Plot ownership is required to avail of home loan and tax deduction

My father has a plot and I want to construct a house. If I want to take a home loan, what do I have to do? Which is the best one for tax deduction in the following — getting a gift deed from my father or making a sale deed between us?
Since you are not the owner of the land, you will have to be the one in order to be able to take the tax benefits for interest payments as well as for repayment of the loan.

To become an owner or a co-owner you will need to acquire ownership rights either as a Donee (receiver of a gift) or as a purchaser. You will have to pay stamp duty and registration fee in both the situations i.e. gift or sale, though the stamp duty on gifts from a father to a son is lower in some states compared to sales.

I want to avail a housing loan of `10 lakh. My annual income is `3 lakh. Does work experience also play a role? I have only two years of experience.
Most banks require two years of work experience before they consider your loan requirement. It is primarily your income and repayment track record that have an impact on your loan eligibility.

The total work experience will have an impact to a certain extent on your eligibility. However, since you have been working for two years, this should be sufficient for considering your eligibility.

Are term insurance plans based on salary of a person? If yes, then how much multiplies of monthly/annual salary can one get as policy amount?
Term insurance is generally based on your income. Most of the insurance companies will offer you term insurance policy in the range of 8 to 12 times of your annual income. In case you are above the age of 45 or 50,  multiple can come down significantly.

After you file your application with the insurance company, the company will send your form to their underwriting department which will decide the amount of cover that they are comfortable giving after considering your income as well as existing insurance policies.

I have a Bajaj Allianz Silver Health plan for my father aged 68. The plan is five years old. Bajaj has been increasing premiums without giving reasons. I want to shift now. Can I do that? My renewal is due on March 26, 2011.
You can definitely shift your policy, but for using the portability option, recently announced by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), which is effective after June 2011, I would suggest you pay the premium for Bajaj Silver Health this year, or else you will not have continuity of policy.

Will slip disk be covered under mediclaim?
Any hospitalisation expenses incurred in treating slip disk will definitely be covered under mediclaim, if the policy is taken before the disease has happened. In case one already has a slip disk, then this will be treated as pre-existing and it will be excluded under a mediclaim policy for a few years ranging from 2-4 years.

Harsh Roongta is CEO, Apna Paisa, a price & features comparison engine for loans, insurance and investments. He can be reached at hrdna@apnapaisa.com.