There are many ways of getting into property, including as an investment, a career or business.
The most usual route is to become an investor in property.
We have discussed the pros and cons of investing in property in previous articles.
It is important to understand, particularly with your first property, that you need to have the means to maintain and pay for your building if you have challenges such as vacancies, especially in the early years.
As you buy more properties the risk is spread.
Imagine owning one property and it stands vacant – that is a 100 percent risk.
But when you have 10 properties the risk is reduced to 10 percent.
A career in property can take many forms as there are lots of avenues in property.
You can become an estate agent selling houses.
These positions are usually based on income from commission, which normally means that you don’t get a regular basic salary.
Sometimes there is a small basic salary but then you would receive less commission.
To be involved in the property industry in South Africa you need to be registered with the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA), formerly the EEAB.
You will have to cover your working expenses such as car and cellphone but can earn good money.
The average sales are in the region of one to 1.5 properties a month.
On a R1.5 million property you should earn around R39 000 commission as the agent’s portion.
You can earn more by listing more properties that are sold by other agents and by selling more properties yourself.
It has been good to me over the years, especially when you get into the position to sell large and especially commercial properties and developments.
Another direction that you could take would be body corporate management or being a portfolio manager.
Here you work with trustees, where you help to control, maintain and manage sectional title schemes.
Being a manager of home owners’ association schemes would work in the same way.
Within these estate agency organisations, you could also be involved in the management of letting residential or commercial buildings, control the maintenance of property and for those with a financial background, go into the accounting side of looking after different types of properties.
With experience and drive, it is possible to become the owner of an estate agency or a partner in a bigger one.
This is hard work and requires experience and high-level skills.
While degrees in economics and accounting help, hands-on experience is far more important.
There are always opportunities for those who want to become partners in estate agencies as owners of real estate business would rather bring you into the business instead of losing your talents.
But it takes long hours and dedication to get there.
It is not for the faint-hearted or unskilled.
You need determination, a need to learn and grow and not be afraid of hard work and long hours.
This is the route that I took to owning my own company.
Having been in the industry for over 47 years I was able to create a well-respected company on a national basis and sell it to allow me to retire.
I am now involved in property development in different parts of Africa with international companies as they see real value in what is on offer.
My grandfather told me that you can do whatever you want to do as long as you aim to be the best.
My personal mantra being that you need to aim to be 10 percent better and 10 percent different to succeed in any career path.
Showing your clients that while what you earn is important, giving them the best service that you can will always lead you to success.
- Mike Spencer is the founder of Platinum Global, a professional associated property valuer and consultant with work across the country as well as Eastern Europe and Australia.