Dhan Ki Baat Ep 18: Three Steps to Buy Your Dream House

(Photo: The Quint)

Video Editor: Abhishek Sharma

In this episode of Dhan Ki Baat, personal finance expert Gaurav Mashruwala explains how you can plan for your dream house and the precautions you must take.

Follow These 3 Steps

1. Planning
2. Saving
3. Taking a loan

Ask Yourself These Questions

1. What is your income?
2. How is the builder?
3. Is the house ready or under construction?
4. How long before it will be ready?
5. Are there any problems regarding ownership?

Once the planning is over, then comes the question of deciding your budget. How much money will you need? What will be the mode of payment if it is under construction? What will be the cash flow? All this must be planned out.

After Budgeting Comes Investment

If you haven’t started investing and there is some time before buying a house, then start an SIP at the earliest. During down payment, the money from the SIP will help. If you have invested in fixed deposits or mutual funds, you can gather money from there and invest it as well.

What to Keep in Mind Before Taking a Loan

1. Don’t take loan for such a short duration that the high EMI rate gives you trouble managing your day-to-day expenses.
2. Don’t take loan for such a long duration that it leaves you spending all your life just repaying it.
3. A 10-15 year loan is the best option.

Your Questions

Ramesh Srivastav from Kanpur asks:

I am 29 years old. I earn Rs 45,000 per month. By 2021, I want to buy a house worth about Rs 40 lakhs. How should I plan?

Gaurav Mashruwala says: Since you want to buy a house in the next 3-4 years, my advice to you would be that you invest in a debt-based mutual fund. Start an SIP. The larger the money in the SIP, the lower will be the loan amount. You earn Rs 45,000 per month. I don’t know what your expenses are like. But if you can save at least Rs 20,000 a month, you’ll be well on your way. While buying the house, withdraw the money and use it for down payment.