Homesaver / Smart loan by Stanchart Bank and Real estate in Bangalore Ever been confused about Homesaver / Smart loan, while searching for Real estate in Bangalore?
Read all about Homesaver loan offered by Stanchart Bank.

General FAQS

What is HomeSaver?
HomeSaver is a unique combination of a home loan account with transactional facility. It helps the customers save interest and pay back their loan faster, by parking excess funds in this account

How is HomeSaver different from a normal Home Loan?
Normal Home Loan: Repayments are in the form of fixed EMIs. Principal repayment is very slow in the beginning of the loan and consequently, interest payable is proportionately high. Additionally prepayment may attract prepayment charges and must exceed a minimum amount. Customer savings and deposits therefore normally reside in separate account, where money earns zero or low interest.
HomeSaver: Repayments are by way of EMIs. However, surplus funds can be deposited in the HomeSaver account to reduce the loan outstanding and thereby reduce interest costs.
Normal Home Loan: The customer continues to repay the home loan through funds lying in other accounts. Customer savings and deposits normally reside in separate bank account/s, where the money earns zero or low interest.
HomeSaver: The customer can move the money from other accounts into HomeSaver to reduce the loan outstanding and thereby lower interest payout. This surplus money saves interest at the HomeSaver rate. And though repayments are fixed by way of EMI's, the interest payable really depends on the loan balance each day, which can potentially reduce, depending on the surplus money deposited.
Normal Home Loan: Once the principal has been repaid, the customer can no longer access the prepaid funds.
HomeSaver: Customers can place surplus money for any period of time into HomeSaver and not prepay. There are two benefits for the customer. Firstly, the money remains accessible for any contingency or emergency. The customer has access to the money at any time, 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. Secondly, the customer enjoys the benefit of prepayment because every rupee is used to directly reduce the principal outstanding so the customer ends up owing less and therefore paying less interest. In effect, the saving to the customer is the same as if he/she were to prepay.

What is the rationale behind launching this new product?
HomeSaver is the result of extensive research, designed to provide flexibility, convenience and interest savings. We at Standard Chartered Bank believe that it is particularly important to help customers utilise savings, reduce interest costs, offer flexibility and thus manage their finances more effectively and. This can be seen through the features provided by HomeSaver:
Maximum Savings
The customer can use his surplus funds to save interest at the HomeSaver Rate. Parking surplus funds, deposits or even crediting salary for a day would reduce the loan outstanding. Interest is calculated on daily outstanding balance so that every Rupee each day counts towards saving the interest.
Convenience & Flexibility
Easy access to money in exactly the same way as a normal transaction account. With a chequebook, a globally valid ATM cum- Debit Card, Internet Banking and Phone Banking facilities, customers can have access to their money anytime, anywhere. No need to change the way they bank!
Unlimited withdrawals and deposits
Flexibility to repay anytime over and above the monthly installment. Additional deposits into HomeSaver do not attract any penalties.

Efficient Money Manager
Customers can have access to their funds at any time even though the money is working daily to reduce the principal outstanding and hence interest payable on the home loan. Funds can be drawn from the account for any purpose just as one would from a normal bank account to the extent of the excess deposited. Automatic application of all deposits against the loan balance. So one doesn't have to make a conscious effort towards making principal repayments. The ATM-cum-Debit Card allows the customers to withdraw cash at over 1800 ATMs and shop at over 25,000 outlets in India. Additionally, the customer also gets insurance benefits, discounts & special offers.

If the customer has an existing bank account with SCB, can he/she nominate this as the HomeSaver account?
No. The customer will have to open a new HomeSaver account.

Is there any other charge apart from the interest on the loan?
Yes, there is a one time processing fee of 0.5% of the loan amount. The same charges apply to a balance transfer from any other financier.

Are there any termination charges for HomeSaver?
Yes, there is a charge of 2% of the loan disbursed if the customer terminates the HomeSaver account within the first 5 years of the tenure of the loan.

How best can the customer use HomeSaver to maximise interest benefits?
Benefits from HomeSaver can be maximised by:
· Depositing all available funds into HomeSaver, including regular salary, savings, income from investments, and other incomes. The surplus funds can then work daily to reduce the daily interest payable on the loan outstanding.
· Deferring all expenses as far as possible to keep loan balances as low as possible for as long as possible. This will ensure that the income is used to reduce the loan outstanding.
· Investing surplus funds into Home Saver rather than having a fixed deposit reduces interest costs to a great extent. This helps in letting the customer save on interest accruing while the money remains accessible for withdrawal in case a need arises.

Product FAQs
What are the other key benefits of HomeSaver?
With HomeSaver, the customer also enjoys a host of benefits like:
· Globally valid ATM-cum-Debit card that enables one to withdraw cash at over 6 lakh ATMs and shop at over 1 million outlets worldwide.
· Upto 4 cash withdrawals free per month at any ATM that displays the VISA Electron symbol
· Insurance benefits - lost card cover of Rs. 50,000, purchase protection for 90 days up to Rs 15,000 and a personal accident cover of Rs 2.5 lakhs on maintaining average quarterly balance of Rs 50,000.
· All regular banking benefits – cheque book facility, demand drafts, locker facility
· Multi-city banking, 365 days and 24 hour branches, extended banking hours
· Convenience of Phone banking, Internet banking and Room Service
What is the minimum and maximum tenure for which one can take a HomeSaver?
The maximum loan tenure is 20 years. There is no minimum loan tenure.
How does one know whether he/she is eligible to get a loan under HomeSaver?
The eligibility criteria are exactly the same as in the case of a normal home loan. To be eligible, the customer must be:
- At least 25 years old but not more than 65 years
- An Indian Citizen
- Employed / self employed and should have regular income sources
- An IT Assessee
- In employment / self employment for at least 3 years
- A Sole proprietorship concern
- A registered partnership firm
- A Private limited company
What is the minimum and maximum loan that can be sanctioned?
The minimum loan amount is Rs 5 Lakhs.
Can the customer make partial prepayments without any penalty?
One of the key benefits of HomeSaver is that customers do not need to consciously work towards making partial prepayment to reduce interest on the loan. All deposits and excess money lying in the HomeSaver account will automatically be used to reduce the principal outstanding. In effect, this means that customers' cash balances are used to reduce the loan and consequently pay less interest. And at the same time, they will continue to enjoy the flexibility and liquidity of a normal bank account when investment opportunities arise.
How is interest calculated in case of HomeSaver?
HomeSaver account works like a loan account with transactional facility. All that the customer needs to do is pool the savings/surplus funds lying in other accounts and transfer them to this new account. The deposit goes towards reducing the principal outstanding and interest is calculated on this reduced loan amount. Since interest is calculated on a daily basis on the net loan outstanding each day there is a significant interest saving. This means that every Rupee deposited goes towards prepaying the principal outstanding loan rather than the interest component, which is the case in a normal home loan. Hence the customers can pay back the loan faster and save interest.
Does it mean that if the customer has the same deposit amount as his/her principal outstanding in the HomeSaver Account, he/she does not need to pay any interest at all?
Yes.
What happens if the deposits exceed the outstanding principal?
If the deposits are more than the outstanding principal, the excess will not earn any interest.
Are existing home loan customers eligible for HomeSaver?
Yes, existing home loan customers are eligible to convert to HomeSaver.
What happens if the customer issues a cheque from his HomeSaver that exceeds the credit available?
The cheque will not clear even if the amount exceeds the credit available by only Rs 1.
From which account does the customer issue his post-dated cheques?
The customer will have to issue post-dated cheques from a separate account and not the HomeSaver account.  ¶ 6:49 AM 63 comments