How to lower your home-loan EMI

Feb 10, 2026 | 19:14 IST

Home loan borrowers must explore balance transfer, part prepayment and EMI hikes to reduce interest outgo

When Mumbai-based Sunny Thakor took a home loan of around Rs 98 lakh at an interest rate of 9% from a non-banking finance company (NBFC) in July 2024, he had hoped that the rate would come down once the interest rate cycle turned. That was not to be.

Between Feb and Dec 2025, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) slashed the repo rate — the interest rate at which it lends money to banks — cumulatively by 125 basis points (one basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point). Thakor’s NBFC, though, did not budge. “After extensive negotiations, they agreed to reduce the rate to 8.25% after the payment of conversion fees,” he says. By then, he had obtained a loan sanction letter from a bank charging just 7.25% per annum for the same loan.

TOI

TOI

How to lower your home-loan EMI

Home loan borrowers must explore balance transfer, part prepayment and EMI hikes to reduce interest outgo

{{{h1}}}

{{{h1}}}

{{{h3}}}

{{{offerprice}}}

{{{h3}}}

{{{offerprice}}}

{{{h1}}}

{{{h1}}}

{{{h1}}}

{{h2}}

{{{h1}}}

{{h2}}

{{{h1}}}

{{h2}}

Your Privacy is Important to us

Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information

TOI

How to lower your home-loan EMI

Home loan borrowers must explore balance transfer, part prepayment and EMI hikes to reduce interest outgo

{{{h1}}}

{{{h1}}}

{{{h3}}}

{{{offerprice}}}

{{{h3}}}

{{{offerprice}}}

{{{h1}}}

{{{h1}}}

{{{h1}}}

{{h2}}

{{{h1}}}

{{h2}}

{{{h1}}}

{{h2}}