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

Home Loan & Property Buying F A Q s

• To whom is my deposit paid?
Depending on the stipulation in the contract, the deposit is either paid over to the Estate Agency or the Transferring Attorneys as they both have trust accounts where your money is protected. Never pay the deposit directly to the seller or the individual agent and always insist on the relevant receipts.

• Can I claim interest on my deposit?
Interest on deposit is usually paid to you after registration of transfer. You can request that either the Estate Agency or Transferring Attorney holding the deposit act in your interest by arrange for the deposit to be invested in an interest-bearing account.

• To whom is occupational rental paid?
It is easiest to pay occupational rental to the Estate Agency or Transferring Attorney who will either pay it directly to the seller or into the seller’s home loan account. You can pay it to the seller directly but may then be asked to provide proof of payment.

• How long will the transfer take to register?
This usually takes about three months from the date of sale, depending on the circumstances and due dates for the home loan grant stipulated in the deed of sale. Registration can be completed within 6 weeks to 2 months from the date of sale if there are no complications or delays from any parties involved in the deal.

• What is the cost of transfer and home loan registration?
There are schedules of transfer and home loan registration costs available from both estate agents and conveyancing attorneys. Transfer costs are based on the value of the property and whether you are buying as a natural person or legal entity such as a Trust, close corporation or company. Home loan registration costs are based on the total registered value of the loan.

• When must my transfer costs be paid?
Transfer duty has to be paid in advance and is usually due a few weeks after the date of sale. Any delay in making this payment will unnecessarily delay the transfer.

• Who will register the home loan?
All the banks have panels of conveyancers that they use for home loan registration and one of these will be instructed to register your home loan. Your mortgage broker will have special rates with various attorneys on the banks’ panels and it is advisable to use one of those. Furthermore, if the transfer conveyancer is also on the bank’s registration panel it will be expedient to let them do the registration as well.

• Who will contact me on registration ?
Your conveyancer’s secretary should contact you on registration and provide you with a final statement of account. Your estate agent may also confirm registration. Finally, your bank will send you a letter advising you of the registration of the home loan and the date when your first installment is payable.

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