Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa March 2014 | Page 12

MASTER INVESTOR
cash deposit to pay for my university studies
one day,” he said. This didn’t mean that he
was broke throughout his childhood. He was
resourceful and when it came to spending
money, used to collect empty glass cold drink
bottles and return them to the corner shop in
exchange for deposit money.
His first property investment occurred in
the 1990s. “My wife and I bought a residential
cluster unit and rented it out. We sold it to
the tenant for a handsome profit two years
later. My f irst venture into commercial
property investment was acquiring assets for
Growthpoint in 2002. Before then I had only
ever f inanced and banked for commercial
property investors,” he said.
When asked what life lessons he had gained
through his investments over the years, De
Klerk had a couple of pearls to impart: “I have
learned that tenacity is a most underrated
quality. It is impossible to know everything, so
ask lots of questions,” he said.

work the luckier you get.” And one piece of
advice that stood out and which is sound advice
“A leopard doesn’t change its spots, so hold on
to a good thing and sell a bad one,” he said.
While Estienne has achieved much in his
years in the business, he realises that there are
other things that he still has to attain on both a
personal and professional level.
“There are so many things on my “bucket list”
- some are simple, such as showing my kids
interesting and beautiful places in our country.
Others are personal goals that continuously
evolve but the hardest is keeping a balance
between work, family, community and play,”
he said.
“At a property sector level, I hope to help
further the work of SAPOA during my year
as president of the association by initiating
various projects with the board and executive
team, which will continue to benefit members
in future years.”

RESOURCES

In addition, he was quick to state that hard
work is where the reward lies. “The harder you

Growthpoint Properties

TOP 10 TIPS
1

Understand the quality of the property
portfolio.

2

Find out if rentals are over or under market
rental levels to ensure you investment’s
returns are sustainable.

3

Look for quality tenants with longer lease
profiles.

4

Consider if a company is investing in a
single sector, or diversified with property
investments across different sectors.

5

Understand if the company is a REIT. REITs offer
a different tax treatment and a different type
of investment.

6

Consider the company’s debt, including
liquidity risk and exposure to interest rate risk.

7

Ask if the management team has a good
reputation and track record.

8

Enquire and read up on all the research
available to form your own view.

9

Confirm the distribution forecasts for the
company and know at what rate they are
expected to grow.

10

The view on the long bond yields in South
Africa impacts on the required yield for REIT
property company shares.

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