Home Loans

Home Loans Feature

You’ve found a wonderful new home and have placed your offer-to-purchase, all you need now is to get your home loan approved and begin the bond registration process.

But registering a bond can become stressful, especially if you’re not familiar with who the parties involved are, or what the necessary steps are.

Below is a comprehensive guide to the SA Home Loan Registration Process, which details all the role-players and the various steps involved. We’ll also consider the factors that could delay the registration of the Home Loan.

Step 1: Purchasing a Property
The Buyer applies for a new Home Loan after both the Buyer and the Seller have signed the Offer to Purchase. The Buyer may choose to approach all the banks directly or he may choose to use the free service offered by a bond originator who will then process the home loan application on his behalf.

Step 2: The Home Loan is approved
This is one of the more exciting times during the registration process, where the buyer learns that his home loan application has been approved and accepted.

And once the home loan has been approved the bank will advise the Bond Attorney to register the bond.

Step 3: Property Transfer
At this stage the focus is turned from the Mortgage originators and Banks, to the Attorneys involved in the Bond registration.

The Transferring Attorney is now advised by the seller to begin the transfer of property. The attorney will request the title deed and bond cancellation figures from the bank which currently holds the bond over the property. A statement of the rates and taxes are also requested from the local authority.

Step 4: Draft Deed of Transfer and Guarantees
The Transferring Attorney requests the draft Deed of Transfer and the guarantee requirements from the Bond Attorney

Step 5: Cancellation
After receiving the guarantee of the amount owing the Cancellation Attorney is requested to cancel the seller’s home loan.

Step 6: Transfer
The Transfer Attorney requests the Buyer and Seller to sign the transfer documents. Once the documents have been signed the Buyer pays the transfer costs and the Transfer attorney then pays the rates, taxes and transfer duty.

Step 7: Bond Attorney
The Bond Attorney prepares the mortgage documentation for lodgment at the Deeds Office.

Step 8: Deeds Office
All the documents are lodged at the Deeds Office by the attorneys. The Deeds office usually takes up to 3 weeks to issue the rates clearance.

Step 9: Bank Pays out the Home Loan
On the day of registration the bank pays out the loan in accordance with the guarantees issued.

Factors that could delay the bond registration process:
1. When the Bond, Transferring and Cancellation Attorneys are three different firms.
2. Failure by the buyer to pay the bond and transfer costs
3. Delay in signing the transfer documents
4. Failure by the buyer to pay the deposit (if required)