Why should you invest in a second home?

If you are looking forward to making fresh investments, you are always in the dilemma what investment to make. Buying a second home could prove to be your best bet. The property investment is considered to the best and safe investment for future. Although it takes a lot of time and energy to decide on where and how to invest; there are a lot of reasons as to why should one consider buying a second home.

Although it’s a good idea to put your money in fixed deposits, equities, mutual funds or gold, if you are planning for a more significant investment then undoubtedly a second home should be your choice. Also, market trends clearly indicate that investing in real estate would assist you in earning better returns than any other asset class. Also, if you are buying a second home, then tax benefits on the interest payment of your home loan which you get can’t be neglected.

A second home is really a good investment option if you choose to gift yourself a retirement home. In case if you are living in a city away from your hometown, then buying a second home in your hometown could be a wise decision in case you plan to settle there after your retirement. A Second Home could also be seen as a fixed source of income for you after your retirement if you put it on rent. Another source of income could be buying the property at a vacation spot or a tourist spot. You can also visit your house anytime and relax with your family and friends anytime you wish being the owner of the property. It will give you an easy switch. Having properties in two different cities, you can consider shifting from one city to another any time you want. A change in the place may help you at times.

The Union Government in the budget of 2017 sent repercussions in all the directions. When it came to buying a second home, individuals witnessed both good and bad news. On the brighter side, affordable housing has got infrastructure status. As a consequence of this, it would provide developers with cheaper sources of finance. The allocation towards Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana has also been increased. These efforts are being made to transform the notion of “Roof for every family” into reality. As per the current Income Tax rules in India-

•    An assessee is exempt from paying income tax for principal amount repayments up to Rs. 150,000 under section 80c (along with other benefits in this section).

•    Interest paid on housing loans up to Rs. 200,000 is also exempt from tax under section 24b.

Thus, buying multiple houses & renting them also fetches rental income and certain tax rebates are also available to the assessee for such form of rental income subject to certain conditions which need to be fulfilled. These are broadly the reasons why people choose to invest in residential properties as an investment.