A good, clean credit record is vital to get a home loan approved these days, and having any previous judgements recinded is imporant if you want to apply for any credit, not just home loans. It is a pity that the credit bureaux are taking so long to remove those judgements, since that can also be the difference between an approved or declined home loan.
Credit resolution in SA improves
http://www.property24.com/articles/credit-resolution-in-sa-improves/15352
Van Schalkwyk says it is of concern that monthly payment profile records were not being updated by credit providers and rescinded judgments remained on the credit bureaux.
“One reason for the delay in updating judgment information is that fraudulent rescission documents are being produced by consumers and the credit bureaux have to be more vigilant in investigating these.”
Van Schalkwyk says as a result, credit bureaux are taking longer than the required 20 working days to update their records.
(via Instapaper)
Of course, it goes without saying that should you need to apply for finance in future, it is vital that you keep you credit record as clean as possible and avoid any judgement or defaults at all costs. If you find yourself struggling to make ends meet, call your credit providers in advance to make arrangements to prevent having your credit record reflect unnecessary bad entries.
Even while the banks are not really considering large interest rate concessions these days, now is still a very good time to buy because of the low prime interest rate. The current prime rate of only 9% was determined in November 2010 and is still holding steady, and according to Bill Rawson is likely to do so for at least another year.
‘Interest rates likely to stay low’
http://www.iolproperty.co.za/roller/news/entry/interest_rates_likely_to_stay
The South African Consumer Price Index, so closely watched by the economists trying to predict future scenarios, has, contrary to the expectations of many of these commentators, come down in the last two months.
A very welcome wide scale cut -back in spending by the general public, says Bill Rawson, Chairman of the Rawson property group, has brought the Consumer Price Index y on y growth down from close to 7% to just on 6%.
This, says Rawson, is good news for consumers and for businesses needing credit as it will probably mean that the current ultra-low interest rates so beneficial to buyers on long term credit, especially home buyers, will probably remain in place until well into the second half of next year.
With distressed property sales still the order of the day in the South African Property market it is still currently a buyer’s market and any predictions of a turnaround in favor of property sellers can at this stage be nothing more than a thumb-suck guesstimate.
Selling your property in the current situation can be quite daunting. Competition is fierce and buyers are now in a position to be more selective. The following guidelines could be of some assistance when selling your property.
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With interest rates at their lowest since 1974 and house prices being pretty flat at present, now is probably a good time to invest in property if you can afford to do so.
To make sure that you realize the best returns on your investment it is imperative that you do your homework before you purchase any property. If you are looking for a good return on your investment then remember that the three factors that will have the most significant impact are firstly location then features and lastly the price. The more sought after houses are in the suburb the better chance you have of reselling at a good profit in the long term. Proximity to schools, shops and hospitals will have a direct impact on the popularity of a suburb, or area in a suburb.
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