Top 3 residential options in Ahmedabad Satellite, Bopal and Prahlad Nagar have emerged as the most preferred residential locations in Ahmedabad both for buying a property as well as for rental purpose. If you are looking to buy or take a rented accommodation in Ahmedabad, it would be a good idea to have a look at some of the localities that are most searched by the buyers. As per the latest PropIndex (Oct-Dec 2013), Satellite, Bopal and Prahlad Nagar were the most preferred residential options in that order for both buying a property as well as for renting. So what makes these localities so popular? Well, while location and connectivity works in the favour of Satellite and Prahlad Nagar, affordability is acting as a catalyst in Bopal. Satellite The locality has been one of the three most preferred residential localities for both outright sale as well as rent in the last one year, as per data with Magicbricks. Located in west Ahmedabad, residential demand in Satellite is driven by the availability of properties in a varied budget range and good connectivity. Through Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Services, the locality is connected to other residential places, such as Vastrapur, Vejalpur and Prahlad Nagar. As per data with Magicbricks, 3BHK units are most common here and are available in a wide budget range of Rs 60 lakh to 1 crore. Sizes of these vary from 1500-2500 sq ft. The 2BHKs are available for Rs 30-70 lakh and are sized around 900-1300 sq ft. Bopal As opposed to Satellite, residential demand in Bopal is driven by affordability. Compared to neighbouring localities, such as Satellite, Vastrapur, Prahlad Nagar and Bodakdev, the locality offers lower capital and rental values. For instance, a 3BHK is available for Rs 50-80 lakh, while you may get a 2BHK unit for Rs 30-40 lakh. Rental values vary largely from Rs 7500-9500 per month as compared to approximately Rs 11,000-14,000 per month in localities such as Satellite, Bodakdev and Vastrapur. Prahlad Nagar Prahlad Nagar is probably the most expensive amongst the three locations. Generally, the larger units, such as 3 and 4BHK units are available here. A 3BHK is available within a price bracket of Rs 90 lakh and Rs 1.4 crore and are spacious with an area of 1600-2000 sq ft. 4BHK homes are lavish and are sized around 2500-3800 sq ft. These are priced around Rs 1.5 to 5 crore and above. Rental values for a 3BHK vary from Rs 25,000-40,000 per month, while a 2 BHK would command anywhere between Rs 10,000 and 15,000 per month. Sruthi Kailas, Magicbrick.com Bureau

3 reasons to refinance your home loan.

It is the time in markets where the anticipation of good and cheerful is reigning supreme. It is also the time when many expect interest rates to come down. In such a situation, refinancing your existing mortgage, also known as balance transfer of home loan, can be the option that would figure top in your priority list.

Before you wonder on what should be your first move, here are certain reasons why you should go for it:

Saving of money is good enough reason to go for refinancing your home loan. Let us understand this with an example. Let’s say your home loan outstanding as of today is Rs 50 lakh and the current interest rate is 11.5%. Then in that case you are paying an equated monthly installment of Rs 53,322 and you are still 20 years away from debt free status. In this way, you will also save the time too.

But if you refinance your home loan at 10.5%, you will be paying an EMI of Rs 49,919 – saving of Rs 3404 per month. Alternatively, you can also keep your EMI constant. If you choose to pay an EMI of Rs 53862, you will be debt free in just 16 years, a saving of four years. Put simply, you benefit in the process.

This saving is quite meaningful as saving some money now amounts to creating wealth in the long-term. If you have five years to become loan-free, you should think of opting for refinancing. After all, it is your hard earned money and longer the time you repay your home loan more money in interest payments.

Second and the most important rule is the prevailing rate of interest on your home loan. If the prevailing rate of interest payable on your home loan is 100 basis points more than the interest rate on offer in the market, you should consider refinancing your home loan. If you have a home loan outstanding in your name, and any of these two conditions is met, it is the time to act.

So, what is stopping you from doing this? Is it ignorance or misplaced fear?

Many a time borrowers are not aware that the banking regulator RBI takes decision that serves them best. Take for instance, the abolishment of prepayment penalty on the floating rate home loans. This means that you are free to move to any other bank or home loan lender. However your new bank may charge you some processing fee to cover the cost of due diligence it does while giving you the home loan.

To that extent you have incur one- time cost, which is usually in the range of 0.5% of the loan outstanding. Many banks put a cap on such charges say Rs 25000. Some banks to waive it to lure good customers especially if the customer has a credit score or CIBIL score of more than 750. If you have a very good CIBIL score, anywhere between 750 and 900, you stand to save on these costs.

If you do some homework about the prevailing interest rates offered by banks, you will surely find some good deals. As interest rates are on the way down, you stand to benefit. If you refinance your home loan now, you are highly likely to save more. So, focus your energies on these to make the most of the present situation.

Rajiv Raj, co-founder and director, Creditvidya.com

Why you should buy property on your wife’s name

Property buying has mostly been dominated by the males in the society. However, due to mighty tax benefits and rebates the male home buyers are not shying away from registering the property in a female’s name, be it their wife or mother. Moreover, this is attracting women buyers to take the plunge in the property market. This is also attached to several concessions and exemptions which are available only for ladies.

Here are the top concessional advantages available for female property buyers –

Stamp duty concession

Several northern region state governments offer partial stamp duty waiver to woman property buyers or to the joint registration, when one of them is a female. “If the property is registered in the name of women solely, there is a concession given of about 2 per cent,” says Rajiv Raj from Credit Vidya, an investment consultancy firm based in Mumbai. “The stamp duty charges in Delhi are four per cent if the property is registered solely in the name of a woman and 5 per cent for joint registration,” added Raj.

Tax exemption and rebate

Several tax benefits and exemption can be availed if a woman buyer opts for home loan -

- If the property is self occupied then the deduction towards interest is limited to Rs 1.5 lakh per financial year.

- If the property is rented out, the entire interest on home loan can be claimed as deduction against the net rental value.

- For first time home buyers this year (April 2013 – March 2014), income tax rebate on interest of home loan up to Rs 25 lakh is Rs 1 lakh.

Sharing the benefits

The benefit of being a woman does not end here. Tax rebate can be shared with the husband as well if he is a co-applicant of the home loan. Not just the exemptions and discounts but several other featured advantages make property registration at the name of female a fruitful choice to avail special offers.

For those living on rent

Ladies living on rent can avail house rent allowance exemption on their taxable income. “If the female tax payer is living on rent and has any type of income from any source and she does not own a house, in that situation she enjoys a tax deduction in terms of section 80GG of the Income-tax Act, 1961 subject to 25 per cent of her income but restricted to the sum of Rs 2000 per month,” says Subhash Lakhotia, tax and investment consultant at RN Lakhotia & Associates.

With so many benefits, registering your house on your mother’s or wife’s name is truly a smart choice.

Surbhi Gupta, Magicbricks.com Bureau