WeApply receives live feedback from the banks, so we will then update you via email or SMS.

Member banks of the Document Exchange Association (DEA) provide bank statements from a customer’s transactional bank to a credit provider where the customer is applying for credit. This is strictly with the customer’s consent.

The final determination will be verified by the banks when they do their own credit bureau checks, so answer as honestly and best as you can for now.

All public officials have been voted into, or appointed, into that position by the state. So, all politicians and high-ranking government officials are public officials.

You can upload documents at any stage during the application process, however, you won’t be able to submit your home loan application to the banks without all the required information.

Homeowner’s insurance, municipal rates and taxes, water and electricity, property maintenance, and security. If you are buying a sectional title unit, you will have monthly levies.

The banks need the following documents:

• The signed Offer to Purchase
• Your ID document/card
• Your most recent three month’s payslips
• Your most recent three month’s bank statements

Your pay slip from your employer will give you all that’s needed.

All personal information is securely encrypted and protected in accordance with regulatory requirements.

You will need one, as this is the way WeApply will communicate with you. If you don’t have one, then we’ll need a family member’s email address which they are happy for you to make use of.

This refers to the number of people who will live in the new property.

A dependent is somebody who depends on you for financial support.

WeApply is POPIA compliant, and we will only retrieve secure encrypted data from credible sources with your consent.

You will pay the first debit order after your home loan has been registered.

The interest calculation on your home loan takes into account the amount of your loan, the current interest rate, and the length of time over which the loan is granted.

WeApply is a digital home loan platform. The WeApply team submits your application to a number of the principal banks – as well as your own personal bank should you want us to – and each of those banks has their own home loan approval process.

You will need to pay certain legal fees to the home loan attorneys and the transferring attorneys. If the value of the property is under R1m, you won’t pay transfer duty, but you will pay transfer fees. These costs are all related to the property price, and there are online calculators on the WeApply site to show you what you will be responsible for paying.

You can either get it from the estate agent with whom you’re dealing, or if it’s a new development, the agent would furnish you with the developer’s details.

A Managing Agent is appointed by trustees (body corporate) of a sectional title scheme to manage the common property on behalf of the trustees and owners.

If an Erf has been subdivided – cut into smaller pieces – then each piece is given what is called, a Portion.

It’s a unique number to describe the property, and is linked to a Township – there is only one Erf number per Township. This can be found on the Offer to Purchase.

There are two types of developments.

• Turnkey – where you have one Offer to Purchase with a developer, and you move in on completion of the development.
• Building Loan – you will have a contract for land, and a contract to build. WeApply does not facilitate Building Loans, but our team will be able to assist you.

They should be on the signed Offer to Purchase. At WeApply, we make it easier for you by pulling the information and data to prepopulate the fields.

What is a suspensive condition? It puts on hold the operation of the contract for a period of time, waiting for a future event. Once that has happened – in other words, that condition has been fulfilled – the contract can be enforced. The usual suspensive condition would be that you, the buyer, are waiting for the bank to confirm that they’re granting you a home loan. You sign the Offer to Purchase indicating that until the bank agrees to loan you that money, the agreement is on hold. You sign the Offer to Purchase subject to securing that home loan – that’s a suspensive clause.

Sometimes the suspensive condition is to suit only one party. Perhaps you, the buyer, need to sell your current home before you buy this one. You put that as a suspensive clause in the sale agreement. But then your fortunes change, and you’re able to buy it without the funds from your existing home – you can change that condition on the Offer to Purchase.

If any of these suspensive conditions are not fulfilled in the time frame specified in the Offer to Purchase, the contract is null and void. It is no longer valid.

What is a resolutive condition?

If there is a resolutive condition in the contract, the contract is immediately binding after signatures by both parties. It remains binding, subject to fulfillment of the future event stipulated in the condition. An example, the contract will terminate if a cellphone tower is erected next to the property sold, within a certain period. The event referred to in the condition must be accurately described and a time period specified for fulfillment (or not) of the condition.

If a condition is deliberately prevented from being fulfilled, the condition is deemed to have been fulfilled. For example, the buyer decides he does not want the property anymore. He uses the technique of stalling the process of getting finance from a bank, until after the fulfillment date agreed upon in the Offer to Purchase.

The purchase price

In almost all cases, the price will be a fixed amount agreed upon by the seller and buyer. The purchase price is usually payable in a lump sum as soon as the property is transferred into the buyer’s name, unless some other arrangement has been mutually agreed upon.

What are the guarantees?

You’ll find these referred to in the sale agreement. Guarantees mean that the buyer will give the seller a promise from a bank that the price will be fully paid once the property is registered in the buyer’s name.

There are some particularly important clauses in the Offer to Purchase, and it’s smart to wise-up on them.

When it comes to the description of the property, the best one is in the Title Deeds. If you don’t have access to the Title Deeds, use your utility bill to locate the erf number and quote it, together with the physical address of the property.

The clauses relating to the identities of the parties to the agreement should be closely scrutinized. Make sure that the identities are ascertainable.

Things you should know

Some of these clauses between parties to the agreement, may surprise you, but it’s important to know them:

The seller need not be the owner.

The seller may not yet have taken transfer of the property, but as long as he discloses this in the contract – as well as the owner’s name – he may be allowed to resell it. The transfer of the property cannot be passed to the purchaser before the seller has first obtained transfer.

If a party does not have the contractual capacity to conclude a contract, his name must still be cited, together with the identity of the person assisting him (that is, the guardian of a minor)

If a contract is entered into on behalf of a company/close corporation (cc), cite the company’s name or cc, as well as the name of the person authorised to conclude the contract.

The names of the partners must be cited if a contract is entered into on behalf of a partnership.

Always include contact details, such as cellphone, email, fax.

You should always use your estate agent or attorney to draft the Offer to Purchase and make sure you understand all the clauses. Whatever you don’t understand, ask them to explain to you. Once the buyer and seller have both signed, this is a legal, binding document, so make sure you’re comfortable with all the terms and conditions.

Take your time. A few things you should check on the agreement:

• Is the purchase price accurate?
• Are your details as the buyer correct?
• Are the seller’s details accurate?
• Is the property description correct as described in the title deed?
• Check both the occupation date and the occupational rental

If you have mentioned any special conditions which are time-sensitive, are they correctly documented here? Is the time period in which they should be fulfilled, accurate? If you’ve applied for a home loan, this would be a special condition – if the bond is not granted, the Offer to Purchase is no longer valid.

If there are immovable objects included in the sale, make sure they’re written down here.

The estate agent’s commission isn’t your responsibility – it’s paid for by the buyer. Still, it should be written there, so check it’s accurate.

Bear in mind that a simple error on the document does not make the Offer to Purchase null and void. Corrections are perfectly acceptable, but not additional terms, and it’s always wise for both buyer and seller to initial every correction to indicate that everybody is in agreement.

Rules regarding a standard, pre-printed Offer to Purchase

• Fill in everything, or delete it entirely.
• Use simple language to fill in the blank spaces or add clauses.
• Delete inapplicable clauses completely.
• If there’s an amendment to any clause, word it clearly.
• If there are any amendments or deletions, all parties must initial them.
• ‘Special Conditions’ is the place in the document where you can add additional clauses. If the space is insufficient, indicate on the Offer to Purchase that there is a separate document containing the conditions.
• Contracts can be amended once they’ve been signed by both parties, but it must be in writing and signed by all parties.
• Ideally, each party should initial each page of the document.
• Although it’s not a legal necessity to have a witness in order to validate an agreement, it’s a good idea to have one attest that the signature belongs to the person he saw signing the document. Note: If married in community of property, two witnesses must sign. (this should be a separate document)

It’s very important to know that the moment a buyer and seller have signed an Offer to Purchase, it’s a legal, binding document. Do not sign it if you are not completely certain that this is the property for you. Equally, don’t sign numerous offers on different properties in the hope of securing just one. Once the seller signs that Offer to Purchase, it is a legal, binding document.

In your dealings with a seller and an estate agent, be straightforward and upfront. There are so many checks along the home-buying process, and nine times out of ten, the seller can check up with bank that what you say, is indeed true.

Advice. Do not engage in any of the following:

Do not say you are unable to obtain finance/a home loan.

Do not imagine you can change your mind after signing the Offer to Purchase, and simply not apply for a home loan.

Do not rely on the Cooling-off period. It has very strict limitations, and in this case, it’s seldom applicable. There’s often a misunderstanding regarding the cooling-off period as a time to rethink your purchase – the Consumer Protection Act does not protect you in this case.

For residential property transactions of R250 000 and less, the Alienation of Land Act provides a cooling-off period of five working days from the day you, the buyer, have signed the Offer to Purchase.  It’s not affected by the CPA.

Where the Consumer Protection Act does come into play, is when a buyer has bought a property through direct marketing. In that instance, you, as the buyer, have the right to a cooling-off period – it allows you to cancel that sale within five working days.

What is a direct marketing sale?

In terms of the Act, it includes a few different scenarios: to approach a person in person, by mail or by electronic communication, for the purpose of promoting or offering to supply goods or services to a person. But know, this cooling-off period doesn’t always apply to sales, so if it’s a conventional show house, printed advertising or a few other scenarios, it’s not applicable.

Small print of the CPA’s cooling-off period

The CPS’s five day cooling-off period begins from the date of delivery of goods to the purchaser, so with a property transaction, the date of transfer of ownership into your, the buyer’s, name. Property transfers can take up to six months, so cancellation could be both difficult and problematic.

What is the CPA?

The CPA No 68 (2008) is the South African Department of Trade and Industry (DTIs) efforts to bring about fairness in commercial dealings with consumers, and it was implemented April 1 2011. The key reason for the changes to this act is to promote fair business practice between businesses and their clients, but maybe most importantly, to protect vulnerable consumers who don’t have the expertise to deal with exploitation or the legalities around fighting that. This would include low-income communities or minors.

How does this affect immovable property?

A standard sale agreement between a buyer and seller of an immovable property is not subject to the Act. The goal of the Act is to protect persons who have unequal bargaining power, and in this case, a buyer and seller (consumers) do not fall within that definition. It’s largely referring to a business-to-consumer type transaction, and it doesn’t apply here.

The keywords in the Act are ‘in the ordinary course of the supplier’s business.’ In the Act, a consumer is defined to include a person to whom goods or services are marketed in the ordinary course of the supplier’s business, OR a person who has entered into a transaction with a supplier in the ordinary course of the supplier’s business.’ It’s highly unlikely that a seller’s ordinary course of business is to sell property.

Does the CPA ever affect immovable property?

Yes. Transactions entered into by developers/property speculators and members of the public/consumers, which involve moveable property, certainly are governed by the provisions of the Act. The phrase ‘In the ordinary course of the supplier’s business’ definitely comes into play when referring to those for whom immovable property is their business.

Are estate agents affected by the Act?

Usually, an estate agent is asked by a seller to sell his or her property. The agreement is between the agent as the supplier, the seller as consumer. The service provided by the agent, as well as the agent’s mandate, is because it’s ‘in the ordinary course of his business for consideration’, governed by the provisions of the Act.

Does the Offer to Purchase, even if it’s a pre-printed form (so could be construed as marketing) fall under the province of the CPA? It seems not. The contractual relationship formed remains a private once-off transaction between two consumers.

Does the CPA have any effect on defects and the ‘voetstoots’ clause?

It isn’t entirely cut and dried. There’s a debate as to whether the CPA ousts the voetstoots clause. Bearing in mind the all-important phrase “not conducted in the ordinary course of the seller’s business’, this transaction between ordinary consumers does not seem to fall within the ambit of the Act’s aim – to protect consumers from large businesses. In theory, if the courts concur with that, the CPA should have no effect on the voetstoots clauses in Offers to Purchase for once-off property transactions.

When it comes to defects, that would be for a court to decide – see Patent and Latent Defects.

There are two key ways.

First, the bank will check your credit history, to assess how you have managed credit in the past. They will investigate whether you’ve repaid loans as promised, whether you’ve managed any credit or retail store cards in the correct manner. They will be able to find out whether you have any negative marks against your name – your credit score – which indicates that you haven’t managed credit well. They use this as an indication of how well you will manage the home loan which they extend to you.

The bank has the right to access your credit history through the various credit bureaux, and that will give them a clear picture of your ability to manage credit. Do bear in mind that because you have been blacklisted in the past, this does not automatically exclude you from applying for a home loan. See What about being blacklisted, having judgements or defaults.

The second key assessment is to examine your income and your expenditure – it’s very important that you are honest when you submit these details.

It is a smart idea for you to draw up an accurate chart of your income and expenses – include everything. When you have, input all the information required into the WeApply online affordability calculator. Once you’ve answered the various questions, it takes no time at all to tell you what you can afford. Once the bank has confirmed your reliability in terms of repaying a loan, their affordability assessment will be based on what you can afford – in other words, what you earn – either alone or as a couple – balanced against your monthly expenditure.

What is the National Credit Act (NCA)?

This is a very important Act, designed to avoid reckless lending by any organisation/institution and to prevent you, the consumer, from becoming over-indebted. What that means is that credit providers like banks, have to run an affordability assessment before they give you any credit, and equally, you, the consumer, have to prove your financial standing.

All credit providers like banks, have to be registered with the NCA as recognised lenders.

The banks take this Act very seriously, and that is why, since its inception, they carry out a more in-depth affordability assessment than previously. The bank is required by law to assess your financial situation in terms of your total credit exposure, domestic expenditure and asset value.

The National Credit Act is not only applicable to a home loan, but for any loans like vehicles or credit cards.

Some countries use one of these terms rather than the other. In South Africa, we use them all, and the words are interchangeable. It is the amount of money which a bank is prepared to lend you when you buy a home. The amount is broadly based on your income and expenditure. You will need to repay this home loan over a period of usually 20 years, sometimes 30 years.

Depending on your financial and other circumstances, a bank grants you a home loan/mortgage/bond because the immovable property you’re buying provides the bank with security. If for any reason, you don’t repay the loan, the bank is entitled to recover its losses by taking your immovable property.

Different kinds of home loans

Every bank has different ‘products’. Their home loans are likely to be very similar to that of another bank, but there are some variations so find out about them. Some banks offer an access facility. What this means is that if there are surplus funds in your home loan account, you can access them.

Different kinds of residential properties

Any residential property/land in a South African suburb, is applicable for a home loan.  You can apply if you’re considering any of the following:

A vacant piece of land; a dwelling still to be constructed; freestanding houses or those in an estate; holiday homes; cluster homes; sectional title units; apartments or townhouses; semi-detached houses; duet houses; residential property used for businesses; agricultural holding but only up to 8,5 hectares.

We speed up the process by submitting your home loan application to the major banks (and your own bank, if you so choose), however, we have little influence over the internal bank credit processes. We do work with the banks regularly to try and speed up the process for our customers.

There’s an opportunity to successfully negotiate with the banks, and when necessary, WeApply is able to do this on your behalf.

A transfer attorney who attends to the transferring of the property from the owner’s name into yours; a cancellation attorney who will cancel the seller’s home loan; and a bond attorney who registers your new home loan.

It’s wise to apply to a number of banks, including the one you normally bank with. You may consider the best bank to be the one who offers you the most attractive interest rate.

We Apply will apply to all major banks on your behalf, free.

Not unless the interest rate changes.

The banks all have their own home loan approval process. Generally, the interest rate you’ll pay is determined on a number of factors, such as your credit history, employment, affordability and size of your deposit.

There are two parts to this: the main part of your payment pays off the loan amount you borrowed, and the other part is the interest – that’s what the bank charges for lending you the money.

You can apply for 100 percent of the purchase price. Some banks will even consider including additional costs into the home loan.

Interest is the cost of using somebody else’s money – in this case, it will be the bank who granted you the home loan. When you borrow money, you pay interest on top of the capital amount you borrowed.

The fact that you have saved up to put down a deposit, sends a good message to the bank you applied to for a home loan. It reduces the bank’s risk, makes it easier for them to approve your home loan, and because of that, you may get a better interest rate.  Another advantage is that you will be paying less monthly, because your home loan (and the interest portion) will be less if you’ve paid a deposit.

You can either get it from the estate agent with whom you’re dealing, or if it’s a new development, the agent would furnish you with the developer’s details.