Home loan guides

How banks calculate your affordability cap, income-to-bond examples, and what actually increases how much you qualify for.

Updated 03 Sept 20268 min read

No legal minimum salary exists for a South African home loan — banks cap your bond instalment at about 30% of gross income. Here is the salary each bond amount needs at the current prime rate.

Updated 12 Sept 20267 min read

No official minimum credit score exists for a South African home loan — banks use internal scorecards. Around 600–630+ is the commonly cited fair-chance band; here are the bureau bands, the free check, and a 90-day fix list.

Updated 13 Sept 20268 min read

What bond pre-approval is, how it differs from pre-qualification, the documents you need, and how long a pre-approval certificate lasts.

Updated 02 Sept 20267 min read

The full South African buying journey, deposits vs 100% bonds, transfer costs, FLISP, documents and approval timelines.

Updated 25 Aug 20269 min read

How much deposit you need for a home loan in South Africa, when 100% bonds are available, and how a deposit affects your rate and upfront cash.

Updated 13 Sept 20268 min read

Realistic stage-by-stage timelines by application type, what slows things down, and how to speed them up.

Updated 27 Aug 20266 min read

A step-by-step timeline from pre-qualification to registration, with typical timeframes and a checklist.

Updated 15 Aug 20257 min read

The full South African application sequence: check qualification, gather your documents, choose bank or originator, submit one application, and compare the offers.

Updated 10 Sept 20268 min read

Why banks require it, what it covers, and how to use your own policy instead of the bank’s product.

Updated 15 Aug 20267 min read

No credit check home loans are not legal in South Africa — the NCA requires an affordability assessment. Here is what buyers with bad credit or blacklisted records can actually do.

Updated 13 Sept 20269 min read

How First Home Finance (formerly FLISP) works, who qualifies, and how the subsidy can reduce the bond you need.

Updated 23 Aug 20266 min read

How building loans work in South Africa: progress payments, interest-only draws, NHBRC-registered builders, approved plans and the extra documents banks need.

Updated 06 Sept 20267 min read

How freelancers, contractors and business owners qualify without a payslip: documents, income assessment, and preparation.

Updated 04 Sept 20267 min read

What buying through a trust really involves: asset protection and estate planning, the tax and lending downsides, and what it means for your bond.

Updated 04 Sept 20267 min read

Transfer duty, bond registration, attorney fees and the other cash costs buyers forget to budget for.

Updated 24 Aug 20268 min read

Applying with a partner or co-buyer: combined income, joint and several liability, break-ups, death and the documents you both need.

Updated 04 Sept 20266 min read

What signing surety really means for the guarantor’s finances and credit record, what banks ask for, and the alternatives.

Updated 04 Sept 20266 min read

What the OTP means for your bond application: the bond clause, suspensive conditions, validity dates and the clauses to read before you sign.

Updated 04 Sept 20267 min read

Can your pension or provident fund help you buy a house? How section 19(5) loans work, who qualifies, and the risks.

Updated 04 Sept 20267 min read

What happens to your deposit if your bond is declined: when you get it back, when you do not, and the clause that protects you.

Updated 04 Sept 20266 min read

Using money from family for your deposit: the gift letter banks require, what it means for the giver, and gift vs loan.

Updated 04 Sept 20266 min read

How switching your bond to a new lender works, what it costs, and when the saving is actually worth it.

Updated 02 Sept 20267 min read

How non-residents, work-permit holders and SA expats get a bond: deposit expectations, foreign income, documents and exchange control.

Updated 08 Sept 20267 min read

What an access bond is, how paying extra and withdrawing again works, and the habit that quietly cancels its interest saving.

Updated 09 Sept 20267 min read

What actually happens when you fall behind on your bond: the NCA section 129 notice, real repossession timelines, your right to catch up, and where to get help.

Updated 09 Sept 20267 min read

Every document South African banks ask for in a bond application — the complete checklist segmented by salaried, self-employed, company or trust and foreign applicants.

Updated 09 Sept 20268 min read

What an extra payment does to your interest, term and instalment: how the bank recalculates, which option to ask for, and the early-settlement fee to check.

Updated 09 Sept 20267 min read

What a bond originator actually does between application and grant, how the bank-paid commission model works, and when going direct to your own bank is genuinely fine.

Updated 09 Sept 20266 min read

What it really costs to cancel a bond in 2026 — the LSSA guideline fee, Deeds Office schedule, early-settlement charge, and why you pay an attorney you never appointed.

Updated 09 Sept 20267 min read

When a buyer who moves in before transfer — or a seller who stays on after — pays occupational rent, how the daily rate is set, and the OTP clause that decides how expensive it gets.

Updated 09 Sept 20267 min read

Two attorneys charge on the 2026 LSSA tariff scale when you buy — the conveyancer the seller appoints and the bond attorney the bank appoints. Who pays which, and the dated fee table.

Updated 09 Sept 20267 min read

Yes — you can sell a house while you still owe on the bond. The proceeds settle the bond on transfer, cancellation costs come off first, and the order of payouts decides what lands in your account.

Updated 09 Sept 20268 min read

What the SARB and the bank economists publish as their interest rate forecasts after the July 2026 MPC — every view attributed and dated — plus what a 0.25% move would cost a R1.5m bond.

Updated 13 Sept 20268 min read

How to decide whether refinancing your bond is worth it: the switching costs, the break-even formula, and a free calculator that estimates your monthly saving and break-even point.

Updated 13 Sept 20269 min read

Yes — but only on the margin, and only if the bank sees lower risk. Here is what actually moves your quoted rate in South Africa, what does not, and how to put yourself in the strongest position before you apply.

Updated 13 Sept 20267 min read

What the SARB repo rate is, who sets it at MPC meetings, how it drives the prime lending rate, and what a change adds to or shaves off your monthly bond repayment.

Updated 13 Sept 20268 min read

What happens after your bank grants your bond: attorney appointment, signing, Deeds Office lodgement and registration — and when the seller gets paid.

Updated 15 Sept 20267 min read