Buying a new home? Five lessons you can learn from Mpoomy and Brenden Praise

By Tamlyn Canham

Brenden Praise and his wife Mpoomy Ledwaba’s journey to buying their first home will inspire aspiring homeowners.

The couple moved into their dream home in June. Mpoomy shared a picture of their beautiful backyard.

“@brenden_praise what a journey, we found our dream home. Now the fun begins, I can’t wait to renovate, decorate, design and play interior decorator and watch my Pinterest come alive,” the podcaster wrote on Instagram.

Mpoomy and Brenden opened up about the struggles they faced when purchasing their house on YouTube.

The couple revealed that they tried to buy their first house in 2017, but the bank rejected their loan application.

“The bank was like, nope, you don’t afford it. And obviously, we were devastated, the house was perfect for us at the time,” Mpoomy said.

They tried to buy four other homes after that with no success.

READ: Brenden Praise and Mpoomy Ledwaba’s stunning traditional wedding

Here’s a look at some of the tips they shared.

Be patient

As much as Mpoomy and Brenden wanted to buy a home for their growing family, they realised that they needed to be patient.

“Eventually, we got to a point where we were just like, you know what it is clearly not time. Let just stop it. At the right time it will happen,” Mpoomy said.

When they stopped obsessing about looking for a fixer-upper, that’s when Brenden stumbled on the perfect home. The house was out of their budget, but the singer saved the home on a property app. Two weeks later he got a notification that the price had been reduced. They went to view the home and fell in love with it instantly.

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A post shared by Mpoomy Ledwaba (@mpoomy_ledwaba)

Save for your dream home

Mpooomy says they were able to negotiate the price for the house to something a little more in their budget. “The only way we could negotiate was because we had a big deposit. It was an offer they could not refuse.”

The couple says they had been actively saving to buy a home since 2019. At first, they thought they would just save up for a decent deposit, but the more they got rejected by the banks, the more money they saved.

They realised renting was expensive and they were basically paying a bond without the perks of having their own home.

“We couldn’t even put up pictures!” Mpoomy said. They got their finances together and the rest is history.

READ: Five celebrities who have spent over R1-million on a car

Create a vision board

Despite having a tight budget, Mpoomy and Brenden decided to look at what it would cost to buy a house in the area they wanted to live. Mpoomy also created a vision board on Pinterest of what their dream house would look like. She says the home they eventually bought matched her vision board.

It had everything they were looking for including a fireplace, a massive garden, a big swimming pool, and office space.

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A post shared by Mpoomy Ledwaba (@mpoomy_ledwaba)

Expect delays

Mpoomy and Brenden had to move in with his sister because there was a backlog at the deeds office. A week-long delay turned into weeks. They were practically living out of their suitcases.

“We were basically homeless for a month,” Mpoomy said.

“I literally wore the same outfit every day,” Brenden joked.

Good credit is important

Brenden advised their followers to make sure they also have good credit. “We don’t like credit, but you have to have a record where you have paid consistently,” he said.

The couple also shared some tips on what they did to ensure they had a good credit score.

Watch their YouTube video for more details.