An access bond is a home loan that allows borrowers to pay additional funds into their home loan account, over-and-above the required monthly bond instalment, secure in the knowledge that if they require the funds, they can withdraw them again. It is a tax free savings mechanism and the additional funds can be withdrawn at any time.
A smart way for a borrower to invest surplus money is to deposit it into the homeloan account as it is a saving at the rate of interest of the loan, without paying tax on the interest saved. It is therefore an ideal option to accumulate tax free savings, whilst reducing the interest charges and the term of the bond.
All major lenders offer access bonds. The borrower can either have the facility incorporated into his/her home loan when the home loan finance application is approved or application can be made for this facility after bond registration.
Below is a table of the main features and criteria pertinent to each of our major lenders’ varying access bond facilities:
| Bank | Product | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Absa | FlexiReserve | Facility can only be applied for after registration of bond. |
| FNB | Flexi Option | The facility can be applied for when applying for a home loan but will only provide access to excess funds deposited.
Electronic access to prepaid funds on your home loan Applicants are required to have a bank account in the same name as that of the home loan. |
| Nedbank | NedRevolve | All homeloans automatically have the facility to provide access to excess funds deposited. |
| Standard | AccessBond | Facility can only be applied for after registration of bond and is only available to borrowers who have their monthly income deposited to a Standard Bank current or Eplan account. |
