Fixed or floating house loan interest rate? See which one is better for you.

Taking a home loan is always a difficult decision. Moreover, it’s a decision that’smade of many other small yet highly important decisions such as choosing a lender, the loan amount, the tenure, etc. Of these highly important decisions is choosing between fixed and floating rates of interest. There are many customers out there that are very confused with regards to the type of interest rate they should choose. If you are one of these individuals then don’t worry, this article will discuss both types of interest rates and help you choose which one is right for you.

Fixed House Loan Interest Rate:
As the name suggests, this type of house loan interest rate stays fixed during the entire tenure of the home loan. It’s generally higher than floating rate of interest and provides borrowers a very good amount of certainty. It allows for better planning and provides customer a large amount of foresight in regard to their repayment structure and process. One can make calculation more easily and can have complete peace of mind with sound financial planning fixed home loan interest rates provide.

If you are middle-aged, risk-averse ad wish to plan your home loan repayment to the t, then the fixed home loan interest rate is perfect for you. It isn’t affected by the fluctuation in market conditions and doesn’t increase regardless of changing government policies.

Floating House Loan Interest Rate:
Again, the name is pretty much self-explanatory. These rates are generally lower then fixed rates. They change in relation to market conditions and government policies. They are never fixed and so the interest rate paid every month can be different. The rate may go up or fall further with corresponding changes in the market.

If you are young, don’t mind the risk and are looking to save some money, then you should go for this type of home loan interest rate. You’ll be able to save loads of money in comparison to fixed home loan interest rates.

What do the expert say about choosing a house loan interest rate:
Firstly, interest rates are at their all-time low and experts predict that these rates will fall even lower in the coming years. So if you opt for a fixed rate of interest, you could miss out on significant savings. Moreover, floating rates are not known to rise above fixed rates.

If you are still not able to make your mind about house loan interest:

If you are still confused, there is another option. It’s called the semi-fixed rate of interest. This type of interest is fixed to begin with and then adopts the floating rate of interest after a certain amount time, say 5 years. This type of interest rates serves both type of borrowers and is ideal if you can predict fall market gains or losses.

You can also switch house loan interest rates midway.
If you are not satisfied with fixed or floating rate of interest rates after choosing either one, you can simply switch over the other by paying a small fee. It makes sense to switch if you are not comfortable with the option you’ve chosen.

Choosing between fixed or floating interest rates is a decision that could prove to be a master-stroke or blunder, so choose wisely. Make use of the internet, speak to financial experts and speak to friends and family to make an informed decision.

Some ways to reduce the interest rate on home loans.

Buying your dream home involves a lot of planning, property survey, builder’s reputation, money at stake and lastly cracking a better housing loan deal. When it comes to housing finance the first thing buyers are concerned is the interest rates incurred on your loan. Interest rate play an important role in your home buying decision, when one opts for a housing loan.

You can say it’s a decisive factor. Presently, the home loan interest rates are around 8.50 to 9% mark that looks quite attractive compared to 3 to 5 years back.

Other factors banks or private companies use to determine rates are as follows: Age of customer and the property, repayment capacity, educational qualifications, job stability and income source, number of dependents, co-applicant’s income, assets and liabilities, savings habits, credit history and future inflation costs.

Your interest rates will impact your principal amount, your monthly installment and other fees. So, it’s better to carefully evaluate it before availing a loan. There are several ways to reduce the interest rates all the more.

Some of them would be:

• Women are offered special concession of around 0.5% on home loan.

•  If you hold a good credit score you can negotiate with the private vendors and banks for better home loan interest rates.

• If you hold a joint income with your spouse or parents you tend to get a lower interest rates or higher principal amount as per your requirements.

• If you take home loan when you’re young investors have a faith on you that you’re in a position to pay the debt on time thus you can negotiate on rates.

• Having a suitable job or sound business can help you fetch good amount of discount on your housing loan interest rates.

Experts say borrowers should take into consideration one’s current and future cash flows, while deciding the monthly installments. Banks or private finance firms are also flexible in keeping a lower monthly installment during the intimal years. Higher monthly installment may eat up a major chunk of your earning that could lead to financial distress.

There are several online sites that help buyers calculate home loan interest rates using loan calculator. These calculators give an exact table array of principal amount, interest rates applicable, processing and other charges incurred on your entire tenure of housing finance.  This way you will be prepared before hand on exact EMI and the interest rate that you have to pay on your housing loan.

These days using online aggregator sites you can compare based rates and spreads across various banks and private finance companies on your home loan. If you see substantial scope to reduce the home loan interest you can consider the following options:

Maintain a good relationship with the lender, and then negotiate for low revised rates by paying a one-time fee, being charged by banks or finance firms.  Migrating to another bank or finance company could prove beneficial who often target the potential customers with slashed rates. Remember even a 0.25 to 0.50% on your home loan interest rates can make a vast difference and help you saving lakhs of rupees on the long run.