Residential Guidebook Residential Guidebook 2014 (Subscribers) | Page 20

FINANCE Want to cancel your bond? Be aware of the heavy costs involved The bank is required to assess the applicant’s financial position one when the applicant applies for a loan. If the financial situation changes, the bank is not obliged to review the loan again. The bank may well do this on its own accord and then withdraw the loan, which it is entitled by law to do at any time. Even if the bank does decided to take a sympathetic line and withdraw the bond, if the original sale contract has been signed and sealed and the previous suspensive conditions were all met, the agent, the conveyance and possibly even the seller will be in a position to claim for their time, their costs and their lost income. F airly regularly in the process of awarding mortgage bonds for home purchases, the banks will be faced with a situation in which, for whatever reason (usually a serious change in the applicant’s economic circumstances), the client will want to cancel the bond granted to him by the bank. The problem with this, is that it will end up costing a fortune because it often means that you would forfeit your deposit, the commission that would have been made on the property and any wasted conveyancer costs... all adding to a large whack of cash that you can’t afford to lose. The bond applicant may then often approach the bank with a request to review the application and decline the loan so that none of these costs will have to be paid (many property sales contracts make the sale dependent on the buyer receiving the bond). 18 Residential Handbook 2014 The banks are likely of their own accord to review granted loan applications if considerable time has lapsed between the loan approval and the registration bond. Obviously, no bank wants to impose on a buyer a bond on which he is likely to default and in general they will therefore adopt a sympathetic attitude. However the public has to realise that between the time they sign the application and the bond is awarded, it is absolutely essential not to enter into any other credit or pay-out arrangements which will adversely affect their financial situation. All banks reserve the right to withdraw from the bond prior to registration. They may be able to do this, but they will never formally “decline” a bond once it has been granted. RESOURCES Mike van Alphen, Rawson Property www.reimag.co.za