What is FLISP?

Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Program or FLISP as the name suggests was developed under the National Housing Finance Corporation Soc Ltd (NHBRC) to identify and target the gap in the housing market or “missing middle”.

This is considered to be households with a gross combined income of between R1 850 – R22 000 per month. These households in general struggle to become homeowners as they often do not earn enough for home loan approval and also do not qualify for the governments “free-housing” subsidy. FLISP is therefore the answer to enable households who had previously deemed home ownership impossible an opportunity to gain this vital asset.

The FLISP subsidy can be used as a deposit or it can be paid into the Home Loan therefore rendering the monthly loan repayments more affordable over the Loan repayment term. The FLISP subsidy can also be used to cover the transfer and bond registration costs.

WHO QUALIFIES?

In order to qualify for a FLISP grant all the following requirements must be met:

1. Your combined monthly household income falls between R3 501 and R22 000;
2. You must be a South African Resident or have permanent residency within the country;
3. You have never received a government housing scheme subsidy;
4. You are a first-time home buyer (never owned fixed property)
5. You are regarded as being competent to enter into a contract;
6. You are either married OR single but with financial dependants.

Financial dependants might seem like a broad category but can be narrowed down to the following people who you will have to prove are financially dependent on you:

• Children who are under the age of 18 years;
• Biological parents, parents in law or grandparents;
• Brothers and sisters under the age of 18 years;
• Extended family members permanently residing with the Applicant.

HOW TO APPLY?

Now that you are certain you meet all the requirements for obtaining a FLISP subsidy you will need to start the application process.

Firstly, a good idea is to obtain pre-approval from FLISP, this can be done on the FLISP portal [https://flisp.nhfc.co.za/] which will guide you through the process, you can also reach out to your bank or bond originator. Pre-approval will make it easier to obtain the necessary additional finance required to purchase the property.

Once pre-approval is received the NHBRC will request certain documents from you, these will have to be submitted to allow you to obtain final approval of your grant. Without this final approval letter, you will not receive the amount indicated on your pre-approval letter so it is important to submit these documents as soon as requested. After you have submitted the documents you should hear back within 7 days but these times may vary.

Finally, your approved subsidy amount will be paid out after the transaction is lodged at the deeds office and will usually be paid to the transferring attorneys to allow them to allocate the funds to the correct places. Once the funds are allocated, the bank which granted your loan will inform you on the exact amount now payable in terms of your Home Loan.

The Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Program (FLISP) was introduced to afford all South Africans the equal opportunity to become homeowners and is an excellent way to assist these first time home buyers to break into the Housing market.

At Fuchs Roux Inc, we have a multi-professional and multi-disciplinary team ready to assist you will all your above needs and questions.

Reach out to us today for more legal or property advice on info@frlaw.co.za

Geraldine van Zyl

Fuchs Roux Inc

info@frlaw.co.za