Loan to Value (LTV) Ratio and How this is Important in Home Loan

There are a lot of technical terminologies around loans and mortgages and if you are planning to buy a home and fund it through a Home Loan, there are some terms you need to be familiar with and are bound to encounter in the course of this process. The Loan-to-Value or LTV is very important, as it will help you determine the amount of money you will need as savings or out of your own pocket, to get a Home Loan.

To get a fair idea on this, let us dive deeper into what a Loan-to-Value Ratio is, how it works and why it is important to understand.

Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio in a Home Loan:

A Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio in a Home Loan is the percentage of the property value that a bank or financial institution can lend to a property buyer. Lenders are not permitted to lend/finance the full property value, hence, you cannot avail 100% of your property purchase price as a loan.

Banks/financial institutions will examine the LTV ratio before approving a Home Loan, to ensure that they do not lend an amount that is higher than the property’s actual price so they do not breach the prescribed LTV for the type of loan being advanced.

An increase in the LTV raises the borrower’s perceived risk, while a lower LTV ratio can get you better terms, including lower interest rates on your Home Loan. The LTV also protects the banks/financial institutions in case there is any depreciation in the value of the property, since these are longer tenure loans.

How to calculate an LTV ratio:

The LTV ratio is calculated by the lenders using the below given formula:

LTV Ratio (%) = Amount Borrowed/Property Value X 100

For example, if you wish to buy a house worth Rs 1 crore and the LTV ratio of your bank is 70%, then the maximum amount of loan that you can avail is Rs 70 lakh.

RBI guidelines on LTV:

The LTV that banks in India can offer is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for Home Loans. Hence, a bank cannot lend higher than the prescribed maximum LTV permitted by RBI.

According to guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the LTV ratio for Home Loans can go up to 90% of the property value for loan amounts of Rs 30 lakh and below. For loan amounts that are above Rs 30 lakh and up to Rs 75 lakh, the LTV ratio limit has been set at 80%, while for loan amounts above Rs 75 lakh, the LTV ratio can go up to 75%.

This implies that if the LTV ratio is 90%, you will have to pay at least 10% of the property value from your pocket and the rest of the amount can be funded by taking a Home Loan. LTV ratio is needed to calculate the minimum down payment that you would have to make towards purchasing a home or property.

LTV Ratio and Home Loan eligibility:

Your eligibility for a Home Loan will depend on the LTV ratio, as applied to the property value. Even if your income permits you to avail a higher loan, a bank will be forced to cap the loan amount based on the defined LTV ratios.

However, you may get better terms on your Home Loan, which includes a better interest rate, if the LTV ratio is low. In conclusion, lower LTV ratios may fetch you lower Home Loan interest rates simply because, the risk associated with lending to you is lower.

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