The narrowest urban house in the world

The narrowest urban house in the world is surprisingly spacious - though only in one direction. It contains multiple rooms including bedrooms, a kitchen and laundry room. Located in small-town Brazil this house has become something of a tourist attraction. However, there are other compelling contenders for this record - each with their own narrow claim to fame.

(via WebUrbanist.)

Buying a house? Get your basics right

With interest rates on a downward spiral and prospects of getting a good deal on a house, the real estate sector could witness some buying in the coming months.

Though property consultants recommend waiting for a few months for the right price, some home-seekers may be tempted to kick off their house-hunting expedition soon

Time for shortlisting

While there is no need to rush into a decision, you can start looking out for a house right away. "Once the market bottoms out, home-seekers will start making a beeline for properties and loans. If you have identified your ideal home beforehand, you will be a step ahead," says KPMG director Ashish Shah. You can jump at the earliest opportunity available — in terms of price and interest rate.

Lack of buying activity means that the market is skewed towards the buyer at the moment. "You can start quoting a price that seems reasonable to you. Try quoting a price that is 50% less than the highest price of a property in the locality commanded in the past," suggests a financial planner Kartik Jhaveri.

Identify your needs and capacity

Your heart may be set on a plush residential complex replete with state-of-the-art facilities, but that should not make you lose sight of your basic needs. For instance, if the well-equipped complex is not close to a railway station/bus stop, and you do not own a private vehicle, then commuting could turn out to be a nightmare.

Hence, when you commence your house-hunting mission, it is advisable to keep a list of must-have attributes ready. In addition to quality of construction, evaluate the existing infrastructure. Finding a perfect house is nearly impossible, but comparing shortlisted properties will help you zero in on one that meets majority of your requirements.

"This apart, the present and future market drivers, financial ability and personal investment objectives should be borne in mind," says Raminder Grover, CEO, Homebay Residential, a subsidiary of property consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj.

A ruthless assessment of your financial situation — current as well as future — is essential; factor in possible pay cuts and job loss. If you are planning to sell your old flat and buy a new one, it is better to do so only after securing the sales proceeds. Though bridge loans meant for such funding gaps are available, in the current scenario, it is better to steer clear of avoidable liabilities.

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SBI cuts home loan rates to 8%, other banks may follow

In a move that is likely to force other banks to bring down home loan rates, the State Bank of India on Saturday cut its floating home loan rate to 8% on all new loans, irrespective of the loan amount. The current rates range between 8.5% and 11%, depending on the loan amounts. The new scheme will be on offer from Monday till April 30. Those who take loans in this 12-week period are assured of an unchanged rate for one year.

SBI's decision means that for fresh borrowers, EMIs on home loans of Rs 30 lakh or more will drop sharply. The EMI on a Rs 30-lakh loan for 20 years will fall by 15% and that on a Rs 50-lakh loan by 18%. The maximum benefit will accrue on home loan amounts of over Rs 75 lakh, where the interest rate comes down by 3 percentage points from 11% to 8%.

That's the good news. The bad news is that the cut will not benefit most existing borrowers. It will, however, benefit those who have borrowed under the special scheme announced by the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) in December. Under that scheme, the interest rate on home loans up to Rs 5 lakh was fixed at 8.5% and for those between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 20 lakh at 9.25%.

For existing borrowers, SBI has offered a new personal loan scheme entitled `SBI Lifestyle Loan'. Under this, they can get a multipurpose loan of up to 10% of their home loan, subject to a maximum of Rs 5 lakh, at 8% interest. However, this loan will have to be repaid in one year.

SBI's decision seems to be a response to RBI's statement on Tuesday that banks have not fully passed on to their customers the benefits of the central bank's liquidity-infusing measures since October 2008. Following that statement, Punjab National Bank, the second largest government-owned bank, also cut its benchmark lending rate by half a percentage point on Friday. But floating rates on its home loans remain between 8.5% and 10.25%.

An SBI spokesperson said the decision was taken to kick-start demand in the real estate sector. However, real estate developers are not very optimistic, with most saying it was encouraging but inadequate.

Some bankers, on condition of anonymity, argued that it was a smart move by SBI. Interest rates, they said, were likely to fall even lower by March-April and the country's biggest bank was, in fact, hoping to lock in borrowers at 8% for a year before that happened, they said.

(via Times of India)