Thursday, August 10, 2017

Mortgages 101

 Been a house owner via  Mortgage is very prevalent in developed countries, however not in Nigeria due to the high interest rate which is applicable to any other loan that can be accessed here. So what then is Mortgage?
 A mortgage is a debt instrument, secured by the collateral of a specified real estate property, that the borrower is obliged to pay back with a predetermined set of payments, usually monthly. It is a secured form of loan and usually secured with the property being purchased. In Nigeria most commercial banks offer mortgage loans we also specialized banks called mortgage banks whose primary focus is mortgages.
In accessing a mortgage loan, there are few criteria that you must fulfil and there is a limit to the loan you can get for your home, irrespective of your income. These factors may include but not limited to the following:


v  Your source of income must be regular
v  Your age bracket should be between 18-69 years
v  You should have a minimum of one year work experience
v  You must possess a valid proof of permanent address
v  You must show your total assets and liabilities
v  You must deposit the initial down payment (a minimum of 30% of the value of the proposed property)
v  Others may include the number of dependents, qualification, spouse’s income, income and employment stability, etc.
Once you have met with all the eligibility criteria, the next step is furnishing your interest with relevant supporting documents. These have to be valid, verified and updated as once presented, they are considered as final and binding.
In a situation where any of these documents are found to be untrue or forged, the immediate consequence is a rejection in the granting of your loan. Though the documentation requirement varies from one institution to another, the following are primarily the ones that need to be produced when applying for a home loan.
Document Checklist for a Mortgage:
v  Proof of age – supporting your minimum and maximum claim of age
v  Proof of identity and residence – valid documents could be passport, voter ID card, etc
v  Salary/pay slips of last three months from your current employer
v  Bank statement for last six months from your currently active bank
v  Company profile for employees of a private limited company
v  Proof of business address in respect of businessmen/industrialists
v  Receipts towards payments already made (Initial Down payments)
v  C of O (Certificate of Occupancy) of the proposed property
v  Sale agreement and title documents in favor of the seller
v  All other documentations as might be demanded by the mortgage provider.
While completing the process of documentation, pertinent questions and enquiries should be asked from both the Mortgage provider and the property owner, it is also important to know the exact rate of interest, processing fees, payment charges along with interest-schedule.

It is also important to do a market survey for both the mortgage provider and the property seller, in other to get the best deal. Make sure the deal is a WIN-WIN. It is best you get the service of an expert to help you with the transaction to avoid falling prey of bad deals and forfeiting the property
It will be great to emphasis that you can use your mortgage repayment to reduce your PAYE (Pay as you Earn) taxes.
Even though the interest rates are not too favorable in Nigeria, yet we have people who have mortgages and are servicing it well. Do not be afraid.

I remain your friend and Personal Finance Coach Babatunde Ayorinde, follow me on twitter @pistis03,
And if you like to engage us to speak in your program or for adverts send us mail at babat09@gmail.com.
Thanks for reading, invite you Family, Friends and Foes to read the blog, as we move ahead to our financial freedom.




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