With interest rates rising and the economy slowing, is now the time to make the biggest investment of your life? There is one thing most economists agree on: our economy will continue to slow and we will see further interest rate hikes. Against...
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Should you close a paid-off home loan?
Morake writes: A friend of mine’s home loan is nearly paid off and she wants to know if she should close the home loan or keep it open. What is the procedure to closing a mortgage? Do you have to pay transfer duties to get the title deed? Maya...
Is now a good time to buy a house?
Rebecca writes: I am a 36-year-old professional and single mother of two. I had planned that this would be the year that I would buy my own modest home. I have been listening to financial experts on TV saying that first-time home buyers must delay...
How do I save for a deposit?
In Episode 10 of the Change in your Pocket series, we give you practical tips on how to go about saving for a deposit on your first home. https://youtu.be/mTmjtAoE-Tw – Video supplied by BrightRock Welcome to The Change Exchange where we are...
The power of paying extra into your mortgage
If you have taken out a mortgage recently you would have noticed on your statement that the interest charged each month is nearly equal to your monthly repayments. In the first few years of your mortgage repayment, interest makes up a very large...
Buying a home: understand your running costs
Episode 9 of the Change in your Pocket series focuses on the running costs associated with home-ownership. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx_jjJ5SutM – Video supplied by BrightRock Welcome to The Change Exchange where we are discussing the ins,...
Buying a home: understand your transaction costs
In episode 8 of the Change in your Pocket series, we continue the discussion around financing your own home by unpacking the transaction costs involved. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqixEBSgOxA – Video supplied by BrightRock Welcome to The...
Financing your home
In a volatile interest-rate environment, it's important to keep your mortgage repayments stable. Episode 7 of our Change in your Pocket series looks at the financing of your home. https://youtu.be/QVhtGI_Zhcw – Video supplied by BrightRock Welcome...
Should you fix your mortgage?
As interest rates increase, many homeowners are starting to feel the squeeze on their monthly mortgage repayments and are understandably wondering whether or not to fix their mortgage repayments to provide more certainty around what their...
Using your pension to secure a home loan
A pension fund is usually the largest asset owned by an individual and it makes sense that it could be used to provide collateral for a home loan, especially for a first-time home owner. This benefit also encourages individuals not to cash in their...
Previous Articles
Sectional title market remains stronger than full title
The sectional title segment of the housing market continues to outperform the full title segment, in line with the "smaller is better" theme. But is it about home price affordability, or more about home running cost affordability? John Loos, Household and Property...
SA obsession with home ownership needs to be “dumbed down” a little
By John Loos, Household and Property Sector Strategist at First National Bank The 5% FNB House Price Index inflation rate suggests no apparent need for “first-time buyer panic” at present. But there is a need for first-time buyer caution, and perhaps a little less...
Better to buy to rent or invest in property stocks?
You may spend your holidays thinking about owning coastal property, or maybe you're considering increasing your property portfolio with a number of buy-to-rent assets. Dale Peckover, wealth manager at AlphaWealth considers whether it's a better idea to just buy into...
Investigate your body corporate
Buying into a sectional title scheme requires more than understanding just your own finances. You’re ready to buy your first home, you’ve saved up the deposit, got financing approval and done your homework on the area where you want to live. The perfect home comes up...
Settle your mortgage or invest the capital?
By Ferdi Booysen, Head of Strategic Relationships at Old Mutual Wealth The higher interest-rate cycle begs the question: is it currently better to use your investable funds to pay off your mortgage or to add to your retirement savings? Recent interest-rate hikes – and...
Bequeathing property in your will – how it can go wrong
By David Knott of Private Client Trust, the fiduciary services division of Private Client Holdings, and a member of the Fiduciary Institute of South Africa. When it comes to leaving fixed property to someone in your will, unless you have had professional assistance in...
Want a pool? Read this before you take the plunge
Whether you are considering installing a swimming pool or want to buy a house that already has one, there are some things you need to know about the costs and responsibilities involved. Swimming pools are an integral part of South African culture. Part of our idea of...
Lessons learnt from building the “dream home”
As I am about to move into our newly built dream home, someone asked me if I would do it again. My first reaction was “never!” but then I thought about how much I had learnt and how much easier it would be the second time round, having learnt some valuable lessons....
Should you fix your interest rate?
With the 75 basis points increase in the prime lending rate since January this year, and analysts predicting further hikes in the interest rate, many people are asking whether they should fix the interest rate on their bond repayments. As with any financial decision,...
No-deposit home loans
A recent survey in the UK found that young adults are increasingly relying on their parents to help them pay for a deposit for their first home. The survey conducted by mortgage lender Halifax found that the majority of parents believed they would have to help their...