Estate Living Magazine Smart Moves - Issue 38 February 2019 | Page 6

P R O P E R T Y
&
I N V E S T M E N T
TURN
BUSINESS
TRAVEL
INTO AN INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY
Ellipse – Waterfall City
If you’re spending thousands of rands a month on accommodation while doing business in Joburg, some careful
re-strategising can turn an unavoidable business expense into a savvy investment opportunity.
Frequent business travellers to Johannesburg will tell you that the
cost of flying is negligible when compared to accommodation costs
if they’re booking into a hotel. The average rate for a night’s stay in a
mid-level Kempton Park hotel near OR Tambo is around R1,500. So,
if you’re in town for five days, that’s R7,500 – excluding meals.
A savvier approach might be to buy an investment property close
to an airport or a Gautrain station and, while you’re not using it
yourself, rent or Airbnb it to make an income. When you are in town,
you could ‘rent’ it to yourself and log it as a business travel expense.
The market in Gauteng for properties close to major transport routes
remains robust, according to Bradd Bendall, general manager, real
estate operations, for Pam Golding Properties.
‘There is increasing demand for sectional title apartments that are
conveniently located for easy commutes to avoid traffic congestion
and combat rising fuel costs, or in mixed-use developments that
provide numerous amenities. And in these locations, it is still
possible to acquire property priced from R700,000 for sectional
title apartments, and from R1.8 million or R2 million for freestanding
homes – including cluster homes,’ he says.