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Tab still running on paid-up home loans

Tab still running on paid-up home loans

Hundreds of thousands of South Africans have paid-up home loans which may still be costing them money. Homeowners may not be aware that in some cases, their paid-up mortgage will continue to attract fees unless they have canceled the bond over the...

What you need to know about evicting a tenant

What you need to know about evicting a tenant

For most landlords, evicting a tenant is a last resort. It is a complex, expensive process that takes a long time and is emotionally taxing. However, with the Q2 2023 PayProp Rental Index revealing that the number of tenants in arrears has risen to...

Planning to own a home

Planning to own a home

For most young people buying a home is a financial priority, but a home is a significant purchase and it’s important to get your finances in order first. Two of the Absa/City Press Money Makeover contestants are preparing for this big step. Molefi...

Fixed installments ‒ but at what cost?

Fixed installments ‒ but at what cost?

An offer from your bank of fixed installments on your home loan might seem like great news, but be aware of the costs further down the road. Standard Bank announced that it is providing some breathing space for more than 20 000 home loan clients by...

Should you extend your home loan to make ends meet?

Should you extend your home loan to make ends meet?

If you're a homeowner under financial pressure, one way of reducing your monthly expenses is to extend your home loan. Homeowners in South Africa are under immense financial pressure these days due to the high interest rate coupled with the...

Building vs buying a home

Building vs buying a home

When it comes to finding a new home, the building vs buying question is ever-present, and deciding between buying an existing property or building from scratch can be daunting. “There are numerous factors to consider including location,...

Is a R51k salary enough to comfortably afford bond repayments?

Is a R51k salary enough to comfortably afford bond repayments?

Viral Twitter thread sparks property industry debate  Recently, a hypothetical question was posed around what South Africans could afford on a R51 000 net salary. This became a trending topic on Twitter, sparking debates over whether these earnings...

How banks assess affordability for a home loan

How banks assess affordability for a home loan

With interest rates at their highest levels in 14 years, many would-be homeowners are finding it difficult to meet the affordability requirements for a home loan. According to the latest statistics from ooba Home Loans, while the country’s average...

Buy a home or replace my car?

Buy a home or replace my car?

Many people are wondering whether now is the right time to buy a home for the first time, given the high interest rates. It is a common question I receive from readers. One reader wrote: "I am looking to buy a home for the first time but am...

How to fund your solar panels

How to fund your solar panels

In February’s budget speech, the government introduced some tax relief for households who wanted to get off grid by investing in solar panels. However, this relief won’t help to fund the entire installation cost, and with solar panels costing in...

Maya Fisher-French author of Money Questions Answered

Previous Articles

Can you use a pension-backed home loan to help take you off the grid?

Can you use a pension-backed home loan to help take you off the grid?

A pension-backed home loan could be a possible solution if you're looking for a way to finance alternative energy sources for your home. Consumers are in a tight financial squeeze, with an increase in fuel prices in February, coupled with an interest-rate increase of...

Property scams to watch out for

Property scams to watch out for

Jackie Smith, Head of Buyers Trust, warns that prospective tenants and home-buyers are becoming the targets of increasingly sophisticated property scams. Over the past two decades, internet sites such as Property24, Facebook Marketplace and estate agency websites have...

How prepaid funds work in your access bond

How prepaid funds work in your access bond

Depending on how your access bond is structured, you might not be able to withdraw all of your prepaid funds. Many people believe that putting all of their “spare cash” into their access bond is a smart thing to do. It can serve as your emergency fund because those...

Video: What your credit score says about you

Video: What your credit score says about you

If you are planning on buying a home, the first thing you should do is go check your credit score. The purpose of your credit score is to inform prospective lenders how much of a risk you present when you apply for a loan. If a lender perceives you as a high risk,...

Buying a home now could make sense

Buying a home now could make sense

While the increasing interest rates will make buying a home more financially challenging, buying at the top of an interest rate cycle could be a smart move. Firstly, higher interest rates temper demand, so property prices may come down slightly. Secondly, you know...

Getting your home off grid – what it would cost

Getting your home off grid – what it would cost

After 14 years of loadshedding, most households have found some way to make do in the face of intermittent electricity outages, but the latest wave of outages has prompted many people to wonder if they can afford to get completely off grid. Stage 6 loadshedding had a...

You could have building cover without realising it

You could have building cover without realising it

Deshni Subbiah, chair of the Short-term Insurance Committee of the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA) explains that homeowners may have building cover without even realising it. If you are repaying a home loan but didn’t take out comprehensive building cover...

Improve your credit score

Improve your credit score

Whether you want to buy a property or a car, most South Africans need credit to do so. And, strange as it may seem, knowing how much credit you qualify for and how you can improve your credit score may just be critical to your ability to continue improving your life...

Flood damage: are you covered?

Flood damage: are you covered?

The flooding across KZN has caused major damage to property. The good news is that most short-term insurance contracts will provide cover for weather-related incidents, which includes flood damage. According to Fanus Coetzee, Head of Claims at Santam, comprehensive...

Listen: Build, buy or renovate? Pros and cons when you need new space

Listen: Build, buy or renovate? Pros and cons when you need new space

If you're thinking about moving or perhaps upgrading your current home, the question you need to answer is: should I build, buy or renovate? The Covid-19 pandemic changed a lot about our lives. With the flexibility around the working environment these days, many...

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