Are You Really The Owner?

Paying off the last instalment is not all; there are a few other things you need to do to close a home and a car loan.

- Anagh Pal

There is a grouse amongst many Indians that over the past two decades, people have got into extensive borrowing to meet their dreams and desires. Today, it is very unlikely to meet anyone who has not bought a house or a car without taking a loan. At the same time, most of these borrowers tend to foreclose their loans many years before they have actually borrowed for. Naturally, squaring off the loan is a big thing, but along comes terms and conditions that require the borrowers to go beyond just making the loan repayment.

“Closing the loan was one of the happiest moments of my life. I had been living in the house for years, but now I knew that a big load was off my back and I am the owner,” reminisces Anamika Mukherjee, who bought an apartment in 2004 and closed the loan in 2013. Thankfully, she was aware of procedures that one had to follow after closing the loan. “We did not have to pay any prepayment penalty on the loan and I had heard from my friends on the paperwork after the loan closure,” she adds.