The Table Mountain Cableway’s Kidz Season special provides the perfect excuse to get the family outdoors to enjoy a natural wonder this winter. From 1 May to 31 October 2014 two children travel free of charge when an adult return ticket is purchased from the ticket office over weekends, public and school holidays.
The Cableway’s Kidz Season price is R215 per adult return ticket (valid until 30 September 2014) and includes two children under 18 years travelling free (normal children rate R105) when purchased from the ticket office over weekends, public and school holidays. Valid on return fares only.
The Cableway operates weather permitting. For information visit www.tablemountain.net or call (021) 424 8181.
Stay tuned to Smile 90.4FM all week from the 23rd to the 27th of June, and you can WIN your way to the top. We’ll be giving away a Table Mountain Cableway Kidz Season Family Package that includes four Cableway Return Tickets and a R260 Table Mountain Café spending voucher (with a total prize value of R900) every day on the Smile Drive show.
To stand a chance of winning, all you need to do is:

• Listen to Smile Drive every afternoon between 15:00 and 18:00
• Answer one question, based on a popular kids cartoon series, and send the correct answer together with the keyword ‘Kidz’ via SMS to 35904 (standard rates apply).

Best of luck and see you on the mountain.
 

Home loan repayments
When you take out a home loan you probably don’t anticipate a day when you might not be able to afford the repayments. If you are battling to make your home loan repayments, notify your bank immediately. Maintain contact with your bank and keep them informed of changes in your financial position.
Generally banks are more flexible and able to assist you when you have not yet missed a payment and when you are actively communicating with them. Alternate repayment solutions might include a fixed repayment for a certain period or an extension of the original loan term.

Properties sold on a sheriff’s sale or public auction sell for about 30% less than properties sold on the open market. For this reason, it is in your interest to rather sell your property yourself or with the help of your bank. Most banks have product offerings to assist in this process.

Listen to our expert Home Loans advice here:

For expert advice on the house, chat to our FNB Home Loans Team of Experts.

Paying off your home loan
Paying off your home loan before the end of the term is a major milestone but it does not mean that the bond is cancelled.
If you would like to be in possession of the title deeds of your home, the bond must be cancelled in the Deeds Office, and there is an attorney cost associated with the cancellation of the bond. You can keep the bond open once the debt has been paid up in full in order to run your homeowners insurance premium through the account – this is not necessary and in the long run costs you in monthly service fees. You can redirect your insurance premiums to your transactional account.

More importantly you’ll need to decide whether or not you might still need access to funds from your home loan – you may want to access the funds available or do home renovations at some point.

Listen to our expert Home Loans advice here:

For expert advice on the house, chat to our FNB Home Loans Team of Experts.

Fixing your interest rate
If you recently obtained a home loan for the first time, you should consider fixing your interest rate. Doing so is a way of creating a more stable monthly cash flow.
Fixed rates are generally a few percentage points above your variable rate. Initially you will pay a higher rate but this will most likely be offset over time as interest rates increase. There are no extra fees if you fix your interest rate.

The national credit act regulates the maximum interest rate that you can be charged on your home loan or any other credit agreement. On mortgage agreements, the maximum the bank can charge you is the repo rate multiplied by 2.2 plus five percent a year.
Fixing your interest rate is attractive when the interest rate is on an upward trend because it offers you a measure of stability in times of economic uncertainly.

Listen to our expert Home Loans advice here:

For expert advice on the house, chat to our FNB Home Loans Team of Experts.

Applying for a home loan
Applying for a home loan can be daunting. Your first step in the process should be to draw up an accurate household budget. If you don’t have a handle on how you are spending your money, you will only be able to guess how much you can afford to spend on your repayments. As a guideline, you shouldn’t be looking at spending more than 30% of your after-tax income.

The affordability process is the crux of the application process. In order to confirm your affordability against the loan required, you will need to have your identity document, proof of address, most recent salary statement, past 3 months’ bank statements and a detailed breakdown of your income and household expenses available for the bank to view.
Additional expenses to consider when looking for a new home are expenses such as the deposit required, transfer duties, bond initiation and registration fees, municipal deposits, occupational rental, and ongoing rates and taxes.

Listen to our expert Home Loans advice here:

For expert advice on the house, chat to our FNB Home Loans Team of Experts.