We appreciate and encourage financial initiative and ownership. The best way to start, we thought, was with someone who has already done it. She is only 24, but Jr Associate Editor Meenal Rao* is the proud owner of a house today. This is her story.

CONGRATULATIONS! A house of your own at 23? That's great!"

That is what my friends and family have been telling me lately. And I can't help but feel great about it.

I bought my house seven months ago. Frankly, I never thought it would happen. I am not the kind who would carry the burden of debt too long.

But I did what I least expected from myself. I am 24 years old now and work at a leading media company.

First steps
I live in a chawl at Santacruz, in northwestern Mumbai, and have a spacious one-room kitchen. Most people would say it is sufficient for a family of five. But we always felt the need for more space.

One day, I heard my neighbour was selling her house, which was adjacent to mine. If we had to buy that house, we would get an additional room. And space.

But how was it possible? Buying a house is no joke. It means thousands of rupees! I just could not see the house being sold to someone else. I did not also want to trouble my father, now nearing his retirement.

I kept thinking about it for the next few days. I was young, working, with a strong passion to move ahead in my career. Why should I not take this risk?

After serious contemplation and consulting my family and friends, I decided to buy that house.

My next step was to figure out how.

Getting a loan
Now that is easy these days. But only if your house is a flat or a bungalow. Mine was neither.

To get a home loan lender to finance a house in a chawl is a Himalayan task. No company was willing to finance the house just because a chawl did not qualify for a home loan.

I thought it was ridiculous. I was disheartened but there was no turning back.

The house was worth Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million). Quite a lot for me. I didn't have a clue how I would arrange for that amount. It made me nervous just thinking about it. But, then, what is life without risk?

I had saved Rs 4.2 lakh (Rs 420,000), over the three-and-a-half years of my working life. Whatever I earned remained in my bank account. I didn't have any financial obligations at home and my expenses didn't cross more than a few thousands.

My first job paid me Rs 10,000 a month. I worked there for two years. I was paid better at my second job. All the money accumulated in my bank account, which would later go into making the down payment for my house.

But what about the remaining Rs 5.8 lakh (Rs 580,000)? How would I arrange it?

A home loan was out of bounds for me. I had no choice but to opt for a personal loan which is, of course, more expensive than a home loan, with interest rates at 20 per cent to 24 per cent a year.

But I had run out of choices. I decided to apply for a personal loan worth Rs 4 lakh (Rs 400,000). I couldn't get the entire amount (Rs 4 lakh/ Rs 400,000), from one bank since my salary package did not
match the bank's criteria.

So I got Rs 2 lakh (Rs 200,000) from HDFC Bank and Rs 2 lakh (Rs 200,000) from ICICI Bank. That still left a balance of Rs 1.8 lakh (Rs 180,000) to total the Rs 1 million. And I had used up all my savings.

My sister stepped in at this point, and filled in Rs 1.5 lakh (Rs 150,000). I had to arrange for another Rs 30,000 to plug the gap, and that was not too difficult to arrange.

I pay an Equated Monthly Instalment of Rs 15,000 today. But I am sure the returns on my house will be decent in the future.

I don't regret my decision. I own a house today. I enjoy more space.

And, at home, they even call me 'young achiever'!

*name changed to protect identity

Photograph: Vipurva Parekh

Are you, or do you know of anyone who is, the proud owner of a house? How did you plan for it? How did you finance it? Share your story with us, mentioning your name, age, profession and the city you reside in. Share and compare notes with our readers!

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