Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa March 2015 | Page 25

deals mainly as a trustee and advisor. Around 2008
she facilitated over R3 billion transactions in the
technology, FML and property sectors. That same
year, the Chairman of the Pan African Development
Company, Tebogo Mogashoa with the assistance
of Candice as a trustee, launched the Pan African
Shopping Centre in the Alexandra. The centre has now
become a flagship shopping centre in the township.
Today the retail centre is valued at around R240
million.
The property entrepreneur
Candice then started building her own personal
residential property portfolio by focusing on sectional
title apartments in Mondeor and Oakdene in South
Johannesburg. She slowly expanded into high demand
buy-to-let areas like Midrand, Sandton, Morningside,
Rivonia and Sunninghill with individual sectional title
apartments.
She focused on commercial development
opportunities like Lombardy in Pretoria, close to
Silverlakes, where development land is relatively cheap
with yields of about 12 – 13%.
Candice then realised that to grow as an investor she
had to work with successful partners. She acquired a
partner and formed the Bullion Group. Their strategy
is to participate in all areas of the property value chain,
management, investment and maintenance. They plan
to control all property management and to participate
and sell entire developments.
They want to grow the property investment and to
start owning complexes in the affordable housing space
and have identified building good relationships with
the developer.
Candice, who always had a passion for property, was
tied into the corporate environment for a while and
felt trapped. Her property investments allowed her to
break away from the rat race of the corporate space and
be financially free.
Analysing a tangible property, in the right area, in a
high growth node and buying it using other people’s
money had made sound business sense to her. She is
also starting to get involved in the deal making part of
property with another new project. Clearly Candice’s
visionary and proactive approach has brought her great
success. With her feet firmly on the ground, Candice
will definitely be a force to be reckoned with in the
investment game in the future.
www.reimag.co.za

CANDICE’S 10 BASIC INVESTMENT TIPS:
1. Before investing in property, have an investment strategy in
place and be guided by a financial model.
2. Ensure you have accurate market information available
before making an offer on any property. Do not rely only
on third party advice. Do your own research by using
property portals such as Lightstone.
3. If you are buying to rent, make sure that the area will
attract a good rental. Look out for schools, security, retail
shops, public transport and, very importantly, the traffic
congestion in the area.
4. Remember to assess the necessary repairs and include the
costs thereof into your acquisition costs when determining
the viability of the investment.
5. Avoid tying up capital and bank available finance in your
primary residence and luxury vehicles. Rather scale down
and use the finance to invest in property.
6. Increase your yield by negotiating the best purchase price;
the agent’s commission as well as the attorney transfers
fees. Remember, everything is negotiable.
7. Source your own tenants by advertising in local newspapers
or online. But don’t rule out agents. Using an agent who
is well branded and has access to corporate clients, can
significantly increase your rental income.
8. Managing your property is a good way to increase your
yield and keep costs down.
9. Review the performance of your property portfolio on an
annual basis. Use any increase in capital growth as a basis
for refinancing your portfolio so that you can acquire more
properties with the additional finance available. Consider
selling any properties that grossly underperform.
10. Once you reach a point where you have no more bank
finance available, do not become complacent. Identify
potential partners who still have access to finance or start
flipping properties to build up your own capital.

RESOURCES
Schultz & Associates
March 2015 SA Real Estate Investor

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