24 September 2012

How to buy a house for half the price

Submitted by: Charles Rukuni

A book that can help South Africans save thousands on their bonds is now available via Kalahari books.

The book, entitled: How to buy a house for half the price, gives practical advice on how bond holders can save thousands by very small incremental payments to their bonds.

The 128-page pocket size book- which fits into an average shirt pocket- is packed with advice on:

  • Whether to rent or to buy and the advantages of buying over renting
  • How much bond one qualifies for, that is the maximum amount a bank can give you based on your income and how you can calculate this for yourself
  • How to get out of debt and what the debt situation is like in South Africa
  • How to save for your first house, the important point being that savings has nothing to do with how much you earn but how you use what you earn
  • Buying your first house, what is required, payments you have to make besides the deposit for the house such as transfer fees and bond registration
  • Buying a flat which you have to do on what is called sectional title and what this entails
  • Buying land to build your own house, the advantages and disadvantages one of which is that normally it is more expensive to build your own house that to buy an existing one
  • How to save thousands on your bond by making simple incremental payments on your bond. An extra R100 a month for example will cut your 20-year bond by 22 months- yes, one year and 10 months.
  • Saving millions how lump sum payments will cut your repayment period even further. If you decide to pay your annual bonus of R9 000 on a R300 000 bond and continue to make your usual monthly payments, you will pay off your house in 11 and a half years instead of 20.