The Central Bank of India did restructure his loan into a fixed rate while taking over the ICICI Bank loan and also cut the tenure by five years, but Gupta had to pay a 5 per cent (Rs 32,500) switching cost on the outstanding amount of Rs 6.5 lakh.

Today, Gupta’s annual income is about Rs 8 lakh and his EMI on the reduced tenure is 14,000 per month.

Given the rising costs with inflation at 11 per cent plus, the Gupta family sees no hope of owning a car and in fact, had to cut down even on its daily food budget. Gupta himself travels by Delhi Metro to cut costs. Till date, he has repaid only Rs 3 lakh of the principal due to the sharp vagaries of interest rates.

Though the quantum of loan was not really huge, the overall interest cost relative to family income has been high enough to adversely affect the Gupta family’s savings and monthly expenditure pattern. He says, “In 1992, even a person earning Rs 3,000-4,000 could save up to Rs 1,000. But now even with a monthly income of Rs 60,000, my savings are almost negligible.”

Given the switchover, the tax benefits and the appreciation in the property price to Rs10.5 lakh, Gupta may have a reason to smile today. But the home purchased is for living a life, not to make gains. There is no implicit real gain given the repayment burden.

Tomorrow: Sahid Parvez, 37, goes against Islamic tenets that do not allow taking or paying interest, to take a home loan, but ends up postponing marriage and working endlessly to repay it.