Your Queries – Loans: Can clear home loan online but collect original sale agreement

The original sale agreement is a critical document and should be stored safely at all times.

By Chaitali Dutta

I want to prepay my home loan. I am working abroad and cannot visit India because of Covid. Can I pay the entire amount online and ask the bank to send me a soft copy of my home papers?
—Amit Khanna
Yes, it is possible to pay off part amount or full loan outstanding in the loan account if you have online access. However, my suggestion would be to give an authority letter to a local, trusted person who can collect your original house documents from the bank. The original sale agreement is a critical document and should be stored safely at all times.

I had taken a car loan three years ago. Now I want to sell the car. I have to pay EMI for another two years. How can I sell and clear the loan?
—Ashok Kumar
Once you have a buyer, you need to share the loan details with the buyer. The buyer will pay part of the purchase price to the loan account first to extinguish the loan. You have to collect the RTO forms from the bank which will remove the lien from your car. Then the buyer will pay you remaining amount, if applicable, directly to you.

My NBFC is charging me 8.5% interest on home loan. How can I shift the loan to a bank which will offer me lower interest rates?
—Deepak Hardayal
If you have been paying your EMI regularly and your loan account is not an NPA, then any bank would be happy to take over your loan. Speak to the bank first and share your loan and income details with them. They will sanction you the loan equivalent to the loan outstanding with your existing NBFC. Check how much lower the interest rate is from the 8.5% you are paying now. If it is more than 1% lower, it makes sense to shift the loan.

I have a home in my name and my gross annual income is Rs 15 lakh. My wife is a homemaker. I want to take a loan of Rs 13 lakh to buy a home in her name. Is she eligible for PMAY scheme?
—Sanjay Gajjar
The main criteria for eligibility of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY) is that the beneficiary must not own a ‘pucca’ house in his/her name or in the name of any other member of his/her family, in any part of the country. You have mentioned that you have a house in your name. Therefore your wife will not be eligible for PMAY subsidy.

The writer is founder, AZUKE Personal Finance Advisory (www.azukefinance.com).
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