Absa | Success story - Managing your home loan debt

In October 2010, Lerato* was finally able to buy a bigger home for her growing family. Through Absa, the mother of two moved into a larger house where she and her family could live more comfortably.

They began building their lives in their new home and things were going well. Lerato and her children loved the new neighbourhood they were living in. Her two girls were also doing well at the local school. Unfortunately, after six years in their new home, Lerato lost her job. She was spending most of her savings on school fees and food. How was she going to afford her home loan repayments?

10 months went by and Lerato was still unemployed. She couldn’t make the payments on her home loan and was getting support from her family. The amount she owed on her home loan grew but she did not realise that she could have reached out to us for assistance.

We noticed that she had missed a number of payments, and we reached out to her to find out what was going on and if there was any way we could help. Lerato did not want to sell her home. She and her children had built their lives there and made lifelong friends out of their neighbours. Uprooting her children just was not an option. We considered her situation and, given her circumstances, we chose to hold back on taking any further action.

It was a good decision, Lerato was finally able to find work a couple of months later. We then renegotiated the terms of her home loan to make it easier for her to cover her outstanding amount. On top of this, she also chose to slightly increase her monthly repayments to speed up the payment of her bond. In addition, whenever she found herself with a little extra money, she paid that into her bond as well. Every little bit counted and now, with a renegotiated home loan, she had the time and ability to make these extra payments.

By working with us to solve the situation, Lerato and her family were able to keep their home. Since then, she has covered the amount she owed and is now on track with her monthly home loan repayments.

*not her real name