Buying a house that meets the requirements and taste of all the family members takes a lot of effort. But more than that it is a big decision as it requires big investments and a lot of times takes a major chunk of your savings. For many, owning one’s dream home comes at the cost of a long-term loan.
A buyer has to incur additional expenses like the stamp duty and registration fee while buying a house. But there are ways one can save by being cautious about every small detail to make the most of the benefits.
Adding your spouse as a co-owner helps in enhanced loan eligibility and provides tax-benefits to both the co-borrowers on the principal amount and interest. Not just this, the succession process of a single ownership is lengthy while that of jointly-owned property is smoother.
Having your wife’s name as a first owner comes with a lot of other benefits.
The stamp duty for registration of property is higher for male owners and lower for female owners in many states. For instance, to buy a house in the capital, a woman has to pay only 4 percent stamp duty while a male owner ends up paying 6 percent. But if spouses or a man and woman jointly purchase a property, they pay a stamp duty of 5 percent.
Similarly, in Haryana, the stamp duty for a man is 8 percent and 6 percent for urban and rural areas, respectively. A woman buyer pays stamp duty of 6 percent for urban areas and 4 percent in rural areas.
Among other benefits of having a woman as co-applicant is concessional interest rate by many financial institutions. Also, both the co-owners can avail tax benefits of up to Rs 1.5 lakh for repayment of home loan. The rental income earned from the co-owned property can be shared by both the owners and may attract lower tax.
In case of the death of one spouse, mutation can be done in the name of the surviving owner and that saves the mutation charges.
