It is no secret that property is expensive to purchase for many South Africans. According to National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) FLISP (Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Program) was developed by the government (department of human settlement) to help individuals who earn between R3501-R22000 per month to purchase the property. These are individuals whose income is not adequate enough for a home loan but too great to receive free housing from the government.

Qualifying applicants are eligible to receive a subsidy amount between R27960 to R121 626 dependent on how much the applicant earns. Any individual can find out how much they qualify to receive by following a FLISP subsidy band on www.nhfc.co.za

In order to qualify for the subsidy, applicants need to meet the following criteria:

• You must be a South African citizen or permanent resident;
• You need to earn between R3501- R22000 per month;
• Approved home loan from an accredited bank or lender;
• You must be a first time home buyer and must have never owned property;
• You must have a dependent.

The subsidy can be used to:

• Purchase a residential property;
• Reduce your loan amount;
• Pay or reduce your Transfer and Bond registration costs;
• Buy vacant serviced residential stand or;
• Build property on self-owned residential stand.

It is advisable that you apply for FLISP immediately after your home loan approval in order to avoid any delays with your bond registration process, especially if you are intending to use the subsidy to pay for your transfer and bond registration costs. It is also permitted to apply for FLISP after your bond is registered, however, the application must be sent within 12 months.

Should your FLISP application be approved after registration than the subsidy will only be used to pay into your home loan account, which will result in a reduction in your home loan amount. Should you appoint our firm to attend to the transfer of your property or the bond registration, we will be more than willing to assist you in your application for FLISP.

Author: Anathi Kies