If you thought that owning a house was possible only in your dreams, it is time for you to wake up and realize that it can be a reality without too much struggle. In a report published few days back, a foreign bank gave details of its ambitious target in home-finance business. The projected revenue is 1800 crores in 2002, which is 100% growth over last year's figures. Likewise all financiers are beefing up their targets. The scene has never been so promising. Government's portrayal of housing sector as a part of its economic restructuring has made financiers all the more aggressive. Coupled with the low interest rates, the whole process looks simplified. Cost of building or acquiring a house in India has suddenly slipped to a new low. Plainly you cannot afford to ignore this opportunity. This article should help you to set up your mind to take your own decision.

The factors that influence people to invest in house property are:

1) Emotional satisfaction. 2) Saving of rent, which has shown upward trends in the recent past. 3) Appreciation in capital value. 4) Tax benefits.

A two bedroom flat needs 1500 sq. ft. of land and 750 sq. ft. of built up area. If the built up area is reduced, the home investment also comes down. This means, you can plan to enter into a house with less number of rooms and increase the number of rooms or independent portion in future when funds would be available. Instead of looking for 1500 sq ft of land, you can satisfy yourself with 1000 sq ft and save your initial land buying costs and plan upper storey in future for additional housing requirements. The land along the main road is costlier than plots on side roads and lands in prime locations in city are costlier than suburbs.

In buying the flat, one has to be clear about the technical definition of the space in your home and to understand the statutory costs attached with your buying activities .In buying the second-hand house, one has to be careful about the legal aspects, approval aspects and amenities such as the condition of the building, future life expectancy, availability of drinking water etc.

1) Own money. 2) State housing boards. 3) Loans from employers. 4) Loans from cooperative housing societies. 5) Loans from insurance companies / banks / housing finance companies.

Considering the tax benefits, the home loan is the best way of financing your homebuilding or home buying plan. The cost of finance varies greatly in the marketplace mainly due to the varied interest rates and compounding frequency. Daily reducing balance with a higher interest rates would be cheaper than yearly reducing balance with lower interest rates.

In this section, we take a look at some unique offerings by the financiers in the market to make their products saleable:

• Daily diminishing products
• Discounted consumer loans
• Personal accident cover
• Waiver of EMIS for perfect payment records
• Lower interest rates
• Zero start up costs
• 30 years loan exposures
• Flexible interest rates
• Flexible repayment schemes

Types of Home loans

Home loans are now made available to address different types of requirements and a few possible types available to meet different needs are given hereunder:

• Bridge loans
• Loans for refinancing
• Balance transfer loans
• Stamp duty loans
• Home conversion loans
• Home extension loans
• Home improvement loans
• Land purchase loans
• Home equity loans

In today's world, you enjoy better options than what your forefather did thanks to economic liberalization measures. With the technology available around, you can take a decision with a click of your mouse sitting at your house. Of course, it is for you to prove that you are wiser. Before concluding, it is advisable to bear few things in mind in home buying:

• Plan your house (Fools build houses and wise ones live in it).
• Don't build / buy when you are too young (Best age fit is 40 to 50).

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