Home Loan Transfer
A home loan transfer (also known as refinancing or balance transfer) is an option that most individuals opt for to avail the benefit from lower interest rates
prevalent in the market. Usually the existing borrower of a bank who is about 2 or more years into his loan tenure does not get the benefit of reducing interest rates
in the market.Individuals looking for better interest rates could discuss with their bank on re-negotiating the interest rates based on the good repayment track record
etc. If the bank is not amenable, then they could shift to another bank which offers a lower interest rate prevalent in the market.
Apart from saving on interest there are other reasons to transfer your home loan, including:
Bank is not agreeable to change loan terms: You might want to re-negotiate certain terms and conditions with your bank. For example, you might wish
to extend the tenure of your loan to lower your EMI, your bank might not be ready for this change and hence prompt a shift.
Top up loan: The property value might have climbed much higher from its original price. On the basis of this you might want a top up loan to meet a
money requirement or for a home renovation perhaps. If your lender is not open to finance this you might opt for a new lender.
Service issues: Sometimes you might just be unhappy with your bank’s service and accessibility, which might prompt a change.
How does the process work
The bank you are shifting to will offer you a loan based on the current home loan rates they are offering to their home loan applicants.
You will need to submit a letter to the existing lender requesting a loan transfer. Based on your request, the bank will give a consent letter / NOC and a
statement mentioning the outstanding amount. This needs to be provided to the new lender who then sanctions your loan amount to the old lender for an account
closure.
Once the transaction is over, your property documents will be handed over to the new lender, the remaining post dated cheques / ECS will be
cancelled.
A prepayment penalty will be levied by your existing lender which can vary anywhere between 0%-3% of the principal outstanding of the loan at the time of
refinance.
Remember that you will also need to pay a processing fee to the new lender. This can range anywhere between 0.5% and 1% of the loan applied, most banks
restrict this amount to Rs.5000.
Things to watch out for:
It is always better to switch the loan early on during the tenure as you would have already paid out a substantial amount of the interest due initially. If
you are planning to switch your loan after most of your interest has been repaid, it will not make money sense as you will be shelling out more with the switch!
Get statements from your current lender stating that property documents will be dispatched within a certain time frame to avoid hassles on this
front.
Remember that a loan switch will not be possible if you have been irregular with your loan repayment with your current lender.
Factor in the pre-payment fee and processing fee when calculating the benefit of transfering your home loan. If you feel there is a significant amount of
interest to be saved from the move, then you can make a profitable switch.
Remember that for a home loan switch you need go through all the procedures involved afresh. These include a credit appraisal, legal verification of
property documents and technical evaluation with the new bank etc. and a loan will be approved only when conditions are met.
Important Note About Your Mobile
It seems that your number is registered on the National Do-Not-Disturb (DND) list. Due to newly
revised guidelines of TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority on India), we will not be able to
update you on your home loan offer unless you provide proof of consent for
Bankbazaar
to call you by completing ONE of the following:
SMS US:SMS "CALL ME" to +91-9773467070 from +91-.Thank you for your consent.
OR
CALL US:Call 044-43981801 from +91-. Thank you for your consent.
After completing one of the above, in order to continue staying updated with
status/approvals/scheduling of your home loan application via phone, please do
ONE of the following:
Send "START 1" to 1909 to activate partial-DND, allowing you to
receive SMS alerts from all 'Banking/Insurance/Financial Products/Credit Cards' companies
Send "STOP" to 1909 to de-register from DND
TRAI guarantees to activate registration/de-registration requested within 7
days.