“I would like to buy an R80 000 house and would like to know what my monthly mortgage payment would be,” writes Wilfred.

Maya replies: How much you will need to pay each month to cover your mortgage will depend on your initial deposit and interest rate. By having a good credit record and putting down a deposit you can make your home purchase even more affordable each month:

Good credit record with a 10% deposit:

With a good credit record and a deposit of R8 000 you should qualify for an interest rate of 9%

• You would pay R648 per month
• Over the 20 years you would pay R155 427

Weak credit record with no deposit:

If you did not put down a deposit and did not have a good credit record you may be charged an interest rate of at least 10%.

• Your monthly repayment would jump to R722 per month
• Over 20 years you would pay R185 284 in total

By putting down a deposit and having a good credit record you could save nearly R30 000.

You could save up the R8 000 deposit within a year if you just saved your future mortgage payments.

Save by paying in more:

If instead of paying R648 a month you increased your payments by just R74 per month to R722, over the repayment period you would save a massive R62 000 and your house would be paid off in 15 years.

Mortgage calculations taken from website www.ooba.co.za