A qualified buyers’ certificate can give you an edge in the competitive SA housing market

A qualified buyers’ certificate is what can set you apart from other prospective buyers when shopping for your ideal home in South Africa. The National Sales Manager at Ooba, Natasha Champion, explains to the Business Hour, that being in possession of this document – the acquisition process of which is free – will make sellers and real estate agents take you more seriously, as they will now tailor home views according to the affordability figure in your buyer’s certificate, and ensure that you are not stepping outside of what you can afford.

Champion says there is a 90% bond approval rate at banks for the estimated affordability figures. She says this is because a qualified buyer’s certificate differs from a pre-approval. According to Champion, the pre-approval process is based on declarations from which an affordability figure is then estimated. She says the problem with a pre-approval is that people often aren’t transparent about their finances. A qualified buyers’ certificate on the other hand “is only issued once the declarations have been verified” via the analyses of supporting documents like pay slips, bank statements and a comprehensive credit report. In this way, the home loan organization applies the bank’s formula’s to get as close to a possible bank assessment. It is for this reason that Oobe and Champion encourage prospective home buyers to apply for a qualified buyers’ certificate.