Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa February 2014 | Page 54

MY STORY

BY ANGIE REDMOND

Giving People A Home
Lucky is a landlord who makes a difference

I

was born in Ackerville, Emalahleni and
proudly raised by a single mother, Nomvula
Esther Mabena, and my late grandmother,
Melani Bett y Mabena. I am the second
born, I have one brother and two sisters. I
attended Khonzimfundo Primary and I did
my secondary education at Kopanong Senior
Secondary. For my tertiary education I
attended Mpondozankomo FET College
were I did my N course in Mechanical
Engineering at Emalahleni. I started
working at Highveld Steel, now known
as EVZRA, as a contracted assistant
fitter and in 2004 joined a lubrication
company subcontracted to ENGEN
Petroleum in 2008 doing lubrication
for Komati Power station where I am a
Site Technician at present. I am married
with two energetic boys, my first-born is
Sbusiso, he is 6 years old and my second
born is Sandile, he is 1 year old. I wish they
would grow up and follow in my footsteps,
Sbusiso, the first-born is showing interest
in every job/renovation that I do.
He asks me when I wake early
in the morning what
jobs I am going to
do so that he

February 2014 SA Real Estate Investor

So why property?
It was and still is the demand of South
Africans who came from different provinces
w ith a pr ior it y to work or to st udy at
surrounding power stations, mines & colleges
in Mpumalanga areas but they struggle to
get shelters/accommodation. When I did
my risk assessment in property investing,
the risk was and still is very low compared to
the other investment portfolios. It is easy to
understand and manage and also allows me
to have income every month to meet some of
my monthly expenses, I also then have assets
that generate capital growth and can be used
as my bank. But, the most important factor
is the drive to meet the demand of ordinary
South Africans in assisting them with shelter/
accommodation so that they are able to come
and work in areas where there is work and
gain skills at FET colleges to put food on the
table for their families. That is the plan for my
involvement in property investing. At first I did
not look at it as an investment as such, but after
reading multiple property books and magazines
including P3 Investment material CDs and
books, I realised that this is an on-going
investment and passive income can be earned.
That’s when I started with my first property.
My property journey was not easy but I
pushed very hard to get my first property. I got
the bond on my own after the agent responsible
for selling the property that I was hunting failed
to get me the bond. I decided to make my own
applications to the banks and after I was
granted my first bond, I was in business.
What I noticed on my property journey
is that this is not an investment for lazy
[