Estate Living Magazine Invest SA - Issue 45 September 2019 | Page 29

P R O P E R T Y
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in the lifestyle of the estate as the sense of community becomes
established and grows.
Generating this sense of community is important, too, because of
the changing demographic of the residents, a number of whom have
established their families here, but continue to commute to the larger
centres for work during the week.
‘It’s mostly the husbands who work away, and the wives and children
who remain behind, and it’s very important for the people who leave to
know that they’re leaving their families in a safe, nurturing, protective
environment – that they aren’t isolated, and that the community
will have their backs whenever they need it.’ This, said Johan, is the
essence of community.
But the big question remains: how to draw everyone in, and support
them.
Lifestyle committee
The estate’s solution began with the creation of a nine-member lifestyle
committee headed up by a member of the board of the HOA. Although
this committee (which was founded only this year) has no voting
rights on the HOA, it works closely with the board through the various
portfolio subcommittees that it has established – subcommittees
that attend to the social life of the estate, the management of estate
infrastructure (from ‘smaller’ issues, like the positioning of street signs,
to the macro issues of the estate’s environmental policy), the provision
of amenities, and, of course, internal communications.
‘Amenities is an interesting one, because the residents have begun to
show a definite appetite for the establishment of a clubhouse, which
is also an indication to us that the work of the lifestyle committee has
begun to pay dividends,’ said Johan.
I N V E S T M E N T
Estate manager
‘There’s one major factor that’ll determine whether an estate like
Marina Martinique will succeed, though,’ said Johan, ‘and that’s the
character of its estate manager. We need someone,’ he continued,
‘who’s totally involved and totally dedicated – it’s certainly not a typical
nine-to-five job; someone who can learn at a fast rate, and not be
scared to roll up their sleeves; someone who can deal with a variety
of situations – often at the same time – and who isn’t intimidated
by difficulties; someone who knows and understands finance and
financial management.
‘And,’ he adds, ‘someone who has the backing of a strong and capable
board of directors.’
The challenges here, though, are that such people are rare indeed –
although Marina Martinique’s current estate manager, Vernon Heunis,
certainly fits the bill – and also that they’re difficult to replace. There
needs to be at least one understudy waiting in the wings.
‘It’s actually all about risk assessment,’ said Johan. ‘When you identify
the risks, you pay attention to them, and our solution to ensuring a
smooth succession in the longer term – while remaining sensitive to
the person in the job – is to employ financial, technical, and admin
managers whom he can train, and who can capture our practices,
policies and procedures, both as a record of Vernon’s institutional
knowledge, and in order to fulfil our fiduciary and other responsibilities.’
In the end, of course, every estate’s success will always revolve around
its ability to create a sense of community – and for developments like
Marina Martinique, which are attractive to residents and visitors alike,
the ultimate test will always be how warmly it’s able to welcome its
visitors, without making its residents feel intruded upon.
‘But it’s always about the sense of belonging,’ said Johan. ‘Which is
why Marina Martinique’s slogan is “My marina, My home, My lifestyle”.’
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