Plan the loan for your home

RBI lets banks lend up to 90% of the home's price for loans up to ₹30 lakh, 80% for ₹30–75 lakh and 75% above that. You pay the rest, plus stamp duty and registration, which banks usually don't fund.

PAN and Aadhaar, salary slips or income-tax returns (two to three years for the self-employed), six months of bank statements, and the property's papers: sale agreement, title deeds and approvals. For a new project, the builder's RERA registration.

Most home loans in India are floating and move with the RBI repo rate, so your EMI or tenure changes when rates do. Floating loans to individuals have no prepayment penalty.

Under the old tax regime, you can deduct up to ₹2 lakh a year of interest on a self-occupied home (Section 24(b)) and up to ₹1.5 lakh of principal (Section 80C). Check which regime suits you with a tax adviser.

Banks give their lowest rates to scores of about 750 and above. Paying cards and EMIs on time, and not applying for many loans at once, keeps your score up.