Welcome to your one-stop shop for all things EasyMortgages! Whether you're wondering how to apply for a home loan, what it costs, or how much you can afford, we've got you covered. Let us help get you one step closer to your dream home!
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Once you’ve signed an Offer to Purchase and have electronic copies of your ID, latest pay slip and 3 months bank statements, then you’re ready to complete the online home loan application.
You’ll first be required to create a profile and then you’ll continue to complete your application form online.
As your application is submitted in real time to the top banks, you will start to receive offers from the banks within 72 hours. We will provide you with regular feedback from the banks.
Once offers start coming in, you’ll be able to compare them on your EasyMortgages dashboard. Once you’ve selected the best offer for you, the bank will be notified and they will be in contact with you to finalise your home loan.
If you have all your documents on hand, the application process could take less than 30 minutes to complete.
You can save your application form at any point in the process and complete it at your convenience.
Once you’ve submitted your application, compared and selected an offer from the banks, they will be in touch to finalise the home loan process.
This process could take up to two months to complete.
Your affordability is based on your income and level of debt (how much you owe) against your income. The debt service ratio ideally shouldn’t be more than 30% of your gross monthly income, whether single or joint. Banks are guided by the rules set out by the NCA (National Credit Act of South Africa), which helps to protect South Africans from getting into too much debt.
Banks consider your relationship history with past and current creditors. Your ability to make consistent repayments to your creditors is a critical factor in the credit assessment process.
The second factor banks will take into consideration is your affordability, i.e. your monthly income minus your fixed expenses. This gives you a surplus that makes up a budget for what you can afford to spend on a house.
They also take into consideration the deposit amount you have available, which gives them a level of your equity commitment (upfront contribution) in the property.
There are a few once-off costs that you will need to budget for, such as transfer costs, transfer duties, initiation fees and bond registration costs. These costs are in addition to your monthly home loan repayment.
The transfer cost is the cost to have the property transferred into your name at the Deeds Office. This cost consists of a once-off fee that you will pay to the government in terms of the transfer duty (any property below the cost of R900k is exempt from transfer duty).
The other cost is the fee to register your property: the conveyancing attorney will charge this fee. This money will be used by the attorney to register you as the owner of the property at the Deeds Office.
The cost you pay for transfer duties is calculated based on the price paid for the property. This duty is a government tax.
The registration cost is a fee that the registering attorney charges in order to register the property in your name at the Deeds Office.
Yes, it is! The more you pay now, the more you will save later!
There are three main points to look at when comparing home loan offers, namely:
Interest rate: The lower the interest rate, the lower your repayment.
LTV (loan to value): The higher the LTV, the less deposit will be required, if any.
Loan term: The number of years required to pay back the home loan.
Example: If your loan term is over a shorter duration, then less interest is payable, but higher monthly instalments will be required. If a longer repayment period is selected, the more interest is payable, but your home loan instalments will be lower.
Your monthly instalment usually consists of a:
Basic instalment that includes capital and interest.
Homeowner’s insurance premium.
Life assurance premium (if selected).
Admin fee.
There are various reasons that could affect your ability to qualify for a 100% home loan, such as your affordability, your credit history or even the value of the property that you’re wanting to buy.
We recommend that you start to save for a deposit the day you decide that you want to buy a house. The bigger the deposit you manage to save, the smaller the home loan amount you will require. By saving up for a deposit, it will improve your chances of being approved for a home loan, as well as reduce your monthly repayments.
With us, you get real value back with our up to R5000 cashback offer*. You also benefit from applying to 7 top banks in real-time, comparing offers on your dashboard and then getting to choose the best deal that's right for you. We have also negotiated discounted fees with the conveyancers attending to either the bond registration or property registration.
* Ts and Cs Apply.
The internet has really become commonplace in our daily lives. It affects the way in which we communicate, socialise, purchase goods, and how we consume information. We do everything else online, even searching for property, so why not apply for your home loan online, too?
Applying online is vastly easier and more convenient than going into multiple bank branches to complete several (more or less) of the same applications.
The advantages of an online home loan application:
Fill out the application from the comfort of your home.
You’ll be able to do a mortgage repayment calculation when you apply for home loan online.
You get quotes sent to you, via your personal dashboard on the EasyMortgages platform, for you to review and compare.
You also get access to loan-related information.
The success of an online home loan application, of course, can depend on whether or not a bit of homework was done before submitting the application. And, since the process is a type of self-service, the online home loan application process can be difficult to understand, especially for first time applicants.
If you'd like to learn more about how to apply for a home loan on EasyMortgages, why not sign-up to our FREE EasyAcademy Course here.
A lot can happen between 20 and 30 years, which are the typical terms of home loans. Ideally, you want to limit your repayment period, thereby limiting your exposure to factors that could impact on your ability to repay over a long period of time. For example, most homes in South Africa are re-sold after seven to eight years.
The advantages and disadvantages of a 20-year term versus 30-year term are quite simply that on a 20-year term, you'll be expected to pay a much higher monthly repayment than a 30-year term. The advantage of this is that your interest charged will be a lot less, given the shorter period of time. On a 30-year term, you'll be expected to pay a lot less on a monthly basis, but over time, you'd probably end up paying a lot more interest on your home loan.
Regardless of the 20 to 30-year bond period, ideally what you want to do is to repay your home loan as quickly as possible to avoid unnecessary interest charges.
When interest rates go up, it can make homeownership a bit more challenging, as your monthly loan repayments may increase while your income stays the same. This might mean rethinking your spending to ensure you stay on top of your bond repayments.
The good news is, with some smart planning, you can take control. Start by focusing on what matters most - like cutting back on non-essential expenses (think fewer takeaways or impulse buys) to free up funds for your home. It’s also a great idea to tackle any high-interest debts as soon as you can (eg. credit cards or personal loans), as these can quickly spiral if not managed, taking up more of your budget than necessary.
By paying off these debts first, you can reduce the amount you’re losing to interest each month. This frees up more money to focus on important priorities, like your home loan. Plus, reducing your overall debt improves your financial stability, making it easier to adjust to rising rates and unexpected costs in the future.
In short, paying off high-interest debts helps you protect your finances and ensures you can manage the impact of rate hikes with less stress. Small, intentional changes can make a big difference!