Events that may affect your bond repayments

Maternity

Congratulations! The birth of a new baby is always a special time for your family. With the new baby come added responsibilities and expenses that will require careful financial planning. This planning however already starts with your maternity leave and important issues to consider at this time include:

1. How long the maternity leave period will be.
2. How much income you will receive during this time and if it will be sufficient to cover your living expenses.
3. Whether you intend on returning to work.

Depending on the outcome of this assessment, you may need to approach your credit providers to discuss whether options are available to rearrange your payments during your maternity leave. A proactive approach will signal to your creditors that you actively take ownership of your financial situation, which in turn may give them confidence to enter into repayment arrangements with you.

If you anticipate that you will require assistance during your maternity leave please contact us on 086 111 3414.

Pensions

Retirement is a significant milestone that should be a time when you enjoy the fruits of a productive life. Yet, for many people retirement can also mean financial uncertainty; frequently retirement income cannot keep up with the demands of a rising cost of living; financial obligations such as home loans, vehicle finance and other credit obligations may place further strain on an already stressed financial situation.

Irrespective of your current situation, it is strongly advised that you discuss your financial needs with a qualified financial planner.

If you are experiencing financial difficulty with meeting your SA Home Loans bond repayment, please contact us on 086 111 3414 to discuss your options.

Divorce

Divorce is a stressful life experience. Yet, even at this challenging time the best outcome is when both parties can agree on a settlement agreement without the need for lengthy and expensive legal action. Not only is the process of getting divorced quicker and easier, it also allows each party to start the new phase of their lives sooner.

If both parties jointly entered into a home loan agreement with SA Home Loans, the settlement agreement and subsequent divorce order does not impact your financial obligations to us. SA Home Loans is not a party to the agreement and both parties will therefore remain jointly and severally liable for the outstanding balance.

In the event that the settlement agreement awards full ownership of the property to one party, effect must be given to that order by cancelling and registering a new bond. If this new mortgage loan application is with SA Home Loans, it will remain subject to our normal credit criteria.

To understand our requirements, or to give effect to the divorce order, please contact us on 086 111 3414.

Unemployment

Being unemployed is an event which requires important financial decisions to be made. Loss of income may make it difficult for you to maintain loan repayments or meet your other financial obligations. Unemployment can therefore have serious long-term implications on your financial wellbeing, so you should approach your credit providers to discuss your current situation.

In order to make an informed decision, you should consider the following questions:

1. Do you have retrenchment cover in place and how much income will it provide?
2. What is the value of your retrenchment package? How soon will you receive the funds? Has your employer provided you with proof of my retrenchment?
3. Will you be able to apply for UIF?
4. What is the likelihood of you will find new employment in the near future?

At SA Home Loans we will carefully consider all the information that you provide to us with the aim of finding a workable solution that is in the best interest of all parties. Solutions may include payment plans, or assistance with the selling of your property if this is an option that you are considering. The assistance that we may provide is tailored to each client’s unique situation and will remain subject to our terms and conditions.
If you require more information regarding the options that are available to you, please contact us on 086 111 3414.

Deceased spouse

Few people are ever ready for this tragic event. Not only is it an emotional time but there are also important financial matters that must also be dealt with. We believe that being informed about what must be done can help relieve some of the stress and uncertainty experienced during this difficult time.

Collect all relevant documentation
Ensure that important documents are stored in a safe, known and readily accessible location. A list of such documents could include:

1. Insurance policies
2. Wills
3. Marriage Certificate
4. Children Birth Certificates/ Identity Documents
5. List of assets
6. Tax Returns
7. Partnership or any other business agreements, as applicable
8. Bank Statements
9. Current billing statements

Furthermore, to start the process of winding up the estate a death certificate must be obtained.

The benefit of life cover

An important factor that influences the administration of a deceased estate is whether the home loan was secured with life cover or not.

If valid life cover is in place at the time of death, the proceeds of the policy may fully or partially settle the outstanding home loan balance. If no life cover is in place the balance on the bond as at date of death becomes due and payable. If the surviving spouse or remaining bond holders are unable to settle the full balance owing, one of the following three options will generally available:

1. The surviving spouse or remaining bond holder/s makes an application to take over the bond;
2. The surviving spouse or remaining bond holder/s may not qualify for a new bond and may require adding a surety to the application;
3. If none of the above options are viable it may be necessary to sell the property. The proceeds from the sale will then be used to settle the balance of the bond outstanding.

At SA Home Loans we understand how difficult a time this is for the family and surviving bondholders. We encourage you to contact us on 086 188 8777 so that we can discuss the options that are available to you.

Insolvency

Insolvency refers to a status of diminished legal capacity imposed by the courts on persons, companies, close corporations or trusts that are unable to service their debt obligations and where total liabilities exceed total available assets.

The aim of the insolvency process is mainly to protect the estate’s creditors. This is achieved by realising all the assets of the insolvent estate and using the proceeds to contribute towards payment of all or part of the outstanding liabilities. From a SA Home Loans perspective the outcome of the insolvency process is that the property in question must be sold.

Obligations of bondholders in the event of insolvency

In the event of insolvency, the obligations and responsibilities of bondholders and sureties are influenced by their legal relationship with the insolvent party:

Bondholders married in Community of Property

By virtue of the fact that the spouses are married in Community of Property both spouses will be declared insolvent and a Trustee will then deal with a joint insolvent estate.

Bondholders married in terms of an Ante Nuptial Contract

SA Home Loans will determine if there is a solvent bond holder associated with the bond. If so, then it is the responsibility of the solvent bond holder to ensure that the bond repayments remain up to date. If the bond is not up to date, SA Home Loans can proceed with legal action against the solvent bond holder to cure the default.

A Company or CC is liquidated

With regards to a SA Home Loans mortgage bond, sureties will be held liable for any shortfall which is outstanding on the mortgage bond after the sale of the property. Furthermore, in the interim, whilst the liquidation process is underway, home loan repayments must still be met. If the bond falls into arrears, SA Home Loans can proceed with legal action against the sureties to cure the default.

Home loan instalments paid via salary deduction

If your loan was granted on the basis of “salary deduction”, the monthly home loan instalment will be paid by your employer directly to SA Home Loans via salary stop order.  It is important to note that the responsibility lies with you to ensure that the stop order is implemented. Failure to do so may result in your bond – reflecting in arrears, with negative consequences for your credit record.

The following step with guide you in implementing your salary stop order.

1. On registration, SA Home Loans will provide you with a registration pack, including a Z299 form, which is required to implement the salary stop order. If you have provided SA Home Loans will an e-mail address this registration pack will be e-mailed to you directly after your bond has been registered. Should you not receive the abovementioned documents, please contact us urgently on 0861 888 777 or Login to our website to download the Z299 form.
2. It is imperative that you contact your HR department, provide them with the Z299 form, and ensure that they implement the monthly salary stop order.
3. SA Home Loans perform regular follow-ups after the bond registered and will request updates on the progress of establishing the salary stop order before the instalment due date.

It is important to note that fixed quarterly rate reviews may result in a change to your instalment. Should your instalment increase, you will be required to amend your salary stop order accordingly; failure to amend the salary stop order may result in your home loans reflecting in arrears.

Apart from the above, please note that any other changes to your instalment will also require an amendment to the salary stop order with your employer. In the event of you no longer receiving a salary stop order please contact us on 0861 888 777.