Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa May/June 2019 | Page 13

MIKE GREEFF
KEY STATS
Name: Mike Greeff
Age: 59
Education: Rondebosch Boys High School and Abbotts College
First property sold was: Dalmore Avenue Tokai
Based in: Cape Town
Currently reading: Divine Direction’ by Craig Groeschel
Guilty pleasure (pertaining to media consumption): Scrolling
through Facebook
Favourite pastime: Tennis, Pilates, Walking, Aqua Aerobics
Favourite suburb to have on my books: Constantia, Bishopscourt,
Newlands and Claremont
Life motto: Consider the interests of others before your own
Advice for aspiring property investors: Hot spots are the South
Peninsula – Simons Town, Kommetjie, Kalk Bay and St. James
If I had limitless funds, I would invest in property in: The above
hot spots
Before he could start sinking his teeth into the property
game, Greeff ’s business journey took him into the sweets
business. His dad owned a sweet factory and Greeff, with
time on his hands during his second year of military training,
started selling sweets. He refers to this period of his life the
‘Not so Sweet Life.’ Despite selling huge amounts of stock,
he found when doing the marketing, the accounting system
and cash flow was not good and certain supermarkets never
paid on time.
It was during this time that he first invested in property. In
the early 1980s, Greeff bought and renovated houses for resale.
‘Profits were low and slow and it took too long to complete
the renovations, and time cost me money from the loans. This,
however, taught me to buy right and sell right.’ But he focused
on the sweets business (which was sold eventually), and he
re-entered the property arena in 1992. ‘I knew I had come
‘home’ – literally. Selling property was something I was good
at from the start.
He started out as an estate agent with Pam Golding. ‘My
work ethic could always be described not just as driven, but
permanently in over-drive. I believe I let feelings of inadequacy
about my lack of tertiary education drive me to work hard, and
then even harder. It got to a point where I was chasing success
only to prove something to myself. In hindsight, it’s obviously
much clearer to me that this was never going to be the right
path,’ Greeff says in his book. He joined Seeff, where he was
given a senior management position as regional director.
However, Greeff loved selling and closing deals was what
made him truly happy. His path was chosen for him, though,
when a managerial dispute over the franchise resulted in the
company’s license to sell property was revoked and Greeff,
along with all the directors at the company, was fired. ‘Just like
that I was out of a job. It might have been the end of my road,
but being victim of the situation was never even a fraction of
an option for me. I saw it as an opportunity to finally get the
recognition I knew I could achieve.’
“
Just like that I was out of a job.
It might have been the end of
my road, but being victim of
the situation was never even a
fraction of an option for me. I saw
it as an opportunity to finally get
the recognition I knew I could
achieve.
“
S
tanding in the Gallery of Great Battles in the Palace of
Versailles at a black-tie dinner honoured by his peers
and colleagues, Mike Greeff couldn’t be further from his
humble roots. His long and gutsy entrepreneurial journey cul-
minated in this epicentre of extravagance, but his dogged and
determined rise to be found one of Africa’s most successful
property agencies is the really interesting part of this story.
Greeff grew up in Cape Town, but his academic career was
hamstrung by a mixture of learning, concentration and visual
difficulties. As a result, reading and writing was a tortuous
experience leading to low confidence and self-esteem. Greeff
says in his book ‘With my Head Held High: ‘I remain terrified
of being quizzed on any level. If a teacher asked me a question
in class, I turned purple…The fact that I don’t understand
whatever was being taught put me in a permanent state of
terror. To top it all, I had a problem sitting still, so if I couldn’t
get up to walk around, I jiggled my legs incessantly.’
His escape was in the form of physical activity and he
eventually excelled at tennis. Through hard work, a handful
of patient teachers and his dedicated mom’s after-school help
with homework, Greeff received his matric certificate. He
was in his 30’s when he was first diagnosed with Attention
Deficit Disorder (ADD). Today, he’s at the helm of Greeff
Christie’s International Real Estate’s portfolio which includes
14 development projects currently on the market, ranging in
prices from R665 thousand to R16.995 million. In 2018, the
group doubled its sales turnover. ‘People trust us because we
listen to them and follow through. It’s not about chasing a
fast buck but rather helping people make one of the biggest
decisions of their lives. Whether it’s a young family looking
for their first home or empty nesters that are looking to move
out of a house filled with memories, we are there to ease the
transition and make the process easier,’ says Greeff. Since its
establishment in 2001, the company has grown from a staff
complement of four to its current figure of 155.
His path was now ‘cleared’ and he opened his own business
from home. ‘I instinctively began using all the positive coping
mechanisms that had got me through school. Firstly, wherever
I perceived there was a gap in my knowledge or abilities, I
called on skilled friends, colleagues and role models and
secondly, I spent time with people who believed in me. This
kept me optimistic and focused and allowed me to pour my
energy into what I was good at: selling.’ According to Greeff,
his ability to sell has always been one of his most powerful
tools, but his ‘sharpest arrow in his quiver was the fact that I
still hated the very thought of failure.’
Greeff started Greeff Properties, a one-man show from
his home. Yet, soon agents from other big agencies started
approaching the business. ‘I was asked: Why didn’t Greeff
remain a small independent working from home? And I
joke: Because all these estate agents working from home were
driving my wife crazy! In truth, we believe we were blessed
by catching the market at the right time; interest rates were
coming down and the property market was taking off. Our
approach was a key to our early success and phenomenal
growth. I was prepared to do whatever needed done to produce
the best long-term results.’
The group focused on the Constantia Upper area, taking
anything they could find, even the dilapidated houses on
busy roads. Sellers got about 30% more on the sale of their
properties than what other agents from other companies
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine MAY/JUNE 2019
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