Rs 25 lakh. These rates are 5 basis points lower than other customers. In simple terms, if loans up to Rs 75 lakh are offered to new borrowers at 10.15 per cent, for women borrowers, the concessional rate would be 10.10 per cent. This scheme is valid for women borrowers in a number of ways: as sole applicants; the first of the co-applicants; the sole or the first of the co-owners of the property.

The TCHF has a discount scheme, under which it offers women home loans of up to Rs 40 lakh at a discounted rate of 10.15 per cent vis-a-vis its present rate of 10.50 per cent for other borrowers. Thus, women borrowers can save as much as Rs 864 a month on a 15-year loan and Rs 935 a month on a 20-year loan. To avail this facility, the property must be in the single/joint name of the borrower and the borrower must have sufficient income to service the EMIs.

As woman borrower, your choice should not be limited to a few housing finance institutions. Home loan is a very competitive market these days, so enquire about home loan interest rates of all financial institutions for women, and you may end up getting the lowest rate.

Similarly, LIC Housing Finance has a special scheme ‘Bhagya Lakshmi’ forwomen borrowers where it offers them a fixed rate of 10.10 per cent for loan up to Rs 75 lakh.

Dewan Housing finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) also offers a home loan product exclusively for women customers, the ‘DHFL Home Loan for Women’. Under the scheme, all single/first woman applicants who are also the sole/co-owners in the property are eligible for a 25 bps (0.25 per cent) waiver on the rate of interest. As Rakesh Makkar, president, DHFL, puts it, the special loan for women is a part of the company’s endeavour to empower women by encouraging them to invest/buy a home.                                                                                           

Going by the above trends, it is clear that it helps to be a woman. Already, in several states, the stamp duty for registration of property is lower for women. For a male property-buyer too, it makes sense to register the property in his wife’s name as well as make her first co-applicant in the home loan.