There’s “good news and bad news” for prospective homebuyers in this month’s statistics from BetterBond, which is SA’s biggest mortgage originator. The good news is that the banks are granting more bonds – the figures show that in January, almost two-thirds (63%) of the home loan applications made through BetterBond were approved and taken up
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January 2013: Get Bond Advice Before You Set Out to Buy a Home
A weaker rand and rising fuel prices, plus the 16% hike in electricity charges just proposed by Eskom, could easily put paid to many families’ hopes of becoming homeowners this year – unless they take steps now to counter the effects of these increases. That’s the word from Rudi Botha, CEO of leading mortgage originator
read more...December 2012: The best New Year’s resolution you can make
Although New Year’s resolutions are notoriously difficult to keep, there is one that can really deliver enough financial benefits to keep homeowners motivated for a whole year. And that, says Rudi Botha, CEO of leading mortgage originator BetterBond, is the promise to yourself to “invest” something in your bond every month. “At this time of
read more...November 2012: BetterBond Predictions for 2013
Rudi Botha, CEO of BetterBond, SA’s leading mortgage originator, does not expect any increase in the prime interest rate until at least the end of 2013. But many prospective homebuyers will remain unable to take advantage of the increase in home affordability offered by low interest rates, so there is also unlikely to be any
read more...October 2012: Banks Hike Home Loan Deposit Requirements Back to Recession Levels
The average home price rose at an annualised rate of 6,15% in September to R886 000, but the average percentage of purchase price required as a deposit in order to obtain a home loan also continued to accelerate. It rose to 19,3%, compared to 17,4% in August and 16,5% in July, according to the latest statistics
read more...September 2012: New Real Estate App set to Rock SA Industry
This week sees the launch of the groundbreaking MarkitShare software application for estate agents. “MarkitShare applies the latest technology to equip estate agents with an entirely mobile, front-end sales solution,” says director Rob Hudson. “Designed to run on a tablet such as the Samsung Galaxy or Apple iPad, the application is a powerful new tool
read more...August 2012: Banks Tighten their Purse Strings Again
A sharp drop in the number of 100% home loans granted in August compared with June and July indicates that the banks, concerned about the still-high levels of household debt, are once more tightening up on credit qualification requirements for prospective homebuyers. So says Rudi Botha, CEO of BetterBond, which as SA’s biggest mortgage originator
read more...July 2012: Home Deposit Requirements Rising Again
The banks are granting more 100% bonds – but they have also raised the deposit requirements once more for those homebuyers that do not qualify for 100% loans. This is evident in the latest statistics from BetterBond, SA’s biggest mortgage originator, which represent 25% of all residential mortgage bonds being registered in the Deeds Office
read more...June 2012: Growing Fan Club for BetterRewards
Estate agents and property developers are responding extremely positively to BetterRewards, the new incentive programme that awards them points for processing home loan applications through BetterBond that they can then exchange for a wide range of goods and services. In a recent survey to establish their level of satisfaction since joining the programme, 98% of
read more...June 2012: Bond Origination
Getting a home loan these days is not an easy undertaking and can become a very stressful process. Bond Originators promise to make the process of applying for a home loan much simpler. We look at exactly what they offer. “When we started looking to buy our first house Leigh and I were both pretty
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