Date:19/07/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/19/stories/2008071957460200.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

A chance to get a step closer to buying your dream home

Staff Reporter

Special offers on interest rates at ‘Ungal Illam’ fair

— Photo: R. Ragu

Attractive offers: R.R. Nair, Director and Chief Executive of LIC Housing Finance Ltd, inaugurating the exhibition on Friday.

CHENNAI: Chennai is poised to register a robust growth in home loan disbursals in the current fiscal despite higher interest rates, according to R.R. Nair, Director and Chief Executive of LIC Housing Finance Ltd.

Inaugurating the three-day ‘Ungal Illam’ property fair of LICHFL at Raja Muthaiah Hall here on Friday, he said the retail boom and development in the IT and ITES sectors were expected to be the key drivers of this growth. “We are expecting Rs.100 crore loan disbursal in the three days of the property fair,” said Vincent Saldanha, Regional Manager of LICHFL.

Around 50 builders are participating in this year’s edition of ‘Ungal Illam’, in which LIC Housing Finance Ltd would be providing special offers on interest rates, including a discount of 0.5 per cent for customers registering their application at the fair.

“This reduces the floating rate of interest to 10.75 per cent. The special maximum processing fee of Rs.5,000 for the customers is also attractive as the normal processing fee is 0.5 percent [of the loan amount],” Mr. Saldanha said. “Builders participating in the fair are wooing customers with attractive offers and a wide range of properties to choose from,” said an official of LICHFL.

One of the builders is making a ‘pre-EMI offer’ under which customers can book a 1,250 sq.ft apartment by paying Rs.8 lakh.

“On approval of the loan the company will pay the interest for the period of construction and the entire EMI will be transferred to the customers only on final delivery of the flats. This reduces the burden on the customers of paying both the monthly rent and EMI simultaneously and also protects the customer from the recent fluctuations in the interest rate as the interest burden is being borne by the company,” said Suresh Jain, Managing Director of Vijay Shanthi Builders.

There is no entry fee for visitors. The fair is on till July 20 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. everyday.