Work out if you can Afford your Dream Home
Calculate how much you can afford to spend on your new home with a bond repayment calculator. We have one on our website at Home Loan Junction that will give you the numbers you need to know before you shop for your dream home.
Your estate agent will be able to help you more effectively because you already have an idea of what price range you can (realistically) afford. It makes little sense to look at homes you cannot afford to buy – that is just a waste of time for everyone, and can leave you heartbroken.
When you have found your new home, Home Loan Junction will help you find the best deal possible for your bond. As a leading South African bond originator, we work with multiple banks to tailor your home loan to your needs and wants.
How Much Can You Afford to Pay Monthly?
Follow these 6 easy steps to establish how much you can pay on your next home:
- The first step is to calculate the combined gross monthly income of everyone who will be an owner of the home. Using our handy affordability calculator. For instance, if a married couple is buying the home, and both are employed, then use both incomes.
- Your gross income is the combined amount both of you earn each month before any deductions. That amount goes in the gross monthly income box on the bond repayment calculator.
- The next box on the calculator is for net income. Combine all incomes after deductions. That is your combined net income.
- The bond repayment calculator asks you for your total monthly expenses. Include the total of your monthly payments for credit cards, car payments, store card loans, and anybody else to whom you owe money. Do not include your current housing payment, utilities or homeowners insurance. Total it all up and put that number in the box for total expenses.
- Now subtract your monthly expenses from your net income. That is your net surplus income. In other words that is how much money you have available for housing, utilities, food, and other necessary living expenses.
- Plug-in the number of years you want to repay the bond and the interest rate. The calculator will figure the monthly repayment amount you can afford and the maximum price range of homes you can afford to buy.
What Will You Pay?
If all goes according to plan, your estate agent will do a superb job of understanding exactly the amenities you want in a home. The house showed to you is your dream home and it falls within your price range. Now what?
Once you reach a price agreement with the seller, five factors will decide your monthly payment and the total amount you will pay for your home. Use the bond repayment calculator to explore how much you will pay each month:
- Down Payment: Use the bond repayment calculator to see how much your payment will be if you make a larger down payment. Of course, the more down payment the smaller the monthly payment. However, maybe you would like to hold out some money so you can pay cash for landscaping or furniture. The decision is pure personal preference.
- Interest Rate. Change the interest rate and you change the payments. The better your credit and the bigger your down payment, the lower your interest rate is likely to be. Change the interest rate in the calculator and see how the payment changes. The amortisation calculator will show the amount of each payment that goes to reducing your loan and to interest.
- Bond Repayment Term: Spread your payments over 20 years and they will be larger. Spread them over 30 years and the monthly payments will be smaller. Again, it is personal preference. However, you will pay far less for the home if you pay it off quickly because you will be paying less interest.
- Your Credit Rating: The better your credit rating the more flexibility you have in the other three factors.
- Your Lender: Homeloan Junction is familiar with South African lending practices. We know how to capitalise on the benefits offered by each bank. We match you with the best possible home financing terms available. The buyer does not have to run around trying to find the best terms.
Homeloan Junction focuses on one type of financing and that is home loans. With our handy bond repayment calculator, you can know how much house you can afford, the monthly payment, and how long it will take to pay. Home buying will be less traumatic because you are now an informed shopper with a team of experts on your side. We suggest using our multi-faceted bond repayment calculator before you even start looking for a home.