South Africa: This Government Grant Could Pay Toward Your First Home

A government grant of up to R169,000 for first-time home buyers is opening again next week.

You could qualify if your household earns between R3,501 and R22,000 a month.

The National Housing Finance Corporation will reopen applications for its First Home Finance grant next week, after the programme ran out of money in April.

The grant helps first-time home buyers whose household earns between R3,501 and R22,000 a month, and gives them up to R169,000 toward buying their first house. You never have to pay it back.

The grant is also known by its old name, FLISP. It's meant for people who earn too much to qualify for a free RDP house, but not enough for a bank to easily approve a home loan on their own.

Speaking to CapeTalk, Mathews Sidu, from the National Housing Finance Corporation, explained why the grant stopped taking new applications earlier this year.

"At one point we had to stop accepting new applications because we had run out of funding. We now have funding again, but before reopening we first need to clear the backlog of about 2,500 applications. Once that's done, we expect to reopen the portal for new applications next week," he said.

Here's the part that matters most: how much money you can actually get. The less you earn, the more you get. Right now, that works out to somewhere between R38,911 and R169,265, depending on your household income.

To qualify, you need to:

Be a South African citizen or have permanent residency

Have never owned a house before

Have never received a government housing grant before

Already have a home loan approved (or approved "in principle") from a bank

You'll also need your ID, proof of what you earn, and a signed agreement to buy the house.

There's a catch some people are unhappy about: the income limit of R22,000 a month hasn't gone up, even though houses have gotten more expensive. Sidu said banks, property developers and estate agents have all asked government to raise that limit, but nothing has been decided yet.

"The property sector is saying maybe the Department of Human Settlements should consider increasing these income ranges," he said.

One more important thing: this is a grant, not a loan. Sidu was clear about that.

"It's a grant. You get it once in your lifetime. We're assisting those households to get to their first homes so that they can have a roof over their head."

What to do now: You can check if you qualify for free at fhf.nhfc.co.za. You can also apply through your bank, a registered lender, or your local Department of Human Settlements office once applications reopen next week.

Read the original article on Scrolla.

South Africa: This Government Grant Could Pay Toward Your First Home

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