Loans with a difference

 Nobody is denying that this is the best time to buy a house. Real estate prices have tumbled from their peak in 1997 and interest rates on housing loans are being slashed constantly to new lows. Also, there is the added benefit of saving taxes by taking a home loan.

 But some would-be buyers are discouraged from taking a loan because of the fear of the long tenure and the strict regime of paying equated monthly instalments, without fail, month after month.

 For this category of buyers, there are a new clutch of schemes launched by Citibank and Standard Chartered.

 Citibank