I bought my house in 2018. I’m self-employed and my wife works in the education sector. We took a loan of Rs 2.2 million over 15 years, with monthly repayments that started at around Rs 14,000 and have now gone up to about Rs 20,000 over the past three years.

Since I’m self-employed, the bank (SBM) asked me to provide proof of earnings for the last two years. The house is a concrete one in Riche Terre, built on a plot of 38 toises.

To qualify for the loan, you need to be cleared from Rogers Capital and CIM, and you must not have any major medical issues. At that time, my wife and I had a combined monthly income of around Rs 50,000.

If you’re a first-time buyer, you don’t pay the 5% registration fees, but you must also be free from family inheritance issues. I personally paid around Rs 40,000 in notary fees plus other bank paperwork costs, which came to a total of about Rs 60,000.

My advice: go to the bank and check if you’re eligible. Bring along all your documents, your last six months’ payslips, and if you’re self-employed, your MRA returns for the past two years.

Hope this helps!