Housing in Southern Africa July 2015

News

FNB’s online property tool

FirstNationalBankrecentlylaunchedtheFNBPropertyLeader, the first of a kind online property tool that gives step-by-step advice and solution to manage the entire property process from buying to selling.

W ithout incurring property listing company fees, get free up-to-date information on FNB’s Property Leader, area and property reports; a fully integrated electronic online home loan appli- cation with tracking ability; step-by- step guidance and advice through the entire buying and selling process; and financial pre-approval with credit check within seconds. Marius Marais, CEO of FNB Home Loans says, “We have been develop- ing the FNB Property Leader concept over the last couple of years and are delighted to launch the site.” FNB Property Leader was devel- oped with the customer in mind as the ultimate electronic innovation helping them through the often emo- tional property process. The online solution is not only comprehensive and convenient, it can be accessed anytime and anywhere. “For many people the process of buying and selling a property can be overwhelming. This tool is a way to hold the consumer’s hand throughout the entire pro- cess from either buying or selling,” says Marais. Potential home owners receive pre-approval within seconds. “With our pre-approval process, the customer literally becomes a ‘cash buyer’,” says Marais. It also solves one of the biggest quanda- ries for the customer – the size of the loan. Marais adds, “The system checks the customer’s credit score and, depending on the customer’s risk profile and affordability, auto- matically creates a pre-approval letter which serves as a provisional guarantee, which gives the buyer the necessary negotiating power.” Once a home loan application is ready to be submitted, the entire process can be completed quickly and easily through the site. “We have created a platform that accepts all the documenta- tion and information required for a home loan application with

FNB. The process is quick to log and customers can track their home loan application on the site,” says Marais. The site also offers free area and property reports that are pulled from a number of sources including the Deeds Office to give a comprehensive overview of a suburb or a particular house. “This type of information is invalu- able to any home owner in order to make informed decisions when buy- ing or selling. Buyers will be able to determine fair value of the property by comparing properties with others recently sold,” says Marais. Area reports include details such as average house prices in the area, average increase or decrease in prop- erty prices, the types of homes etc. A property report includes the last bought and sold price of the

Marius Marais

p r ope r t y a s well as an

estimat- ed cur- rent val- ue ca l -

culated through a model devel- oped for the FNB Property Leader site. A d d i t i o n a l

features such as check lists for each of the buying and selling processes, questions to ask the estate agent as well as current prop- erties listed for sale provide users with in- depth information and advice on owning a prop- erty owner. “We believe that the FNB Property Leader is the ultimate property tool that will make the consumers’ property decisions easier,” concludes Marais. ■

July 2015