Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa July 2015 | Page 13

SISA NGEBULANA
PERSONAL
STATISTICS
Apartheid brought an end to his sporting career, and BT started a soap
making business, but was forced to leave Woodstock in Cape Town in
1952.
Clearly not a man who allowed circumstances to dictate his destiny,
BT relocated to the Eastern Cape and ventured into the taxi industry,
transporting people around the East London area. He then bought a
smallholding in Mthatha and started farming fruit and vegetables with
two donkeys. Soon he had built a number of successful family businesses,
including a general dealer, selling everything from fruit and vegetables
to building materials, furniture and clothes; a butchery; and a clay brickmaking factory, Brickfields.
Internalising his grandfather’s strong morals and work ethics, Sisa grew
up with a solid foundation of BT’s practical example of how to become a
successful 100% self-made entrepreneur. Sisa’s grandfather also taught him
financial fundamentals: to save, to be curious and resourceful in creating
wealth and leaving a legacy, to educate himself about investments and to
invest in property and stock markets.
From a young age, Sisa worked at the general dealer and at the
brickfields. At the same time, he attended school and matriculated at St
John’s College in Mthata, before moving on to Fort Hare University in
Eastern Cape and later the University of Natal (now the University of
KwaZulu-Natal) and Rand Afrikaans University (now the University of
Johannesburg) to study law.
Where it all started
Sisa fondly remembers being involved in the building of local houses as a
youngster, planning four-bedroom brick houses and rondawels on a piece
of paper, preparing plans and foundations, doing the costings without a
calculator and co-ordinating the building himself.
While he attended the University of Natal, he enrolled as an estate agent
with Realty Elk to finance his studies and living expenses. He sold around
28 homes and became one of the best local agents in Maritzburg. Sisa also
started fixing and flipping properties. He renovated many properties and
created fencing which was called ‘Stop Nonsense’.
Sisa then moved to Pinelands, Cape Town, where he completed his
articles at Jan S de Villiers law firm between 1992 and 1994. To make ends
meet, he bought a tow bar and launched a furniture removal business. Sisa
also opened a commercial estate agency in Cape Town.
Qualified as a commercial lawyer, he moved to Johannesburg and set
up a fulltime transport business, Blue Truck Rentals, before accepting a
position as a legal advisor, specialising in finance and treasury derivatives
and transactions, at Eskom.
Residential property
In 1999, Sisa returned to the property game, this time developing property
in Kyalami Estate and Dainfern. This was followed by other developments,
including a