Estate Living Magazine New Beginnings - Issue 37 January 2019 | Page 10

C o m m u n i t y
L i v i n g
AEROTROPOLIS
INVESTMENT
WORK SMART SLEEP EASY
Do you remember the eighties? In those days, Cape Town was not the tourism darling of the world,
traffic was manageable, petrol was cheap, music made sense and hotels were not priced according to
the exchange rate. But things have changed.
Nowadays Cape Town traffic is a nightmare, every inch of space
has been developed to cater for insatiable tourists waving powerful
euros, dollars, pounds and yen at beaming hoteliers, and every
second home owner has their spare room on Airbnb. This is not ideal
for us locals.
When business requires yet another trip to Cape Town, our sad little
state-captured rands tell us to forget about a comfortable, centrally
located hotel, and advise phoning a friend and begging for space
on their couch.
It’s the sort of thing we did when we were students, agreeing with
the sentiments of Paul Young in his hit ‘Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s
My Home)’. However, business travel requires convenience, a bit of
privacy and a level of creature comforts, so we need to be smart
about accommodation.
Make money while you sleep
By purchasing a small property in Cape Town, frequent business
travel becomes financially viable and can be tailored to suit your
unique needs while giving you a safe long-term investment. Instead
of identifying with Simply Red lamenting that ‘Money’s Too Tight
(To Mention)’ every time you need to travel, you can agree with the
Eurythmics as they croon ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)’.
Let’s do the maths
Before we start crooning, let’s look at the numbers based on a
property of R1.5 million, purchased by a business person who
travels to a mid-range hotel seven nights a month.
This smart person charges the company for the equivalent cost of
hotel accommodation. They also put the word out to their business
network offering the property to colleagues and associates at an