Home Loan Application & Document Guides
A home loan application stands or falls on its paperwork. These guides list the documents South African banks require — for salaried, self-employed, foreign and trust applicants — explain how pre-approval works, and walk through the approval process stage by stage with realistic timelines for each step.
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
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
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
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
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 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 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