2 minute read
Letter from the Editor
AS A RENTER, I have managed to live in two of the most expensive parts of Cape Town – Camps Bay and Clifton – relatively cheaply.
In fact, I ended up living in Camps Bay, falling asleep to the sound of the ocean and being able to walk to the beach, paying less than I would have had I rented similar accommodation anywhere else in the city centre.
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My rich friends, who owned a mansion close by, would drop me off after a night out and say how envious they were of my carefree existence – no levies or rates and taxes; no having to fix things when they broke; no hassle of tenants – and I still had the same view as they did. As a renter, I was free, they said.
However, the big difference is as they and I leave the area for greener pastures (we hope), I leave with the suitcase with which I arrived, and they leave with over R30 million in their pocket after an initial R5 million investment (plus numerous renovations) all those years ago.
Some may argue I got to stay in the most wonderful spot, and that was worth more than millions and, of course, I could never have afforded to buy there. Others may say you need to have money in the first instance to grow money.
Which brings me to the focus of this week’s feature – alternative ways to get on to the property ladder, including renting in an area you love and buying in one you can afford – areas which have also shown immense growth in property prices over the years.
More people I know are going for this option in their desire to own property. Not every property you buy has to be one in which you live and the buy-to-let market is thriving.
One only has to look at the approximately 6.6 million residential properties registered at the Deeds Office, of which just over 3.3 million are occupied by tenants. This, property investor Ben Malapile tells our writer Bonny Fourie, shows just how popular buy-to-let property investment is.
Given my friends and my example of how we ended up leaving Camps Bay, it seems owning property is a no-brainer way to grow wealth.
Warm regards
Vivian Warby
vivian.warby@inl.co.za
