First time buyer?

Government's First Home Finance Subsidy Programme, developed by the Department of Human Settlement to help first-time homebuyers enter the property market in South Africa.

To qualify, you must: Be a South African citizen with a valid ID or a permanent resident with a valid residence permit; Be over 18 years of age and competent to contract legally; Never have benefited from any government housing subsidy before; Have an Approval in Principle (AIP) from an accredited South African financial institution or have registered a first property within the last six months; Be a first-time homebuyer; Have a total (gross or combined) household income of between R3 501 and R22 000 per month; Be single with financial dependent/s.

It is calculated according to your total (gross or combined) household income, which must be between R3 501 and R22 000 per month. The lower your income, the higher your subsidy. Use our calculator to see how much you could qualify for. The First Home Finance Subsidy is a finance-linked subsidy so if you are buying a home with your own funds, instead of applying for a home loan, you will unfortunately not qualify.

Yes. This is a finance-linked subsidy, which means you must have home finance before you can apply for the subsidy. However, finance does not mean only a bond. Other forms of finance would also make you eligible for the subsidy, including a loan from your pension or provident fund, a co-operative or community-based savings scheme like a stokvel, the Government Employees Housing Scheme, any other Employer-assisted Housing Scheme, an unsecured loan, an Instalment Sale Agreement or Rent-to-Own Agreement.

You can apply for the subsidy up to six months after your bond has registered.

No. There is no limit on the value of your bond. The bank will determine your bond amount based on their assessment of your affordability and risk profile.

There are three possible uses: [1] Cover the difference between your home loan and the purchase price of your new home. [2] Cover attorney fees related to your bond. [3] Reduce your home loan amount after your bond has registered.

Payment will depend on how you choose to use your subsidy. [1] Cover the difference between your home loan and the purchase price of your new home - Subsidy paid into the transferring attorney's trust account. [2] Cover attorney fees related to your bond - Subsidy also paid into the transferring attorney's trust account. [3] Reduce your home loan amount after your bond has registered - Subsidy paid into your home loan account.

Yes. If your spouse has previously owned a property, you will unfortunately not be eligible for this subsidy.

Yes, you can. Provided you did not own a property previously, on your own or with your ex.

No. It is linked to home finance. But you could consider applying for a small home loan to overcome this hurdle.

Your credit record will not directly impact your First Home Finance Subsidy application, but it plays a big role in your home loan application with the bank because they will not approve your bond if you have poor credit. To find out if you would qualify for a home loan, let BetterBond pre-approve you. 95% of people who are pre-approved by us, end up getting their home loans successfully.

Only once in your lifetime - the subsidy is a single, once-off payment.

If you qualify to buy a residential property with the subsidy, you can choose between development housing projects or the open market and use it in one of four ways: [1] Buy an existing residential property - old or new. [2] Buy a vacant, serviced residential stand, but it must be linked to a homebuilder registered with the National Homebuilders Registration Council (NHBRC). [3] Build on a serviced residential stand that you own, but it must be linked to an NHBRC-registered homebuilder. [4] Build on a tribal stand that you have permission to occupy, but it must be linked to an NHBRC-registered homebuilder.

If you let BetterBond help you with your home loan, we will also assist with your subsidy application. All you need to provide, is the necessary documents, which we will discuss with you when we start your application. Your application will be submitted to the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) and they will assess and process it, before letting you know the outcome.

If you do not qualify, at BetterBond we'll still do our absolute best to help you buy a home. We will negotiate with the banks to get you an unbeatable interest rate on your home loan.

Free - Mahala! We are just as passionate about getting you into a home as you are. That's why we offer this as a completely free service to buyers who use us to help them secure their bond.