KIGALI — Teachers seeking loans from Umwalimu SACCO will no longer have to pay for the valuation of property they intend to use as collateral before knowing whether their loan application has been approved, under a new policy aimed at protecting members from unnecessary costs.
Umwalimu SACCO, the teachers’ savings and credit cooperative announced that it has signed agreements with professional property valuers who will provide valuation services to members based on their district of residence.
Under the new arrangement, a member whose loan application has been approved will be assigned a valuer by the Umwalimu SACCO branch where the loan was requested. The member will then pay the valuation fee before the property is assessed.
The cooperative said members will no longer be allowed to use valuers who have not been designated by the branch handling their loan application.
According to Umwalimu SACCO, the change is intended to protect members from financial losses that can occur when applicants pay for property valuations only for their loan requests to be rejected.
Previously, members were required to first obtain a valuation report for the property they intended to pledge as collateral before submitting or finalizing a loan application.
The valuation report would then be used by the institution to determine whether the applicant qualified for the requested loan, whether a lower amount should be approved, or whether the application should be declined altogether.
As a result, some members lost money after paying for valuation services even though their loan applications were ultimately unsuccessful.
The cooperative has over 160,000 active members, mainly serving public school teachers and education employees. The institution improves its members’ lives by offering specialized savings accounts and competitive loans, including mortgage options and borrowing limits up to Frw 35 million ($30,000).
By introducing the new system, Umwalimu SACCO says valuation services will only be conducted after a loan has been approved, helping members avoid unnecessary expenses while improving the efficiency of the lending process.
