ENGAGE

In focus- Home Purchase

TIPS FOR BUYING A HOME

All of us dream of owning a home someday. Owning a home can be a daunting task if you
are not prepared mentally and most importantly, financially. There may be many stumbling
blocks and heartbreaks, but when you do finally sign on the dotted line and receive your
home documents, it is truly a special moment. It is a moment you will cherish and be proud
of, for the rest of your life.

Here is a list of essential tips which will help you when buying your dream home:

1. Make a wish list 12. Check for hidden costs

2. Take stock of your savings 13. Look for value additions
3. Save prudently to raise maximum 14. Calculate the total cost of acquisition
down payment 15. Scrutinise the Agreement of Sale
4. Do extensive research on which 16. For a re-sale flat, check society rules
property to buy
17. Organise finances for Stamp Duty and
5. Select a good home loan provider Registration
6. Fix a loan amount 18. Manage the downside – make
7. Opt for a good location provisions for additional taxes, society
8. Visit the site charges, etc.

9. Ensure that the developer has an 19. Risk-proof your home by taking
impeccable reputation appropriate home and life insurance
cover
10. Check the quality of the construction
20. Complete the purchase
11. Ensure due diligence in legal and
technical evaluation

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NRI HOME LOAN FAQs

1. When can you apply for a home loan?

You can apply for an India Home Loan even before you have selected your property.
The bank will sanction to you the loan amount, based on your repayment capacity.
2. How will you know what loan amount you are eligible for?
You can get a home loan ranging from a minimum of Rs.5 lac to a maximum of Rs.1
crore, based on your repayment capacity and the cost of the property. You will be
eligible for a maximum of 80% of the cost of the property or up to Rs.30 lac for the cost
of construction and a maximum of 70% of the cost of the property or the cost of
construction for loan amount above Rs.30 lac, as applicable.
In case of purchase of land, you will be eligible for 75% of the cost as per the allotment
letter (in case of direct allotment from the development authority) or 65% of the cost as
per the registered sale deed (in case of purchase from developer / reseller). To
determine your repayment capacity, the following factors are taken into account:
• Age • Income • Education Qualifications • Number of dependants • Assets •
Liabilities • Stability / continuity of your employment / business • Income of
co-applicant/s
3. What are the different tenures available on NRI Home Loans?
Generally, banks offer a term of up to 15 years. However, you cannot opt for a term that
extends beyond your retirement age or 60 years of age (whichever is earlier).
4. When is the loan disbursed?
Loan disbursement is the actual payment done by the bank towards Home Loans. Once
your loan has been sanctioned and you have selected a property, you are required to
submit all the necessary legal documents, which will have to be legally cleared. You also
have to pay your contribution towards the purchase of the home. Only after these
formalities have been completed, will the bank disburse your loan.
5. What is loan repayment?
Repayment is the settlement of the loan taken by you. It is generally in equated monthly
installments (EMIs), and includes the interest and principal amount calculated on
monthly rests. You can pay EMIs by issuing post-dated cheques from your NRE / NRO
accounts, or from any other account approved by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
6. What are the pre-payment options?
You can pre-pay part of the loan at no cost during the tenure of the loan.

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7. What is loan foreclosure?

Loan foreclosure is the total payment of the outstanding principal amount before the
expiry of the original tenure. Normally, banks levy a nominal charge on loan foreclosure.
8. What is a Power of Attorney (POA)?
Power-of-attorney "includes any instrument empowering a specified person to act for
and in the name of the person executing it." A power of attorney is generally required by
banks in favour of a resident Indian appointed to act on behalf of an NRI applicant
through an execution of the General Power of Attorney (POA) deed.
9. What is an NRI guarantor?
An NRI guarantor is an NRI who guarantees the loan taken by the NRI customer and is
known to him. It is mandatory to have either a co-applicant or an NRI guarantor.

What’s new at ICICI Bank

NEW PRODUCTS / SERVICES SPECIAL OFFERS

Forgotten your Internet Banking user ID?
You can just call the ICICI Bank NRI
Services toll-free Customer Care,
authenticate yourself using your
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NRI Expert Speak

The scope of taxation for NRIs is extremely vast, given the various facets that come into
account. Mr. Sandeep Shanbhag, an eminent personality in the field of NRI Taxation
guides you through the various aspects of taxation.
In this edition, Mr. Shanbhag answers queries on PPF accounts for NRIs
“In my tenure of more than 20 years dealing with NRI Taxation issues, I have come
across a variety of queries related to status change, bank accounts, loans, demat
accounts etc. Through this article, I will try to provide responses to some of the typical
queries that enter the mind of an NRI.”
“Very often, my NRI clients come to me for advice related to their PPF accounts. These
are some of the questions that are raised during our interactions.”
• Can I close my PPF account prematurely?
• If I have withdrawn some money from my PPF account after leaving my country, can
I continue depositing money in this account?
• Do I have to open a new PPF account or can I use my old account?
“Let us start with the basic underlying concepts of a PPF account. PPF stands for Public
Provident Fund, and an investor earns 8% tax-free interest per annum from the date of
deposit by investing in this account. The term of PPF is 15 years and one can invest a
maximum of INR 70,000 in a financial year. Subscription to the PPF account qualifies for
deduction from the taxable income of the subscriber for income tax purpose.”
“An NRI can continue his already started PPF account till maturity but cannot open a
fresh one thereafter. So he does not have to close his PPF account just on account of
the fact that he is now an NRI. Even otherwise, a person cannot close his PPF
account prematurely. He will have to continue the same, with the minimum
contribution of Rs 500 if he does not wish to invest more.“
“If an NRI has not contributed to his PPF account for sometime, he can revive his
account by making the minimum subscription amount of INR 500 per year for all the
years that he has not subscribed and paying a penalty of INR 50 for each year wherein
he had not contributed the minimum amount.”
Hope this information proves useful to you. In the next edition, we will cover another
exciting topic on NRI taxation.
Happy Investing!

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Banking made easy through online services

With our world-renowned Internet Banking platform, you can perform a host of banking
transactions from the comfort of your home. One such transaction is the payment of utility
service bills in India. You can add the utility service providers in India as your billers through
the following easy steps and make payment of bills easy and hassle-free:

ONLINE BILL PAYMENT

1. Visit our website www.icicibank.com.
2. Click on the 'Personal' button under the option 'Login'.
3. Enter your User ID and Login Password in their respective fields.
4. Select the ‘NRI Services’ tab from the drop down options and log-in.
5. Click on the 'Bill Pay' option.
6. If you are a first time payer, register yourself as 'Register for a New Biller'. This is a
one-time process.
7. After completion of the registering procedure, your biller will send the bill to ICICI Bank.
8. Once the bill is displayed on the site, you can make the payment by clicking on 'Make a
Payment' option.
9. Your bill will be presented for payment only if your registration is done 30 days prior to
the payment date
10. If a bill is displayed under ‘Bill Pay’, all you have to do is to accept the bill on display and
click on 'Pay' to confirm your payment.
11. You can check the list of approved billers by clicking on the ‘List of Billers’ tab in the
left-hand menu.

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feedback on this newsletter, and also about any interesting
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fellow readers. Do remember to include your photograph in
your communication. Write to us at nri@icicibank.com.

ICICI Bank Limited (“ICICI Bank”) is incorporated in India and regulated by the Reserve Bank of India ("RBI") and maintains its corporate office in Mumbai, India. This newsletter is for the purpose of circulation
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