Tips for building your own home, with Absa

The first steps in building a home:

1. Find your perfect piece of land. 
2. Apply for your Building Loan. 
3. If your Building Loan is approved, find an NHBRC-registered builder and have your building plans drawn up by an architect. 
4. Start the building process – you’ll receive progress payments as your builder completes different stages. 
5. Stay up to date with paying off your interim interest, as missed payments will be added to your outstanding Building Loan, which will decrease the funds you have available for construction. 
   

It’s important to: 

1. Understand the relationship between your builder, your bank and yourself 
   • The primary agreement is between you and your builder. It’s called a building contract and it covers all building specifications, costs and timeframes. 
   • The secondary agreement is between you and your bank on your Building Loan. The bank will lend you money in stages called progress payments, to pay your builder. Your builder should be paid after each stage has been completed and inspected by our evaluator. 
   • Your builder will have to comply with Absa’s building specifications, sign a waiver of builder’s lien, have all-risk insurance and be registered with the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC). 
   • Your home will also have to be registered with the NHBRC. 
   • View all the required Building Loan documents. 
 
      
2. Choose your builder carefully 
   • Your builder must be registered with the NHBRC, as this council regulates the home-building industry. 
   • Your builder must quote you based to your building plans. 
   • Be sure to double check the quote as deviations can be costly. 
   • Remember that you won’t get a Building Loan without a signed building contract, so double-check your contract before applying. 
   • The NHBRC will provide you with a warranty protection against building defects after your home’s occupation certificate has been issued. They will also ask your builder to fix the defects. Call 0800 200 824 to speak to an NHBRC consultant. 
   • You’re also protected by the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act 103 of 1977, which sets out the standards that your builder must comply with. 
 
      
3. Ensure building quality before making payments 
   • Your Building Loan amount will be based on the market value of your home after it has been completed. The shortfall will be paid by you. 
   • As the stages of the building process are completed, you will make progress payments to your builder. These payments will be paid to you by the bank, and you must pay your builder. 
   • Your builder will fill out a Progress Payment Form when they require money for the next stage of the building process. You’re allowed a total of six progress payments throughout this process, so don’t sign more than one form at a time. 
   • Even though we send out an evaluator, it’s up to you to make sure that the progress on your home meets your requirements. 
   • You can find out more about progress payments here. 
 
      
4. Insure your property 
   • You must insure your home from either the day it is completed or the day you take occupancy. 
   • We offer Homeowner’s Comprehensive Insurance and Home Contents Insurance. For your convenience, if you take up any of these products with us, you can set up a debit order from your Building Loan Account.