Money

What is First Home Finance and do I qualify?

First Home Finance, still widely called FLISP, is a government subsidy for first-time buyers earning roughly R3 501 to R22 000 a month. It pays a lump sum toward your home, which either shrinks your loan or covers your upfront costs.

First Home Finance is a government subsidy for South Africans buying their first property. You will still hear it called FLISP, which was its old name, and the two words mean the same thing. It exists for people who earn too much to qualify for a fully subsidised house but not enough to comfortably carry a bond on their own. That gap is where most of our buyers sit.

What it actually does

It pays a once-off amount toward your home. That money is not a loan and you do not pay it back. Depending on how it is applied, it either reduces the size of the bond you need, which lowers your monthly repayment for the next twenty years, or it covers upfront costs so you need less cash on the day.

The practical effect is simple. A smaller bond means a smaller monthly payment, and a smaller monthly payment means you qualify for a home you could not otherwise reach.

Who qualifies

• You earn roughly R3 501 to R22 000 a month, on your own or combined with your spouse or partner.
• You are a South African citizen, or a permanent resident.
• You are 18 or older.
• You have never owned property before, and have not benefited from a government housing subsidy before.
• You have a bond approved, or approved in principle, from a bank.

The income band and the subsidy amount are set by government and they do change. Treat the numbers here as the current guide and let us confirm the live figures when you apply, because it is the kind of detail that moves without much announcement.

The order things happen in

This trips people up, so it is worth being clear. You do not apply for the subsidy first and then go shopping. You get pre-approved, you find your home, and the subsidy application runs alongside the bond. It typically pays out a few months after your bond registers, which is well after you have your keys.

That timing catches people off guard when they are budgeting. Do not plan to use the subsidy for your moving costs, because it will not be in your hands yet.

Does it work on any home?

It works on new developments and on existing properties, as long as the home is being registered in your name and you meet the criteria. In practice the maths tends to land best on a new development, because there is no transfer duty, the costs are usually built into the price, and 100% bonds are common. Stack a subsidy on top of that and the amount you need to borrow drops twice.

What we do with it

We check whether you are likely to qualify before you fall in love with a house, because there is no sense in building a budget around money you will not receive. If you do qualify, we handle the application paperwork with you and keep track of it while your bond goes through. It is a form-heavy process with documents most people have never had to produce before, and doing it alone is the main reason eligible buyers never claim it.

If you are not eligible, we say so plainly rather than letting you find out three months in. Knowing early is worth more than a hopeful maybe.