Benefits of A Joint Home Loan

A home is a special place where we go to feel safe and comfortable. It is also the place where we spend some of the best moments of our lives with our loved ones. Almost everyone wants to be able to buy their own home at some point. However, sometimes prices of property make that dream a difficult one indeed. Fortunately, home loans step in to save the day. A home loan helps you easily afford to buy the house or apartment you want. You can even apply for a joint home loan in order to improve your eligibility for home financing.

A joint home loan can truly help you fund the home you have always wanted. In this article, we’ll take a look at the benefits of a joint home loan, who can apply, and eligibility criteria.

The Benefits of Joint Home Loan

It always helps to have a bit of support when applying for a loan. The same holds true when you apply for a home loan. Here are some of the major benefits of a joint home loan –

Higher sanctioned loan amount

The most obvious benefit of a joint home loan is that you stand a chance of getting a higher sanctioned loan amount. This happens because the lender now considers two incomes instead of one in the application. So, you no longer need to worry about having to compromise on your ideal home due to a shortage of funds. You can raise your budget and go for the flat or house you want in the locality you want. After all, buying a home is a once in a lifetime decision for most of us; you would not want to compromise on the perfect pick of a property because you are falling short of a few lakhs of rupees.

Easier repayment

When you have a co-applicant in your housing loan, the responsibility of repaying the loan too is shared between two people. So, the financial burden of heavy EMIs is not shouldered by one person alone. The fact that two people are responsible for repaying the loan automatically brings peace of mind and makes things a lot easier. While your spouse or family member may agree to help with a housing loan that is in your name, officially registering them as a joint applicant can possibly make them more responsible towards paying the EMIs with you on time as it will increase their ownership of the situation.

Moreover, if you have a co-applicant on the loan, you might even end up paying off your debt quicker. Since you have two incomes to pay the loan instead of one, you can opt for higher EMI values each month. So, instead of taking a 30-year tenure on your home loan, you can possibly opt for a lower tenure, such as 20 years or less. With a shorter tenure on your home loan, you will save a lot of money that would have otherwise been spent on repaying the interest associated with a longer tenure.

More tax benefits

Both co-applicants can also enjoy separate tax benefits on the home loan. The principal and the interest of the loan are eligible for tax benefits. These home loan tax benefit for joint applicant co-owners are given under section 80C of the Income Tax Act. However, it is important to note that the co-applicant or co-borrower of the loan must also be a co-owner in order to avail these tax benefits.

Who Can Co-Apply for A Joint Home Loan?

A close relative can be added as Co-Applicant in home loan for higher loan eligibility. Close relative need not necessarily be co-owner of the property.

Other than close relative can also be added as co-applicant, provided he / she is the co-owner of the property.

The co-applicant can also be a non-resident Indian (NRI).

Joint Home Loan Eligibility and Documentation

You can easily check home loan eligibility for joint applicants online on the website of your preferred bank or financial institution. The most important eligibility criterion is the relationship of the co-borrower with yourself. They should be either a parent, sibling, or your spouse. Some lenders even insist that the co-borrower must also be a co-owner of the house.

The joint applicants must also submit all relevant documents that are required by the lender. These include identity proof (Aadhaar card, passport, voters ID, or driving license), address proof (Aadhaar card, passport, or utility bills), income proof (salary slips or income tax returns for those who are self-employed), property sale documentation, and NOC of the property. All these documents need to be submitted by the main borrower as well as the co-applicant to the home loan.

Do remember to check your credit score as well as the co-applicant’s credit score before applying for a home loan. If either one of you has a low credit score, your home loan application can possibly be impacted. You can check your credit report and your co-applicant’s credit report at Experian, CIBIL, CRIF Highmark, and Equifax which are the four credit bureaus in the country. Most major banks in the country offer customers free access to their Credit Bureau score online. Knowing your CIBIL score for home loan can help you understand whether your current score will qualify for a good deal on your home loan or whether you need to work towards increasing your score.

Quick tip – Co-owning your property with a female family member offers many benefits. She will pay lower stamp duty charges and that can help you save a fortune. Even if the reduction on stamp duty is only 1%, you have to remember that it is 1% of a very expensive property.

How To Check Eligibility for A Home Loan?

You can easily check your eligibility for a home loan online. There is a special tool known as the home loan eligibility calculator which can help you understand how much funding you qualify for. This tool is simple to operate and free to use. All you need to do is enter a few basic details into the tool to understand your eligibility. These details will include –

• Gross income
• Interest on the loan
• Tenure of the loan
• Other liabilities, expenses, and EMIs

These details will help you get an estimation of how much funding you can expect to receive. Do bear in mind that the final decision on your home loan will also depend on other factors such as your age, CIBIL score, and existing loans. Your co-applicant’s details will also factor into the equation.

It is advisable to close all other major loans before you apply for a home loan. Having less debt in other places will increase your eligibility for a higher amount in your home loan. The same applies for the co-applicant too – if they have a lot of debt, their eligibility will go down and impact the joint loan application.

Fund Your Dream Home with Bank of Baroda

Bank of Baroda offers a range of loans to help make your wish of owning a home come true. We offer tenures as long as 30 years, you are sure to find the right type of loan for your perfect paradise.

You can easily apply for funding online on our website and track your loan status to stay on track. We also have a home loan EMI calculator that will help you understand your monthly payments towards your loan. If you have any queries, our friendly customer support team is here for you. Get in touch with us today to start building the home of your dreams.