Your Queries – Loans: PMAY can be applied only once

By Chaitali Dutta

As stock market is rising, I want to take a pre-approved personal loan to invest in markets. Should I do it?
—S R Mudgal
I would strongly suggest not to use leverage to invest in the market. Equity markets are volatile and the returns are good only when you are invested in it for the long term—five to seven years. The loan you take will have to be paid back in EMIs where there will be a constant flow out of your funds. My suggestion would be to invest in equity with the proposed EMI money which you would have had to pay back to the bank. This monthly accumulation would be a better route to building a portfolio.

I took a loan from PNB in February 2019 and applied for PMAY subsidy in August 2020. I have reapplied as it was rejected once. Now I have my CLAP ID and it says four stages have been cleared. If I transfer my loan to some other bank for a lower interest rate, my subsidy will go back to the government. What shall I do?
—Amit
PMAY can be applied only once. Do request PNB to call back your application, if possible. Once the sanction comes through, you need to be with the same organisation to enjoy the benefits of the PMAY subsidy. In case you would like to pre-pay your loan in the future, you will be required to pay back the subsidy for the unexpired period of the loan.

What is the tenure of a gold loan and what happens if I default on the interest payment?
—Gautam Banka
There is no set period for a gold loan. Depends on your needs and the organisation you are taking the loan from. The loan amount offered on a gold loan is calculated after factoring in the interest for the period of the loan. Hence, by not paying the interest amount, you are burdening yourself and the chances of you getting back the gold will be reduced.

If I have a CIBIL score of 810, will I get a home loan at a favourable rate?
—S K Ahuja
Yes, with a greater than 800 CIBIL score you may expect a lower rate of interest/ lower margin requirement on your home loan.

The writer is founder, AZUKE Personal Finance Advisory (www.azukefinance.com). Send your queries to [email protected]