SA Affordable Housing September / October 2018 // Issue: 72 | Page 9

NEWS they need to earn R15 000 to qualify for a home loan from banks, but these home loans also have high interest rates. INVESTIGATING DIFFERENT FINANCE MODELS “To create a people-focused housing strategy that helps staff enter the property market as well as enter it sooner, we started investigating the different subsidies and opportunities in the market,” says Khumalo. Our investigations focused on two opportunities in the market. The first is a government housing subsidy called FLISP (Finance Linked Individual Subsidy) by the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC). This subsidy was developed by the Department of Human Settlements to enable sustainable and affordable first-time home- ownership opportunities to those who earn between R3 501 and R15 000 a month. The second opportunity is HiP (Housing Investment Partners) financing model whose mandate is to allow for early access into the property market through specially restructured repayments. HiP is an independent financer that is affiliated with the NHFC and Old Mutual. The selling point of HiP housing is that the monthly repayments are calculated according to your salary and what you can afford. HiP financing is targeted at individuals who earn R30  000 a month gross or less, or for households that have a total income of R60 0 00 a month gross or less. HiP finances properties, subject to qualifying criteria, to a maximum of R650 0 00. One of the team members has been appointed as the facilitator of the Great Commission, so people can book an appointment and get more information about property financing models that they could use to purchase a home, as well as get assistance with the application processes for each of the programmes. The team at Aurecon is in the process of expanding horizons in future by liaising with financial institutions on issues such as interest rates and other large group benefits that could be offered. “Our goal is to work with banks to help get more of our staff in the property market at younger ages, and we want to help guide our peers through the process,” says Khumalo. Aurecon employees attended a launch of the programme at Aurecon’s Tshwane office and feedback from staff was very positive. “This is an excellent initiative and I think it’s going to help a lot of people. I want to be a property owner in the future and I’m going to book a session with the facilitator to find out what my next steps should be,” says Chantell Fisher, Aurecon project administrator. “I’m currently renting but I want to own my own property. I’ve been struggling to move from tenancy to ownership for a while because I couldn’t qualify for a loan. This information session has given me a better understanding of how I can move forward,” says Rodney Louw, Aurecon records management advisor. SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2018 CONCRETE ROOF TILE EQUIPMENT USED WORLDWIDE SINCE 1985 THE ONLY EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE PRODUCING HIGH SPEED CONCRETE TILE EXTRUSION PLANTS EXTRUSION MACHINES CAPABLE OF MULTI-PROFILE PRODUCTION OVER 100 CONCRETE ROOF TILE PLANTS INSTALLED IN AFRICA OVER 1000 DIFFERENT SPARE PARTS SUPPLIED DIRECTLY FROM OUR STORES IN SOUTH AFRICA SINCE 1985 Manufactured by Jessop & Associates (Pty) Ltd Tel: +27 16 421 2521 Fax: +27 16 421 2539 WWW.PROTILE.CO.ZA 7