Homeownership is not for the fainthearted. With South Africa’s economy perched precariously on the verge of a recession for several months, buying a home can be risky. Getting a bond has become more difficult as banks have become more cautious about lending. A lot of vetting and checking is necessary before a bond is approved. […]
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Buying a house is a huge commitment. For at least the next 20 years, you have to pay off a substantial debt. If you try to sell your house without at least having paid off the interest on your bond, you’re unlikely to turn a profit. The process of finding the home of your dreams […]
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Insurance is one of those purchases that you hate to spend your money on although you know it is a necessary investment that will protect you in the future. The money you spend on insurance each month is minuscule compared to what it would cost you in the event you need the pay-out. Since insurance […]
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Buying a house is a massive financial investment and one that most people cannot afford on their own. This is why many South Africa’s take out a home loan to help them through the home buying process. In our current economic climate, it has become increasingly difficult for potential home buyers to qualify for a […]
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Last year was a bit of an annus horribilis for the property industry. A volatile combination of political and economic uncertainty led to a cauldron of concern. Someone was heard to say: “You can’t even give your house away!” While the denouement may not have been that dramatic, it nevertheless saw house prices dropping dramatically. […]
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The year of 2018 was an interesting one for South Africans – from a newly instated president, interesting IT revelations from SARS, and a couple of finance ministers. The V.A.T. increase of 1% in April 2018 came after 25 years of V.A.T. being set at 14%. One of the areas it affected was the buying […]
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After months of searching, you’ve finally found a home and signed an offer to purchase. Now you need to apply to a financial institution for a bond. A bond in South Africa is an amount you borrow against a property, usually for the purpose of purchasing it.
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These days, many of us live with debt because we want things that we can’t afford to buy outright. This means taking a loan, whether it be a bond, or an amount that you owe to a clothing shop. If you have a steady income, allowing yourself to get into at least some debt isn’t […]
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Crime data suggests that the biggest crime hotspots countrywide are located in city centres. The latest data from the South African Police Service (SAPS) has shed some light into which areas are worst affected by crime in each of the country’s nine provinces for the 2018 year thus far. Crimes in South Africa should be […]
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Property owners who remember the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 may be apprehensive about the road ahead for South Africa’s property market, especially since South Africa is now officially in a technical recession. Economic growth is not likely to improve much for the rest of 2018. Forecasts are slightly stronger for 2019, but this is […]
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