It’s a dream for many to own a home in their lifetime. However, saving up enough to build one has proven to be a challenge necessitating the need to get a convenient mortgage loan to finance construction or house purchase.

Cogebanque has tailored its mortgage product to allow convenient home ownership taking into context salaried and non-salaried clients.

The facility avails loans for construction or acquisition of an already built home.

To be eligible for a Cogebanque mortgage loan, one requires to be an employee with a long-term contract or having rented house or houses with proof of regular income for the last 3 months.

Prospective homeowners also ought to be willing to commit up to 50 per cent of their monthly household income to cover monthly repayments and also have a clean Credit Reference Bureau report as proof of creditworthiness.

A client is also expected to have evidence that the house to be financed conforms to approved city master plan.

The facilities are also flexible to have provisions to avail loans for purchase or renovation of residential property at a 16 per cent interest rate.

According to the financier, for properties under construction, a borrower could apply for a mortgage upon completion of the house.

To reduce the financial strain and pressure on clients Cogebanque allows a repayment duration of between 5 to 15 years depending on the amount with possibilities of extension to 20 years on request. Clients have flexible repayment schedules depending on income.

To ensure that the mortgage is not too heavy on clients, repayment is linked to household income with up to 50 per cent of the household income considered as maximum monthly repayment capacity.

No early repayment fee is levied on clients with the only requirement being that the borrower notifies the bank of the early repayment at least 3 months in advance.

Understanding that a majority of homeowners are likely to be first-time homeowners, the bank provides genuine mortgage advisory services to customers as well as access to approved house developers.

Good credit repayment habits are rewarded as customers who have been repaying their loans for 2 consecutive years are eligible for a top-up and borrowers can also get Cogebanque credit cards with up to 55 days credit repayment period.

The mortgage loan is processed in a few days once the borrower has fulfilled all requirements.

The mortgage facility could come in handy amid a housing demand estimated at 31,279 housing units per year against the supply of about 1,000 units creating an annual deficit of about 30,000 dwelling units.

With urbanization expected to rise to 35 per cent urban by 2024, the housing demand is expected to rise further in coming years.