The home buying and financing process

Purchasing a home and registering a home loan can be a stressful and lengthy process. It helps to know the processes and parties involved and the steps required for home loan registration.

Parties involved:

•  Seller
•  Estate Agent
•  Buyer
•  Mortgage Broker
•  Transferring Attorney (appointed by seller to transfer the property to the buyer’s name)
•  Home loan Attorney (appointed by the bank granting the home loan)
•  Cancellation Attorney (appointed by the bank cancelling the home loan of the seller)

A single attorney can perform the bottom three transactions, but often there are at least two different attorneys involved.

1. Initiating the purchase
The buyer and the seller negotiate and sign an Offer to Purchase (OTP). The OTP, or Agreement of Sale, sets out the specific terms of the agreement between the two parties including details such as purchase price, deposit, date of transfer, occupational rental, etc.

2.  Mortgage home loan application
The buyer, usually through the services of a mortgage broker, applies for a home loan with various lenders. There are four basic stages to the home loan application process:

•  Submission – the mortgage broker submits your application to various lenders
•  Approval in Principle – the bank approves the loan subject to a property valuation and sometimes with other conditions attached
•  Valuation – the valuation takes place either physically or through computer aggregates based property description and recent sales in the area
•  Final Approval – the bank officially grants the loan

The application usually takes between three and seven working days.

3.  Home loan Approval
Once all, or some, of the lenders who received the application have approved the loan, the client will choose which lender they wish to do business with. The financing bank will then instruct the relevant Home loan Attorney to proceed with the home loan registration process. This can take up to three days. The mortgage broker will cancel the application at the other lenders.

4. Property Transfer
The seller advises the Transferring Attorney to transfer the property into the buyer’s name. The title deed and cancellation figures are requested from the bank that currently has a home loan over the property (if applicable). A statement of rates and taxes is requested from the local authority.

5. Home loan Attorney contacts Transferring Attorney
The Home loan Attorney advises the Transferring Attorney of the amount available for guarantees and requests the draft deed of transfer and guarantee requirements.

6. Cancellation Attorney
The Cancellation Attorney is requested to cancel the seller’s home loan upon receipt of a guarantee for the amount owing.

7. Transferring Attorney
The transferring Attorney receives the title deed and cancellation figures and sends a copy of the deed of transfer and the guarantee requirements to the Home loan Attorney. The Transferring Attorney requests that the buyer and seller sign the transfer documents. The buyer pays the transfer costs and the Transferring Attorney then pays the rates and taxes and the transfer duty.

8. Home loan Attorney
The Home loan Attorney prepares the home loan documentation and the relevant account. The buyer signs the documents and pays the costs. The Home loan Attorney prepares and issues the necessary guarantees, forwards them to the Transferring Attorney and prepares the home loan documents for lodgement with the Deeds Office.

9. Transferring Attorney
Once the Transferring Attorney has received the guarantees, they are forwarded to the Cancellation Attorney.

10. Cancellation Attorney
The Cancellation Attorney obtains consent for home loan cancellation from the bank which holds the seller’s home loan.

11. Documents prepared for the Deeds Office
After all the documentation has been signed and the costs paid, the transfer, new home loan and home loan cancellation documents are prepared by the respective attorneys for lodgement in the deeds office.

12. Deeds Office
All the documents are lodged in the Deeds Office by arrangement with the attorneys concerned. The Deeds Office takes approximately 2 – 3 weeks to check the documents before they are ready for registration by all the attorneys on the same day.

13. Bank pays out the loan

On the day of registration, the bank pays out the loan in accordance with the guarantees issued.
Allow at least 3 months for the registration and transfer of the home loan.

Please contact us if you require any further information or would like to apply for finance:

Complete this short form online

011.327.4489 / 0861 1111 93

morne@mortgagepluscc.co.za

www.mortgagepluscc.co.za

PROPERTY FINANCE : What banks are looking for

The property market is slowly recovering and investors are scouting for deals. However, while the banks have started lending more than last year, it is still difficult to obtain finance in this market. Just three years ago credit was easy to come by. Everyone from retailers to micro-lenders were dishing out credit. When the world hit recession, the money dried up. The only applicants to be awarded finance were those who could show that they didn’t really need it. Furthermore, the finance that they did receive was expensive. While a discounted lending rate of prime less 2% was not something to get too excited about in 2006, just a year or two later, investors were lucky to receive any discount at all.

It is important to remember that bank managers are not investors. They seldom understand the principles of property investment- that is let the tenant pay the bond repayments while the investor enjoys the compounded income and capital growth. Therefore, the key to getting finance at a competitive rate, is to think like the bank manager. The investor who has built up equity in other properties may perceive oneself as less risky than an owner occupier by having the ability to sell a property if running into financial trouble. The bank manager however prefers financing a “less exposed” owner occupier who will cut back on other expenses if necessary to remain in his or her home.

According to renowned international investor Dolf de Roos, getting finance is all about psychology. Don’t ask the bank for finance, rather offer them the opportunity to finance your property. The key is confidence and understanding that the bank also stands to benefit from the transaction. The banks typically look at four main factors when assessing a finance application.

Capacity

The applicant’s ability to repay the loan is determined by their monthly income. As a rule, up to 25-30% of an applicant’s gross monthly income may be used in servicing all of their mortgage repayments. Usually only about 50% of rental income being derived will be added to the applicant’s salary. The bank will also assess the net income of applicants to ascertain whether there is enough income to service the bond after deducting all the applicant’s expenses. Self employed people are generally perceived as higher risk.

Character

The bank will do a full credit and employment check in determining whether the applicant can support the loan. Any negative listings will affect the applicant’s chances of getting credit even if the outstanding debt is very small. Too many previous applications for credit may also count against the applicant. The bank will also verify employment and may refuse credit to workers on contract.

Collateral

Many of the banks will offer an “approval in principle” to applicants meeting the above mentioned “capacity” and “character” requirements for the loan. The final approval will depend on the valuation performed on the property. While most banks are claiming to offer 100% loans, the more common maximum is a 95% loan to value offering. For investors, many of the banks are only lending up to 75% of the value of the property.

Conditions

The final factor affecting applicants is one in which they have very little control- the conditions in the market. The retail banking industry in South Africa is dominated by only four major players. While the big four were intent on increasing market share during the boom times, they are now intent on limiting bad debts. Remember, they are not investors and do not see the potential which the property market offers. All they see is unemployment and a softer economy. Give them a few years and 110% loans should be available yet again.

Please contact us if you require any further information or would like to apply for finance:

Complete this short form online

011.327.4489 / 0861 1111 93

morne@mortgagepluscc.co.za

www.mortgagepluscc.co.za