A home loan, also known as a bond or a mortgage, is an agreed-upon amount of money loaned to the borrower from the bank, for the purpose of buying a house, apartment, or any other livable property. This is typically paid back over 20 or 30 years and is linked to the current interest rate.
Freehold
Freehold is a type of property ownership. This means that the entire property, including the garden, the house itself, swimming pool, garage, any border walls, etc. belongs to you. It is your responsibility to maintain the property and to pay municipal rates and taxes for refuse removal, sewerage, water and other utilities. You also need to ensure that your whole property, plus contents, is comprehensively insured.
Sectional Title
Sectional Title is another type of property ownership. In this case, you’re buying a portion, in a larger complex for example, where you only own your flat or townhouse. You pay rates and taxes on this portion, and the ownership of your section in the complex is recorded at the Deeds Office in a Sectional Title Register.
An offer to purchase, also known as an OTP, is a document signed that formally states you would like to purchase the property, how much you’d like to pay for the property, the commission payable on the property and what the anticipated occupation date will be. This offer is then sent to the seller and accepted or rejected.
Bond costs are the fees payable to cover the cost of registering your new bond with the bank.
Bond transfer fees are the fees payable to cover the cost of transferring the property into your name.
FICA is the Financial Intelligence Centre Act and is South Africa’s primary anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing legislation. All residents of South Africa have to go through FICA verification when dealing with major financial contracts or transactions, including home loans and cellphone contracts.
Purchasing a home is a legal process and the legal process of attaching your name to the bond and property requires attorneys to facilitate this.
Yes. Our sales team will assist you with every step of the process and are there to answer any and all of your questions about any aspect of the process.
You will need to submit the OTP, and apply for a home loan first if you require a home loan, and then, at the point of applying for the FLISP subsidy, you will be asked to produce ‘proof of home loan grant,’ an ‘approval in principle’ from an accredited bank/lender, or other source of finance. If you know the amount of FLISP subsidy you qualify for, before you start applying for a home loan, it may help you negotiate the loan with the bank/lender.
You can still qualify for a FLISP Subsidy, because as of April 2022, a home loan is not required to qualify for FLISP. Applicants are able to use other sources of finance to apply, including a pension or provident fund, the Government Employees Housing Scheme, and other Employer-Assisted Housing Schemes, a certified copy of the deed of sale, an unsecured loan, or an instalment sale agreement or rent-to-own agreement.
No, the FLISP Subsidy is not required to be paid back at any point.
Yes, if you qualify for FLISP you get the money paid straight into your bond account, or towards your deposit and home loan costs.
No, it is a FLISP Qualifying Criteria that you must never have benefited from any Government Housing Subsidy Scheme before, to be considered for a FLISP Subsidy.
Whilst the minimum age requirement for the FLISP Subsidy is 18, there is no age limit for how old you can be. As long as a bank would typically grant you a home loan, aside from financial elements, you can apply for FLISP.