Home Loans - Frequently Asked Questions

It is the funds a buyer has to borrow (usually from a bank or other financial institution) to purchase a property, generally secured by a registered mortgage to the bank over the property being purchased. A home loan requires you to pledge your home as the lender's security for repayment of your loan. The lender agrees to hold the title or deed to your property until you have paid back your loan plus interest.

Depending on the transferring attorney the registration process will take about four to six weeks. If it is an additional home loan on a property you already own registration should be quicker.

The bank holds your title as collateral for as long as the home loan is operative and the title deed will only be returned to you once the home loan is fully paid.

You can rely on the bank's attorney to guide you through all the home loan documentation but you will need to acquaint yourself with the content of the documentation because, as far as the law is concerned, ignorance is no excuse.

The first payment on your home loan usually will be deducted on the first day of the month following the month of registration. When signing your bond documents the bank's attorney should be able to tell you when the first payment will be debited from your account.

This will be required if ceding the life policy for the value of the home loan is a condition for granting the home loan. You are not obliged to use the bank's insurance company but you can use another insurance company or cede an existing policy of your own.

The banks will most likely include the signing of a debit order as a condition of the home loan as the bank will then be sure that they will be paid each month. The bank will usually allow you to choose the day of the month that you want the payments to be deducted from your account.

The major banks all have a panel of attorneys in each town from which they randomly select an attorney to register the bond. Usually the banks transferring attorneys will also be used for bond registrations.

Depending on the stipulation in the contract, the deposit is either paid over to the Estate Agency or the Transferring Attorneys as they both have trust accounts where your money is protected. Never pay the deposit directly to the seller or the individual agent and always insist on the relevant receipts.

This usually takes about three months from the date of sale, depending on the circumstances and due dates for the home loan grant stipulated in the deed of sale. Registration can be completed within 6 weeks to 2 months from the date of sale if there are no complications or delays from any parties involved in the deal.

There are schedules of transfer and home loan registration costs available from both estate agents and conveyancing attorneys. Transfer costs are based on the value of the property and whether you are buying as a natural person or legal entity such as a Trust, close corporation or company. Home loan registration costs are based on the total registered value of the loan.

Transfer duty has to be paid in advance and is usually due a few weeks after the date of sale. Any delay in making this payment will unnecessarily delay the transfer.

All the banks have panels of conveyancers that they use for home loan registration and one of these will be instructed to register your home loan. Your mortgage broker will have special rates with various attorneys on the banks' panels and it is advisable to use one of those. Furthermore, if the transfer conveyancer is also on the bank's registration panel it will be expedient to let them do the registration as well.

Your conveyancer's secretary should contact you on registration and provide you with a final statement of account. Your estate agent may also confirm registration. Finally, your bank will send you a letter advising you of the registration of the home loan and the date when your first instalment is payable.