Advisor’s warning: ₹1.5 crore flat on ₹50 lakh pay is a financial time bomb

Buying a ₹1.5 crore flat on a ₹50 lakh salary might look feasible on paper, but wealth advisor Alok Tiwari points out that the numbers don’t balance. His breakdown shows why such a purchase can overstretch finances despite being within bank lending limits.

According to Tiwari, a home loan of ₹1.5 crore translates to an EMI of about ₹1.2–1.3 lakh per month over 20 years at ~8.5% interest. Against a ₹50 lakh CTC—roughly ₹2.75 lakh monthly take-home—that’s almost half the income gone on just the EMI.

“EMI for 1.5Cr will be 1.2L pm. A 50L CTC makes 2.75L pm. Deduct rents, school fees, insurance, school bus, petrol, car cost, misc, groceries, utilities, vacation etc. Now from the leftover savings divide with 1.5cr,” Tiwari wrote on Threads.

Financial norms back his caution. While the RBI permits a loan-to-income ratio up to 50%, most banks and advisors recommend capping housing EMIs at 40% of take-home income. For ₹2.75 lakh, that comes to about ₹1.1 lakh—below the required EMI of ₹1.29 lakh.

Data from Knight Frank’s 2025 affordability report underscores the risk. On average, Indian homebuyers spend 28% of their income on EMIs. In expensive metros like Mumbai, the ratio is 48%—already considered risky. In more affordable cities such as Ahmedabad or Kolkata, it stays between 18% and 23%.

Spending nearly half of one’s salary on housing leaves little room for essential expenses like school fees, insurance, transport, and savings. Tiwari’s observation highlights that while banks may approve the loan, long-term financial stability could suffer.

A ₹50 lakh CTC does not comfortably support a ₹1.5 crore home purchase under current affordability benchmarks. Buyers in such scenarios risk being house-rich but cash-poor.