You've got the whole world in your hands. You are young and on the upswing. Earning more than Rs. 20K. Maybe just about married or thinking about it. You want to live the your life to the fullest. Your colleague who joined the company after you and is a year younger has put a down an initial payment in an upcoming construction. It makes you sit up and look around. Three months ago, so did your old school chum. Is this a good time to buy a home? Are you ready to take on the responsibilities of home ownership, including regular maintenance?

Should the Swingers Put Down Roots?

Young professional are mobile geographically. They move as their job requires. You may not want to buy a home where you are currently based but may want to buy it in your hometown or a city of your choice. “Most young, well-educated professionals are likely to be doing short stints in several cities. The most important parameter when buying the first home should be 'Is this the city I want to live in?'” advices Devang Shah, MBA (IIM Ahmedabad), CFPR (U.S.A. & India) Right Returns Financial Planning.

Harsh Roongta, CEO, Apna Loan.com comments, “Do not buy a home until you want to live in it. For a young person, the hassles or renting out a home are too many. For investment purposes there are many more attractive avenues”

Yeh Hi Hai Right Choice

Once you have decided on joining the breed of home owners, the next step is to decide on what home should own you...oops should you own. Some factors to keep in mind:

• How much house can you buy? Being young means you are (hopefully) not at your peak income-earning level and you have not had much time to save. So, if a dream house is out of the question right now, what is affordable? “He should be looking at a property in the range of Rs.11-15 lacs with a loan component of about Rs.10 lacs” says, Pankaj Desai, Head, Retail Assets, Kotak Mahindra Bank.


• Remember the three 'L's of choosing a home; location, location, location. Do you purchase that newer, larger and more aesthetically pleasing home that requires a longer commute, or do you opt for something, which is perhaps smaller but closer to a metro core? Gaurav Mashruwala, financial consultant says, “Stretch yourself. A home is a long-term purchase and it should fulfil your requirement for the next 7-8 years. So do not scrimp on the money”


• Do not go by the logic of rent v/s buy. The comparison between renting and buying is often done on faulty assumptions. If you rent, you do not mind a small cramped apartment, you do not spend on furniture and you do not pay stamp duty. If you buy, you want to buy something that atleast takes care of your near future needs and often end up paying a price for a specific location because you are not going to be able to change your home often. That rarely happens with rented property. So choose carefully.