Housing Finance Kenya is among few companies in the country that enable individuals own homes through mortgages.
If you want to own a home in Kenya, follow the company’s instructions below.
Steps to Buying a Home
So where does home ownership start?
In case you are a newcomer to the concept of borrowing, we will re-iterate that in almost every situation where one seeks mortgage financing from an institution, you will be required to put in some equity. This means that you will be financed up to a portion of the value of your intended investments and you will need to finance the rest. Savings therefore are an integral part of the process. At HOUSING FINANCE, we have developed several savings products to start saving for the required down payment.
Who qualifies to borrow from Housing Finance?
Any Kenyan who seeks to purchase property in Kenya is eligible to apply. It is imperative that the applicant is already qualified under the laws of Kenya to enter into such a contract. As a general rule, HOUSING FINANCE will lend money to applicants who can demonstrate that the loan will be fully repaid by their 60th birthday. For people in employment and whose employment salaries is the major basis of the borrower evaluation process, then the retirement age as specified by the employer would be the date by which the loan would have to be fully repaid. Proof of age for individuals and legal status for a company is a requirement.
What interest rates can i expect?
The mortgage interest rates that are charged on outstanding loans are based on the published rates as per the schedule of tariffs of the company. Information on these rates is available at our counters. Interest is based on a reducing balance. The scheduled equal repayments are computed on this basis and a repayment table is made available to you whenever you complete an application, and also when final disbursement of the loan is concluded. Whenever the repayments are changed as a result of revised interest rates, a revised repayment schedule is available on request.
We have put into our web site a model repayment calculator that you can use to compute various different scenarios based on different loan rates, tenures or amounts. Please note that the repayment calculated by the web-site module does not include the repayment amount of the insurance covers that require to be taken on each mortgage loan. For this reason, you will note that the repayment amount calculated by the model differs slightly from that advised by us. Always ensure that you make your repayments based on the value advised by us.
How long will it take before i get my loan?
It is very apparent that the mortgage loan process includes internal (inside HOUSING FINANCE) and external (outside HOUSING FINANCE) processes and controls.
The loan therefore goes through three stages in the sequence as internal -> external -> internal.
To elucidate;
Stage 1 (internal)
As long as we receive all properly completed application materials, we will be able to communicate the fate of your application within 14 days.
Stage 2
- (external) Applicant – The loan offer is sent to you and acceptance is supposed to be received by us within a specified time. In addition to you making good any conditions of the offer, we shall also expect you to go for your medical examination and complete the legal processes with the assigned lawyers.
b. (external) Applicant and Lawyers -The lawyers present the titles to the government for evaluation and payment of statutory fees (stamp duty) and registration. This registration process will normally take approx. one and a half months if the property titles and legal documents are okay. Titles with endorsed conditions can extend the time taken to complete this process.
Stage 3 (internal)
Once we receive back from the lawyers properly executed documents and legal charges to the title, we make the disbursement as specified in the sale arrangements. We will deliver disbursement of the loan within 14 days of all conditions of the offer having been fully executed.
Mortgages Financing – Non Resident Kenyans
We generally finance up to 90% of the property value, with a repayment term of up to 20 years.To be able to put in your loan application, we would require the following:
- 3 months latest pay slips
- 6 months latest bank statements (of foreign account)
- Copy of your passport
- Copy of work permit / residency permit
- Employment contract
- Letter of introduction from employer covering: designation, income, retirement age, terms of employment (contract/permanent) and allowances.
- Registered power of attorney
- Fill in application form
If you have already identified your property of choice, kindly provide:
- Sale agreement / draft
- Sale agreement / letter of offer
- Copy of title
- Payment of valuation fees as will be advised
Once we receive the above, we will be able to start processing your application and update you on the approval status (I.e. if your loan is approved or otherwise).
Please note additional costs / amounts (Commitment fee, Stamp Duty, Legal fees and amounts required in savings account) required during the transactions which range between 7-9% of the property value.
We look forward to hearing from you!
For more information / clarification, please feel free to contact us via [email protected] or fill out the enquiry forms below and we will get back to you.
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