Saturday 27 February 2016

Decorating Entryways 101

It is very easy to forget the entry foyer in the decorating scheme of things. That being said, too often people stuff pieces that don't fit in anywhere else in the entry passage. People forget that it is the first glimpse of their home not just for themselves but for visitors too and everybody knows that the first impression is the best and most lasting impression. It is very simple to beautify your foyer and ensure that it exudes positive energy. Here's how you do it:

1. Do not crowd the foyer and the subsequent passage with too much furniture. Whatever is placed in this space can and should be used, both decoratively and for storage.



2. Use a simple rug with a linear pattern right from the doorstep to give an impression of space and to pretty up the passageway.



3. Use hooks to maximum effect for coats, keys and bags.



4. The racks that are in the hallway can be used to hold potted flowers, plants or small accessories. Potpourri in bowls is a nice way to ensure the entrance is smelling fresh and welcoming!



5. A mirror or two gives the same affect as the linear rug, in the impression of space.



6. Use bright, bold shades in the entryway to create the perfect first impression



7. Make sure that this space is well-lit. A poorly-lit entryway does not look or feel good.




8. Place all furniture to one side, to give a more spacious feel to your foyer.

Saturday 20 February 2016

House Cleaning Tips

Every household has problems with stains that don’t go, odours that stick around and many others. There are various methods one can use to remove stains and keep your house smelling and looking fresh!

1.       Keep a bowl of coffee powder in the fridge to ensure that your fridge always smells fresh! Be sure to replace the bowl every two months.

2.       Use newspaper to clean windows to ensure that there are no water marks or tracks left on the glass.


3.       To clean your sponges, rinse and squeeze out the water, before putting it in the microwave to burn away bacteria.

4.       To remove hardened dirt from your microwave, put in a bowl with freshly squeezed lemon juice along with two halves of lemon, to make it easier to clean as well as to ensure that the oven smells fresh.


5.       If your copper utensils have scratches, remove them by using a combination of vinegar and three spoons of salt.

6.       Clean your taps and showerheads by wrapping them in a cloth dipped in vinegar. Keep the cloth in place with rubberbands or a hair clip.


7.       Remove mold and dirt from your bathroom tiles by using a combination of lemon juice and baking powder. Leave it on for a few hours before rinsing.

8.       Use vinegar to clean stainless steel fixtures and utensils to make them shine as good as new.


9.       Use hairspray to remove marker pen marks from the walls and toothpaste to remove crayon marks.


10.   Put a pillow cover over blades of your fans and switch it on to remove dust.

Saturday 13 February 2016

All you need to know about Home Loans – Part 2

Today’s blog post continues from last week’s post about important terms with regards to home loans.

Interest
Interest can be of two types:

Fixed Rate Loans – A fixed rate loan is one with a rate of interest that is fixed for either a part of the tenure of the loan or the entire duration of the loan. When it is fixed for the entire loan, it is called a pure fixed loan. The EMI for whatever duration is fixed and unaffected by market rates. For interest rates that are fixed for only a part of the tenure of the loan, banks introduce a reset clause after reviewing the rate at the end of the fixed time period. The bank could increase or decrease the interest rate after considering the rates in the market. So, when it is only for a short period, it is not really fixed, in the exact sense of the word.

Floating Rate Loans – A floating rate loan is one where the interest rate is never fixed at any point throughout the tenure of the loan. This rate depends on the base rate, which is the minimum rate set by the Reserve Bank of India below which banks are not allowed to lend to its customers, along with the spread which is the difference in borrowing and lending rates of financial institutions in nominal terms The EMI is decided by the based on the tenure and constantly adjusted according to the market.

Amortization Schedule
The table which details the principal and interest on a loan at any point in time is called the Amortization Schedule.

Pre – EMI

Pre-EMI refers to the interest on the disbursed loan amount that is paid before the rest of the regular EMI payments. This system is used when getting a loan for a property that is under construction. You will be given an option to pay a Pre-EMI which lowers the amount of each regular EMI payment or regular full EMI payments. Regular EMI payments in this case with a property under construction will have interest that is calculated based on the loan amount disbursed to the builder, with the remaining amount counted as part of the principal. This is called EMI under construction, wherein EMI remains the same. 

Saturday 6 February 2016

All you need to know about Home Loans - Part 1


Dream homes come with all sorts of strings attached, one of those being a home loan. While getting a home loan, it is important to know everything possible about it. Here are some of the must-know keywords related to home loans.

Down Payment – Loans for expensive commodities like a home or a car are usually started by the payment of an initial deposit and then the rest of the amount is paid back in installments. This amount is usually about 5-25% of the total amount known as the loan-to-value ratio. The rest of the amount is given by the financial institution. This makes it affordable for most people.    Down payments do not include the cost of registration and other such extras.

LTV ( Loan-to-Value Ratio) – LTV or Loan-to-Value Ratio is the total loan amount divided by the agreement value of the property in question. So, if the property is valued at 30,00,000 lakhs and the bank gives you 27,00,000 lakhs, then the LTV is 90%. The RBI ceiling limit on LTV has become 90% for properties valued at 30 lakhs and below while it is 80% for 30-75 lakh properties.

Disbursement of Home Loans: The release of the loan amount is called disbursement. It differs for fully built properties and those under construction. There are two main types:
Full disbursement: refers to the release of the complete loan amount in a single transaction. For buildings under construction, this is done when the builder is trusted to be able to complete construction.
Partial disbursement: refers to the release of the loan in separate stages. The criteria for this release are based on the property. If it is for a property being constructed, the amount is released based on completion.

Interest  – The definition of interest is money paid regularly at a particular rate for the use of money lent. This is usually done using the EMI system.

EMI stands for Equated Monthly Installment and this can be defined as the amount to be paid to the bank or financial institution every month until the loan is paid back. There are two parts to EMI. The initial EMI payment is usually used to account for the interest while the later part is used to pay the main amount known as the principal.