Housing in Southern Africa July 2016

Returns for investors... Continued ▶▶▶

cities and they are property entre- preneurs.” “We have funded domestic work- ers, builders, electricians, teachers andwe particularly like cops. We have even funded former CEOs of JSE listed companies. We are a place where anybody can come for a cup of coffee and talk business and inner cities.” TUHF Limited is now registered on the JSE Debt Securities Listing Board and the final stages of the R1 billion DTMN programme are in the process of being carried out. Instrumental to the listing of the DMTN Programme in the form of a credit enhancement is a R200 million Jobs Fundaward by the National Treasury. “A great thanks to the NHFC for its continued support and taking the ini- tial risk of planting the seeds of what TUHF is today,” concludes Jackson.

plan on reaching a R5 billion book represented in every major city in South Africa. Says Jackson, “We fund ordinary South Africans who have certain key attributes. They live or work in the city and have researched the market potential. We have made a business of recognising ordinary people with potential. We don’t care if you can’t speak English or your formal educa- tion was cut short. We want to know: Can you hack the vagaries of residen- tial real estate? Have you done the work and are you hard working? Do you have integrity and are you hands on? We have clients who have tried commercial banks and been turned away by a security officer, or a recep- tionist asking what they were doing there. But they all have common attributes, they understand inner

Case study – Solly Ramalamula

I n 2012, Solly purchased Verena Court in Primrose with his police- man’s pension and funding from TUHF and established his company Take Shape. Solly painted the building in the company’s signature blue andpurple, Verena Court stands cheerfully on a corner with the sounds of children playing behind the secure fence and neighbours happily chatting, content in the knowledge that the building is well maintained and a safe place to live. The property comprises of several building configurations, including a block of flats with 18 one-and-a- half bedroom units, a house and two semi-detached buildings. The block also has a small supermarket on the ground floor that provides residents and neighbours with their daily needs. Solly employs an on-site caretaker and a cleaner to maintain the property, while the family-run supermarket provides employment to four people. After purchasing Verena Court, he repainted
the inside and outside of the flats and made additional minor changes to uplift the building. The house and semi-detached buildings, however, needed major develop- ment. Solly installed access control, as well as a gate with remote controls for tenants who park their cars on the

Solly Ramalamula’s belief in the importance of safety, security and cleanliness, along with hard work, entrepreneurial tenacity and TUHF’s assistance, has enabled him to leave his former occupation as a policeman, to become the owner of five TUHF-financed properties.

property. He met with all residents prior to the refurbishments to explain his vision for a clean and secure living environment. Although this meant a substantial increase in monthly rentals, he explained that most of the tenants chose to stay and greatly appreciated the recently installed access control and well-maintained

environment. The rooms are rented for between R800 and R1 300 per month, while larger family apart- ments cost R2 800 per month, with an additional levy for parking. Solly has extended his business to incorporate Take Shape Property Management, which assists other property entrepreneurs.

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