Buying your first home is one of the most significant financial decisions of your life. It's also one of the most information-dense - bond applications, FICA documents, OTPs, transfer duty, conveyancers, suspensive conditions. The terminology alone can make the whole thing feel designed to intimidate.
It isn't. But the information is scattered across dozens of different sources, and most of them have a vested interest in a particular outcome. A bank's first-time buyer guide is really a product brochure. An agent's advice reflects their commission structure. A developer's explainer is designed to sell you a unit.
homely is different. We built our first-time buyer resources to be genuinely useful - not to sell you anything, but to help you make a good decision.
Understanding What You Can Actually Afford
The first question every first-time buyer needs to answer is what they can afford - honestly, including all the costs, not just the bond repayment.
homely's affordability calculator gives you a real picture: what a bank is likely to lend you based on your income and existing debt, what the monthly bond repayment looks like at different purchase prices and rates, and what you'll need to budget for beyond the bond (rates, levies, insurance, maintenance).
Understanding the Upfront Cash Required
First-time buyers consistently underestimate how much cash they need beyond the deposit. Transfer duty, conveyancing fees, and bond registration fees can add R50,000 to R150,000 to the cash requirement depending on the property price.
homely's transfer cost calculator gives you an accurate breakdown before you make an offer, so there are no surprises.
Plain-Language Guides
Our first-time buyer guides cover the entire process in plain language:
- What you can afford and how to get pre-qualified
- How to apply for a home loan and what banks actually look at
- What an OTP is and what you're committing to when you sign one
- What transfer duty is and how it's calculated
- How long the transfer process takes and what happens at each stage
- What a conveyancer does and how to choose one
Every guide is written for someone going through this for the first time. No jargon. No content that's really a sales pitch in disguise.
No Agenda
Most property information sources have an agenda. Banks want you to take a bond. Agents want you to use an agent. Developers want you to buy new.
homely doesn't earn money from your property transaction. We're not incentivised to push you toward any particular outcome. If renting is the right choice for your current circumstances, we'll help you understand that too.