In India, we always desire to purchase our dream home and save until we have enough to purchase property. Of course most of us now have options to pick a home loan or a property loan to do fulfill our dream of buying a property. Here are a few things I think are important to keep in mind:

Ensure you budget for a down payment
Usually a part of the payment while purchasing any property will require down payment. Most people have this money arranged through liquidation of investments made. You must be careful about liquidating such investment so that you ensure maximum ROI. It is recommended that planning of such liquidation begin about 6 to 8 months prior to purchase of property.

Understand your cash flows
It is extremely important to know about your cash flow situation, not only what it currently is, but also what it is expected to be. This will help you plan the monthly EMI’s that may be required to pay. This may sometimes require some adjustments in funds allocation and managing expenses.

Secure an emergency fund
Many people tend to utilize all their savings and cash out all investments to be able to pay for their dream house. I recommend that one must keep aside an emergency for any requirement that may come up.

Increase your insurance cover
Purchasing a property increases the liability for a person and the family. It is always advisable to increase the insurance cover for any such risk that arises.

Plan for interior design and registration
I have seen people catering to fund requirement for the purchase of the house without keeping adequate fund for registration of the property and to do necessary changes for interiors. Most places require some level of investment to be made after acquiring a property to make it usable for self or for tenancy. It is important to cater for such fund.

Manage your home loan
You must understand the loan you are signing up for and the terms completely. Whether it is the principal, the interest on it or the tenure; it must be very clear. Also be aware if there are penalties or charges for reducing any of these. Knowing this will help you plan for any changes that you may desire or be forced to make in the future, and know the impact of it.