Buying a home is one of the biggest investments a person will ever make. That?s why you must take the time to shop for a home loan, do your research and make sure you find a home loan that suits your needs. You?ll want to use a qualified lender as well.

Buyers want flexibility and Nedbank can provide it. Nedbank is known for their flexible loan offers and personal customer service.

Nedbank home loans can be used to buy either an existing home or vacant land. Build the house of your dreams or move into one. Nedbank will finance between 70-100% of a vacant lot as well as cover 100% of the home?s value. A lot of this coverage falls under your credit history and the value of the property.

Nedbank offers both fixed and variable interest rate home loans, as well as Nedbank Accelerated Payments, which enable the buyer to pay off their home loan faster than what is agreed upon in the home loan contract. Talk about flexibility!

In order to qualify for a Nedbank home loan, you must be a South African resident with a good credit record. Also, minimum monthly income requirements exist. Before you ever think about apply for a home loan, make sure you check your credit report.

If high credit balances are lowering your score, pay down your balances before you apply. The higher your credit score, the better home loan terms will be offered to you. You also want to make sure you have two or three months? worth of mortgage payments in the bank. These are called reserves.

Buying a home means lots and lots of paperwork too. Make sure the documentation you hand over to one of the trusted lenders includes proof of identity, income verification, bank statements and the offer to purchase agreement. Hand over the documentation at the start of the loan process and not end. This will vastly speed up the loan approval process.

Once you get a home loan, you will have to make monthly installment payments on the loan. The monthly payment consists of capital, interest, home insurance premiums, an administrative fee and possibly a life insurance premium.

When you are ready to purchase a home, make sure you see a qualified lender first, as they can review your situation, answer any questions, and develop a home loan proposal to meet your specific needs.

Tom Martens is the content coordinator for South Arica?s leading Homeloans portal which amongst others offers Bond origination services for all major banks.