'How I bought my first home’ – Bontle Kotsedi

When Bontle Kotsedi was ready to buy her first home, she had two simple requirements. “I have a 5-year-old daughter, so I needed space for her to play. It also had to have a swimming pool.”

People suggested that she look for a freestanding house in Kempton Park. “Most of the properties were in gated communities, but these were still out of my budget. But then one day, I got a call from my estate agent whose neighbour had retired and needed to move into a smaller place,” says Bontle. “They needed to sell urgently.”

And just like that, Bontle had found her dream home. “A four-bedroom, two-bathroom freestanding house with a pool that was within my price range.”

Here are the important lessons Bontle learned through the process of buying her first home.

Shop around for the best interest rate

Although Bontle’s bank approved a home loan at an interest rate of 8.2%, she decided to apply with Capitec. “I thought it would be worth finding out if they could better the offer, as I’d heard that Capitec offers personalised interest rates based on your credit history. To my delight, they did and offered me a rate of 7.7%.” For Bontle, she learned that it was important to:

• Save up for a deposit, if you can – this can help you get a better interest rate
• Shop around for the best interest rate

NB: You don’t need to take out a home loan with your primary bank

Understand all the costs involved

“I honestly thought I’d done all my homework and saved enough for a deposit and the bond registration,” says Bontle. “You can imagine my surprise when I discovered the home buying process includes more fees. Luckily, as a Capitec client I got 50% off the attorney fees, which helped me save for the other costs.”

While it’s a good idea to aim to have a deposit of between 10-20% of the purchase price, there are additional costs associated with buying a home:

• Bond registration fees are paid to an attorney, usually appointed by the bank, to issue the home loan over the property and register the bond with the Deeds Office
• Attorney transfer costs are paid to the attorney for transferring ownership into your name, and is calculated according to the purchase price
• A transfer duty is a tax paid to SARS on properties exceeding R1 million and is based on a sliding scale

“My advice to anyone looking to buy their first property is simple: ask your estate agent for a list of all the costs you’re going to incur so you can budget accordingly.” 

Buy your dream home with Capitec

Applying for a home loan is quick and simple with Capitec. You can apply online in 4 easy steps, which take about 5 to 10 minutes to complete. Plus, you could get a more competitive interest rate based on your personal profile, and up to 50% off bond attorney fees.