Why Working-Class Indians Still Struggle to Buy a Home & What Can One Do?

There's room at the top they're telling you still

But first, you must learn how to smile as you kill

If you want to be like the folks on the hill

A working-class hero is something to be - John Lennon

When you think about it, a working-class hero with a dream to build a home is something to be, especially in the dubious world of rising property rates. You are either of the two - the one who had booked a flat years ago and have lost the hope of waiting for the builder to deliver, and have decided to say goodbye to the dream home that never came to be. Or the one struggling with finances to actually buy a home.

Imagine if you may, a middle-class worker plagued with the thoughts of home loan EMI, house rent till he gets the possession, kids’ school fees, and household expenses - all to be managed in his meager salary; a seemingly endless loop of payables even before the salary gets credited. Not to mention the big question - how to secure finance to pay off the chunk of the home down payment. Sounds familiar? Perhaps a struggle you yourself might be facing!

With RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) in place, there is some relief to the home buyers when it comes to putting their trust in developers. That resolves the first issue of untrustworthy developers. However, the problem of securing finance still remains the biggest concern.

Today, with subvention plans or no-EMI-till-possession plans buyers are more hopeful. Under such schemes, home buyers are asked to pay some percent (in between 10 to 30 percent) of the amount as the down payment. The rest is paid by a bank to the developer as a loan. While the project is under development, the developer pays the interest on the loan to the bank. The buyer’s EMIs begin only after he gets possession. A great deal, isn’t it? But like all good things, this too comes with a catch. Homebuyers need to understand the nitty-gritty of the schemes before venturing into a deal. After all, knowledge is power! We will go into depth on the pros and cons of subvention plans in our upcoming blog.

Coming back to the current situation, while no-EMI-till-possession plans resolve 70 to 80% of the problem, the massive 20-30% upfront down payment remains a hurdle equivalent to a massive chunk of an iceberg submerged underwater. Here is where HomeCapital comes to the rescue with it’s Home Down Payment Assistance Program. What this program does is it facilitates interest-free loan equal to the contribution towards down payment which will be provided by the partner-lending institutions in participating projects. The interest is borne by HomeCapital and the principal amount is divided by the number of months to arrive at monthly payments. The program increases your home loan eligibility and makes your home buying faster and simpler. Sounds too good to be true? But it is true. Tried and tested, the program addresses the challenge of the down payment for home buyers, particularly first time buyers from working-class with dreams to have a home sweet home.

To sum up, in the ever-changing real estate market, one thing that never changes is the challenges faced by the home buyers. However, with more strict regulations in place and evolving home finance sector addressing a few of the big problems, owning your dream home doesn’t seem like a far fetched idea anymore. All you need to do is make a smart move to move into your dream home today, rather than five to ten years down the line.