Home Loan Affordability & Credit Guides
How much you can borrow depends on your income, existing debt, credit record and deposit — not just the property's price. These guides show how South African banks calculate your affordability cap, what a weak credit score does to your options, and how joint applications and guarantors change what you qualify for.
On a R 30 000 gross salary the 30% rule allows a R 9 000 instalment — about R 886 500 at 10.75% prime over 20 years. Salary tables from R20 000 to R100 000, gross vs net, deposit and term.
Updated 17 Oct 20269 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 SA bank publishes a minimum credit score; the NCA requires an affordability check instead. TransUnion score bands, the dated floors ooba, MortgageMarket and SA Home Loans cite, and what a higher rate margin costs per month.
Updated 26 Oct 20269 min read
Yes, sometimes: SA lenders must still check your credit under the NCA, but weigh it with income, deposit and debt. A worked deposit-versus-rate-margin example, the routes, how long listings stay, and blacklisting and debt review answers.
Updated 20 Oct 202610 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 19 Oct 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
How pension and annuity income is assessed, why loan terms shift with age, and how it differs from a pension-backed loan.
Updated 23 Sept 20266 min read
The five rules South African banks apply under the National Credit Act before approving a home loan, plus worked income and repayment examples.
Updated 28 Sept 20267 min read
No new credit agreement, including a home loan, can be granted while you are under debt review — Section 88(1) of the National Credit Act blocks it. Here is what changes once you have a clearance certificate, and what to do before you reapply.
Updated 29 Sept 20268 min read
The seven criteria South African banks check before approving a home loan — age, residency, affordability, credit record, income proof, deposit and the property itself.
Updated 01 Oct 20267 min read
The real reasons South African banks decline a home loan, how to fix each one, and when it is safe to reapply — plus what to do in the first 48 hours.
Updated 19 Oct 20268 min read
How sectional title levies are calculated, the CSOS levy formula, what happens if you don’t pay — and how banks net levies off your home loan affordability.
Updated 15 Oct 20269 min read