Questions, answered.

Yes. The bank that ultimately grants your bond pays our origination fee. You pay nothing to us, ever. Your interest rate is no higher because of us — banks know that originators bring them better-prepared, ready-to-sign applications, so they price the same or sharper than walk-in customers.

Our pre-qualification runs a soft enquiry through LUCID Clear Credit, which does not affect your credit score. Hard enquiries only happen once you authorise us to formally submit your application to the banks.

From submission to approval-in-principle is typically 5–10 business days, assuming we have all your supporting documents. From approval to registered bond at the Deeds Office is another 6–10 weeks, but that’s mostly attorney and bank back-office time, not us.

Standard package: SA ID, last 3 months’ bank statements, last 3 payslips (or last 12 months if your income is variable), proof of residential address, and a marriage certificate or ANC contract if applicable. Self-employed applicants add 2 years’ financial statements and 6 months’ business bank statements.

Yes, but the bank you apply to matters a lot. Some banks lend on management accounts; others require 2 years of audited financials and SARS-stamped tax certificates. We know which one fits your situation before we submit.

100% bonds (no deposit) are still available, especially for first-time buyers under specific bank programmes. The more deposit you put down, the sharper the rate the banks will quote — typically a 10% deposit gets you a notably better rate than 0%.

Yes, and it’s almost always the right call. Banks combine both incomes for affordability, which usually qualifies you for a meaningfully larger bond than either of you alone.

Prime is the benchmark rate set by SA banks (currently 10.75%). The bank prices your bond as a margin off prime — a strong applicant with a big deposit might get prime − 0.5% (i.e. 10.25%), while a thinner profile might be priced at prime + 1% or higher. A small margin difference compounds into hundreds of thousands of rands over 20 years.

Yes. If your bond is more than 3 years old, the rate you negotiated then is probably no longer competitive. We requote your bond against the current market and, if it makes sense, arrange the switch. Switching does carry legal fees, so we only recommend it when the savings clearly justify them.

Budget for transfer duty (none below R1,210,000), conveyancing and bond attorney fees, Deeds Office fees and the bank’s initiation fee — typically somewhere between 4% and 9% of the price, depending on the price bracket. Our transfer & bond costs calculator gives you an itemised estimate.