Ghana Home Loans has underscored the need to develop proper documentation systems and facilitate the loan acquisition by majority of Ghanaians.
The issue came to the fore as the mortgage company extended its operations to Kumasi the Ashanti region.
According to the Chief Operating Officer of Ghana Home Loans, Kojo Addo-Kufuor, the development in some cases restrained the rather smooth transaction carried out in the Ashanti region by the company.
“The majority of properties presented as collateral do not have appropriate documentation. Ghana Home Loans staff have had to work with applicants to regularize their title documents before the loans could be closed and funds be disbursed.”
Meanwhile Ghana Home Loans has reported a sharp increase in the number of mortgage applications from Kumasi.
According to the firm, the majority of the applications are for land purchase, home completion, and equity release to support businesses.
A steady stream of home purchase applications have also been received from non-resident Ghanaians who wish to own property in Kumasi.
Following this development, Mr. Addo-Kufuor, observed that many commonly held views about the Kumasi market are not borne out by the evidence so far.
He explained, “There is this notion that Kumasi residents do not buy houses built by estate developers or property that someone else has built. Again, some have said that people simply do not sell their properties in Kumasi. We have also been told that the product is not understood in Kumasi and will not work”.
However after having had a business origination team operate in the Kumasi market for a year, the results have proven otherwise.
Mr. Addo-Kufuor further disclosed that they had completed some very exciting mortgage transactions in Kumasi “comparable to any we have done in Accra. We have been pleasantly surprised”.
Another challenge that the COO admitted to was the relatively longer period it took to seal off deals “most applicants were self-employed, income determination often took a bit longer than would be the case for salaried applicants.”
Commenting on the company’s move next after Kumasi, Mr. Addo-Kufuor pointed out that “even though we do not have a physical presence everywhere, we have written several mortgages in various parts of the country such as Berekum, Cape Coast, Takoradi, and Sunyani.
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Credit: Ghana Home Loans