Don’t you wish there was someone who could keep it real with you? Property is called ‘real estate’, after all, right? Perhaps what you need is the realest estate agent – someone who’ll be real with you. Someone who’ll tell you that ‘beautiful, established character home waiting for you to add your own touch’ may be jargon for ‘peach tiles in the main bathroom that will make you feel like you’re stuck in your gran’s house’.

We’d like to introduce the realest agent to help take off those rose-tinted glasses. The realest agent would probably say things like, ‘Yes, the trees are beautiful and create a lovely, shaded area for those hot summer days, but they seem rather close to the drain. You might have to sort out some root issues after a couple of years.’ At the baby shower, the realest agent would whisper a helpful reminder in your ear, ‘I know you’ve been in the house for a while now, so I'd advise you to look at baby-proofing the house, especially by those stairs...’

And keeping it real also means knowing how you can save money and time through a simplified process of accessing funds, after these real home occurrences come up. If you need a financial partner who keeps it real, register for HomeVision with your Nedbank home loan.

Why not save time and money by doing everything upfront?

It’s almost impossible to buy ‘the perfect home’ – after a few years of settling in, there’s always going to be some redecoration you want to do, or alterations to suit your changing family needs. HomeVision will allow you to register a higher loan amount at the Deeds Office so that if you need extra money at a later stage, a portion or all of it can be applied for easily after a few quick checks.

The benefit is that you don’t have to apply for a further loan down the line, which can be a lengthy process and will cost you additional registration fees. HomeVision allows you to apply for some or all of these extra funds subject to an affordability check and property evaluation. See the full terms and conditions.

Keeping it real

Say you want to buy a home for R1 million and would like an additional R300,000 as extra funds. If you meet the requirements and qualify for the loan of R1 million, with HomeVision an amount of up to R1.3 million can be registered at the Deeds Office. The R1 million home loan amount will be paid to the seller and the R300,000 put in reserve to be accessed at a later stage. These surplus funds are referred to as a readvance.

Your monthly loan payments will be based on the R1 million home loan, and not on the registered R1.3 million, so you will pay for only the agreed home loan amount each month. In the future when you need extra funds, you’d then be able to apply for them. Only once you use some or all of your readvance funds will the interest rate and monthly instalment be reassessed.

The biggest benefit is that the R300,000 readvance amount will already be registered at the Deeds Office – saving you paperwork, time and the costs of registering another loan. The process is therefore easier and quicker than applying for another loan. Nedbank will need only to do an affordability check and a property valuation when you apply for these funds, which can be used for any need you have. However, HomeVision is not available on building loans or to make structural improvements to the property that require new building plans.

Realest agent: ‘So, when is HomeVision most useful?’

Perhaps you’ll discover after a couple of years of living in your house that the geyser could be better placed somewhere else, like in the ceiling instead of the cupboard you want to use. Or that the exterior paintwork and fencing need a facelift to impress the in-laws. Or that the swimming pool needs some reskimming, so it doesn’t feel like a coral reef under your feet. Or that solar is the best option for your family needs. You could even be thinking of re-landscaping the garden or adding a greenhouse so that you can grow your own fruit and vegetables. Whatever your need, the extra money remains available as readvance funds for you to apply for, and you will not pay anything for them until you use them.

Ask for HomeVision when you apply for your home loan and get access to funds to use in the future without having to register another loan. Simply call 0800 555 111 to speak to someone who will guide you through everything, or ask us to call you. Remember to ask for HomeVision at the start of your loan application – it can’t be added after you have already taken out the home loan.

If you apply online, you can get up to R20,000 cash back and 50% discount on your attorney bond registration fee. Join the bank that’s best for your money.