When it comes to applying for a home loan, most buyers are told the same thing: your affordability is based on your current income, debt, and expenses. But there’s a powerful lever that often gets ignored by agents, originators, and even the banks themselves: future rental income.

Why Future Rental Income Matters

If you’re buying a property specifically to rent it out, the income from that property should directly improve your ability to service the loan. More income means more affordability - which could make the difference between a declined application and an approved one.

For property investors, this can be a game-changer. The ability to use rental income from one property to help fund the next is the backbone of portfolio growth.

The Fine Print: What Banks Actually Allow

Here’s where it gets tricky:

• Banks will only consider rental income if the entire property is rentable (for example, a buy-to-let apartment, townhouse, or freehold house);
• They will not factor in projected income from rooms, flatlets, or cottages on a primary residence; and
• They also won’t consider rental income from properties that are not typically residential, like farms or smallholdings.

Why? Because banks want certainty. Rental income from an entire property with a lease agreement is easier to prove and enforce than informal arrangements like room rentals or backyard cottages.

Why It Gets Missed

• Agents often don’t understand bank rules and fail to highlight rental potential in the right context;
• Originators may overlook rental income when prequalifying buyers, especially if they assume the bank won’t count it; or
• Banks apply their policies inconsistently, and not all lenders treat rental income the same way.

The result: buyers miss out on extra affordability that could unlock higher-value properties - simply because the potential wasn’t presented properly.

How Phoenix Bonds Uses Rental Income Strategically

At Phoenix Bonds, we don’t just fill in forms. We build affordability strategies that highlight rental potential when it counts. For example:

• For investors, we make sure rental estimates are market-related and fully documented;
• We submit applications to banks that are more open to considering projected rental income; and
• We position the deal to show how the rental offsets the repayment risk - in language the bank underwriters understand.

Why This Matters

• For investors – being able to leverage rental income accelerates portfolio growth;
• For sellers – properties with strong rental potential are more attractive when buyers know that income can support affordability; and
• For buyers – it can mean the difference between qualifying for R1.2 million versus R1.5 million - a step up into a better property.

The Phoenix Bonds Difference

Future rental income isn’t a loophole - it’s a legitimate affordability lever that too many in the industry ignore. But it only works when applied correctly: with full property details, realistic rentals, and the right bank.

At Phoenix Bonds, we know how to make rental income work for you. Because home loans aren’t just about what you earn today - they’re about the financial potential of the property itself.