All Forum Posts by: Marno Fourie

Hi @Jessica Franco,

I am quickly approaching the purchase of my first rental apartment in Johannesburg - once I've signed the OTP, I will update you on my progress here and let you know what I've found and give you a brief deal breakdown that will hopefully assist you in one way or another :) 

If I get caught up in it all and forget, feel free to drop me a reminder or follow up in my inbox (or here).

Cheers!

Hi @Jim Theunissen,

Great, thank you for your insights! I have considered AirBnB, but am quite stressed about the admin nightmare with the new tax laws coming in for declaring the rental income made with AirBnB, etc. I will still look into it and see what exactly the process is going this route.

Appreciate your feedback! The figures help a lot to put it into perspective.

Hi @Tim A.,

I came across your post - I know, it's been over 2 years since you've posted this. I was wondering if you ever ended up finding what you were looking for?

I'm nearing the purchasing of my first apartment in Johannesburg (hopefully Lonehill, Sandton) and am quite curious to hear how things turned out for you.

Any insight would be of great help!

Here's a quick one I'm hoping someone would be able to shed some light or experience on - I have heard from some people that it is a great idea to fit out an apartment with nice and modern furniture, maintain it well and rent it out for a couple of thousand Rand more than a similar empty unit. Is this method advisable and (it seems) more profitable if managed effectively? 

What are your thoughts or experiences on the subject?

Looking forward to hear what you all think!

Hi WIllem,

Thank you for the great advice and feedback. I will be sure to keep this in mind!

Hi Frans,

That is amazing! It really puts me at ease and points me in the right direction, so thank you so much for your feedback. I would like to read up and perhaps consult with this company, if at all possible - would you perhaps be able to share their details on my inbox?

With the research I've done, I have found a couple of investors state that it forms soft of a "hedge" to protect your assets by first establishing a company and a trust - so this is definitely something I will look into. Also, I wasn't aware of the lower tax rate - thanks for that, I'll check into this as well and for clearing up the section 13sex!

You are a rockstar! 

I wish you all the best :)

I have been reading, listening to podcasts, audio books, jumped on a ton of forums, asking everyone I come into contact with who is involved with real estate investments and even gone as far as to start taking some online courses on the topic - perhaps I am stuck in the "analysis paralysis" phase, or perhaps I just have these last couple of questions answered before I can go on to buy my first property in South Africa...

I have the finances in place for a deposit, but I just don't seem to know where to start.

Here are some questions that might help me clear things up:

1. How long after buying a property can one refinance and use the equity as a deposit on the next property?

2. Is it worth buying a brand new (or under development) flat/apartment off plan? (considering I can get it with no deposit and of course no transfer costs)

3. With regards to Section 13sex of the tax act - does this mean I need to own at least 5 NEW units, or can I benefit from this as long as one of the five properties is a newly built unit?

4. Should I first establish a trust (or legal entity) of some kind as a foundation to buy all my future properties in its name? Or is it better to do it in my personal name?

5. Any advice or resources that you can share for finding local auctions or properties under market value? Or should I first focus on buying a "safer/non fixer upper" property at market value to gain some experience and build up a team of contractors, before heading in this direction?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hi @Sunil Khusal, thank you and nice to virtually meet you! I definitely will.

@Rosa Vaughan, hello! :)

Thanks for the warm welcome gents. 

@Charl Ellis, it's great to hear you have started on your portfolio! Please keep me posted on how the progress is going and once you have your first renters in - I am really excited for you.

As for my plans - at the moment I am studying and researching as much as possible whilst saving up enough for a sizable down payment (either on one single family home or on at least two well priced apartments) to start with.

@Jason Malyon - Thank you so much for sharing your opinion. I had a strong feeling this is probably the case and was hoping someone could confirm or at least share the same thought process. In my opinion, I would also think this is the perfect time to start buying as some people are fleeing the country, with the thought of their property and safety being at risk and selling their homes - they should desperately be looking for buyers and willing to negotiate great deals to speed up the process. Or perhaps some will be selling and moving into rental units to ease up the process of packing up and leaving in case things go south here - putting us in a great position to buy and let.

@Charl Ellis - I fully agree with your statements and share your views on this. It's great to hear some logical and rational thoughts of other local investors - even though we are not exactly sure what is planned or how bad it will end. I guess my main concern was just to make sure I'm not being overly optimistic before I get myself into this game of investing locally, so thank you all so much for your reply and input on this post.

To everyone else, including @Tchaka Owen, a big thanks - I really do appreciate the feedback and I remain very excited to start my journey as an investor - be it locally, then eventually hopefully international. You guys are all rock stars and I admire you! I will consider each opinion on my journey and continue to seek supporting information through my research before jumping into any market.