All Forum Posts by: Warren Bright

Exciting stuff! Wishing you all the best.

Hey everyone!

So I have a question that I thought I would open up to BP, just to hear some of your thoughts and to take away as much advice as possible.

My question is: Is it faster to build up capital from flipping houses or from renting them out ?

I am a 22 year old student and still have one or two years left of studies. My aim is to build up a massive property portfolio, but my dilemma is the fact that I don't have capital - and after I finish studying, it will take a while before I will be earning decently.

I am in the process of purchasing my first property and I know how important it is to hold for as long as possible (especially if you are wanting to build a property portfolio), but after I purchase the 1st property, it will take at least a few years 6/7+ before I would be able to put down a deposit on another property.

So in this sense, do I flip my first property and repeat this strategy until I have enough capital to purchase a property, hence decreasing the loan amount I need (allowing me to easily purchase another property as one will fully pay off the other).

Or do I buy one property and hold it for say 6 years until I have enough to put down a deposit on a second investment?

I will appreciate every bit of advice.

Thanks in advance!

This is awesome!

Looking forward to seeing many more pictures.

 I too was looking into something similar a while back, just because I wanted an extra bit of diversification. However in South Africa crowd funding is not as big and there aren't many people on the platform, which is one of the reasons why I decided against it.

I liked the idea that the person whom you were lending your money to was going out and doing something constructive with it, and you could choose different projects to where you money went. 

The downside, like any investment is you don't have a guarantee your money will be paid back - the borrower might default which means you lose your investment. Although I know that a lot of these sites take action on your behalf in collecting what is owed to you, however if the borrower literally cannot pay a cent back then you wont be getting anything. 

I think in the end it comes down to vetting as much as possible the potential risk of that person's project and the return.

- Does the project seem legit?

- Are there other people funding this person's project?

- Do they have a borrower rating / default rating?

- What interest rates are they offering?

It's also about the risk you are willing to take. Loans can be quite risky, but isa nice form of diversification.

Hope this helps a little :)

 Of course. I see you too are from South Africa. 

 Thanks Chris!

Hello everyone!

In this thread you can expect to find my real estate journey to purchasing my first apartment, how I go about it and of course the story behind my interest in real estate.

Let me start off by thanking everyone who has posted their stories / deals / mistakes / leanings as they have all been much appreciated, There's nothing quite like learning from the experience of others, and I am so grateful to everyone who has been so honest about their situation, even if it wasn't a glamorous one.

A little bit about me before I get into what this post will be about: I am a 22 y/o student based in South Africa and have had a keen interest in real estate ever since I was a young kid. I remember (and still do) lapping up all the renovation shows on TV, Grand Designs being my absolute favourite of them all. There's something almost poetic about turning a house from grunge into glory, and I am already anticipating the countless amounts of adrenalin rushes.

I have to give credit to my parents who have helped a lot when it comes to teaching me financial sense. They always told me how important saving is, and not spending your money in one go. Sometimes I do get frustrated as like everyone I also want instant gratification, but it's the long term thinking that has allowed me to push through those weak moments. It really frustrates and in a sense makes me sad to see people my age 'throw' their money away on frivolous things and spend cash without blinking their eyes, and then complain how broke they are. But I know adopting this kind of long term thinking will benefit me down the line.

I am on a mission and am going to stop at nothing to build my real estate empire.

So, I am gradually getting to what this thread is going to be about. Please bear with me, as I hope you will find it as interesting as I find it exciting telling you!

The past few years I have been saving as much as possible, doing jobs here and there and trying to earn money wherever possible. Seeing as I am still a student and not earning the big bucks, I put all my savings into unit trusts and shares as every extra little cent I earn helps (it’s money for free!). In the past two years my portfolio has actually grown 30%, which I am pretty chuffed about (My property unit trust is actually the highest performing UT, outperforming the top 40 listed shares... Can we get a whoop whoop!?).

I set myself the goal of reaching a certain amount before I start looking into purchasing anything, and I am glad to say that I have finally reached my goal. I am looking to purchase a R595,000, 1 bedroom apartment ($44,215 converted) with a large deposit down and enough for some small renovations. The government isn’t as generous with loans down here as they are up in the States, so this means I need at least a 10% deposit minimum in order to qualify for anything. And seeing as I am not working full time I am unable to qualify for a loan – so my parents, graciously will become my lenders, and I am going to put 13% down as a deposit.

My ultimate goal with property is to retire early with my units earning some of that lovely passive income. I have a passion for developing and would love to get into wine farms / security estates and higher end apartments…

So now comes the exciting bit, hope you haven’t fallen asleep yet!

I am really lucky in the sense that I have a family friend who has been in the real estate business for quite some time and is incredibly trusted and reliable. I approached him about two weeks ago, expressing my interest to purchase my first apartment. We met up and he told me all the things about owning your first property, how you should go about it and the costs involved.

Currently he is in the process of sorting out a deceased estate and has mentioned there is a property within my budget and in the area that I am looking in. So I am meeting with him next week Monday to discuss further details and the steps involved.

All I can say is that I am very excited, and can’t wait to share this journey with you. I will of course be posting updates as I go along - keeping you all informed.

Thanks for reading this mammoth of a post!

 This is epic! hats off to you:)

I am in a similar situation in the sense that I am a student looking for my first purchase.

Although being in South Africa it's quite a bit harder to get a loan and such with "minimal" cash down. I know overseas the government helps a lot and you don't need to have a massive amount down.

My plan is to buy relatively cheap for my first time ($55k equivalent) with a 10% down.

Everyday I try to browse online listings to start getting an idea as to how much apartments are costing, and to get better ideas as to what units cost in the different areas.

All the best man, you are already better off than most people your age!

Hi Chiweni!

Hello from Cape Town :)