John Barratt

I am 69 and self-employed. We owned a property which was bonded with Absa, where I also banked, both private and business accounts. From September 2008, business went bad so I was forced to downscale, retrench my staff, close my official offices and move back to my home office. Because of these financial reversals we decided to sell our property and downscale, in order to lessen our monthly financial burden. We were lucky to sell our property quickly for a good price and find another for an excellent asking price. Although we had gained a good profit from our sale, we were still in need of a small bond to repurchase. However, because of my age and the fact that I was self-employed, even the bank who had held my previous bond and bank accounts for years (which had all been settled, overdrafts and all), was loathe to help me. The Property Agent, who sold our house and found a new property for us, suggested we approach SA Home Loans. We met a lovely lady from your company, who has subsequently become a friend, she believed in us and our ability to make the regular repayments. Although we were put through the hoop to supply all kinds of reassurances, with her assistance and encouragement we were successful in being awarded the required bond by SA Home Loans.