Mortgage Question
Feb 29th 2016, 10:37 am
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 1
Mortgage Question
Hi,
I'm hoping someone can give some advice on how the SA banks operate with regards to mortgages.
My wife and I are both ex-saffer, been living in the UK for the last 10 years and we will be moving back to SA in a month. We will be staying with family to start so no immediate pressure to find accommodation, however we will want a place of our own within the first 3 months or so.
Ideally we would like to purchase a home instead of rent. However am not sure what our chances are of the bank approving a mortgage since we've been out of the country so long, and with no credit history as we both left SA straight out of Uni.
My wife and I will both have full-time professional jobs in SA when we arrive, with enough total income to qualify for a good size mortgage. We have no existing loans or debt. We also have enough cash for around a 20% deposit on a house. Not sure if worth adding, I have kept a few investments open with FNB for the last 10 years so have left some roots in the SA banking system while we've been away.
So finally to my question! Will the banks be likely to grant us a mortgage with all of the above considering we have no credit history in SA? Is it possible for them to check our credit rating in the UK if necessary, as we have an excellent credit score here.
Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
I'm hoping someone can give some advice on how the SA banks operate with regards to mortgages.
My wife and I are both ex-saffer, been living in the UK for the last 10 years and we will be moving back to SA in a month. We will be staying with family to start so no immediate pressure to find accommodation, however we will want a place of our own within the first 3 months or so.
Ideally we would like to purchase a home instead of rent. However am not sure what our chances are of the bank approving a mortgage since we've been out of the country so long, and with no credit history as we both left SA straight out of Uni.
My wife and I will both have full-time professional jobs in SA when we arrive, with enough total income to qualify for a good size mortgage. We have no existing loans or debt. We also have enough cash for around a 20% deposit on a house. Not sure if worth adding, I have kept a few investments open with FNB for the last 10 years so have left some roots in the SA banking system while we've been away.
So finally to my question! Will the banks be likely to grant us a mortgage with all of the above considering we have no credit history in SA? Is it possible for them to check our credit rating in the UK if necessary, as we have an excellent credit score here.
Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Feb 29th 2016, 8:17 pm
#2
.
Joined: Apr 2007
Location: Home, I think.
Posts: 9,217
Re: Mortgage Question
Hi, and welcome to BE, and good luck with your plans.
If you have citizenship and an ID (and im assuming you have both) then a bond shouldn't be a problem with 20% deposit, as long as your LTV is ok. They will value the house to ensure you aren't paying over the odds, and you will probably need 6 months of pay slips and bank statements to be considered (from South Africa - they won't consider your UK history at all). The bond rate just went up and I think it's going to keep climbing, so make sure you fix the rate if you can, but you'll still be paying 4% or so above the repo rate - around 11% would be lucky. It's a slow, painful process. The banks are difficult at the best of times and without years of history you'll get dragged around and fobbed off, but with the SA economy as it is someone will be grateful for the business.
There are a few good mortgage brokers - we used ooba.co.za and they got us a great deal with Standard Bank (lower than we would have got if we'd gone directly).
Good luck, shout if you need more info.
Cheers, Ed
If you have citizenship and an ID (and im assuming you have both) then a bond shouldn't be a problem with 20% deposit, as long as your LTV is ok. They will value the house to ensure you aren't paying over the odds, and you will probably need 6 months of pay slips and bank statements to be considered (from South Africa - they won't consider your UK history at all). The bond rate just went up and I think it's going to keep climbing, so make sure you fix the rate if you can, but you'll still be paying 4% or so above the repo rate - around 11% would be lucky. It's a slow, painful process. The banks are difficult at the best of times and without years of history you'll get dragged around and fobbed off, but with the SA economy as it is someone will be grateful for the business.
There are a few good mortgage brokers - we used ooba.co.za and they got us a great deal with Standard Bank (lower than we would have got if we'd gone directly).
Good luck, shout if you need more info.
Cheers, Ed
Mar 30th 2016, 3:56 pm
#3
Just Joined
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 1
Re: Mortgage Question
This stuff always makes my head spin so I like to find some sort of guide or online course to pick up the basics. #8 on this list: https://www.directaxis.co.za/topics-tips-tools/21-best-free-online-financial-courses might be a good place to start for you. It's a free course from UK’s Open University and part of the course focuses on mortgages and home ownership.
