Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa November 2013 | Page 27

am currently at the stage where I need to grow
and fast track my retirement so that I can get my
freedom back,” says Themba.
Themba credits the f irst t wo books he
bought on investing as the first finance for his
properties; they gave him the tools to make the
decisions that have led him to where he is today.
“The real initial finance I have had to put in was
in investing in two books by John Kehoe (Mind
Power Into the 21st Century and Money Success
and You). I don’t have the actual cost but they
would not cost more R140,” says Themba. It
was Themba’s refusal to give up that got him the
finance he needed, “I had just started working
when I applied for finance and all four banks
declined my application due to affordability. I
did not know anything about using my other
properties as security. I could not understand

why banks felt I could not afford a bond of
R4000 when I was paying rent for R3500 in the
place I was staying in. I kept going to present
myself to these banks and after three weeks my
first bond was approved,” says Themba, “I have
had this ‘never give up’ attitude from then and
every time I approach the banks now I always
know that I will get what I want based on my
cash flow. It seems to me that banks just want
to know that you are responsible and you know
and understand the risks involved.”
Themba uses different banks for finance today,
and feels that the reason property is such a great
investment is that it has inherent value and
banks are willing to finance the investment.
While the recession has made it slightly harder
to access finance, this hasn’t stopped Themba,
“I am exploring other ways of financing and
attending more w orkshops to meet property
gurus that can give me some direction,”
explains Themba.
Education seems to be the key to learning
and developing into a property investor: “It is
really my grandparents who set the tone and
P3 Investment Group taught me how to grow
my property portfolio strategically. I continue
to learn from books and newsletters written by
gurus like Clem Sunter, Dolf de Roos and Jason
Lee,” says Themba. It was Nelson Mandela who
said, “Education is the most powerful weapon
which you can use to change the world”. This
certainly holds true for changing your world,
with the right education you can use that
knowledge to change your life.

Above: Themba Ntanzi

www.reimag.co.za

T hemba is a ha nds-of f investor who
employs professionals to manage and run his
investment properties and he in turn manages
the professionals, such as rental agents. “The
reason is that it gives me the peace of mind that
my properties are managed by professionals,”
explains Themba. Despite this, he is still very
strict and runs a tight operation. “I am strict
on maintenance. I need a maintenance report
twice a year and I am not scared to fire an underperforming agent. Most of my properties are in
high demand areas like big cities and industrial
areas,” says Themba. And what has investing
taught Themba? “Investing has taught me that
people who take the first step to act do get
good results,” says Themba. In order to achieve
what you want to in life, you need to take the
right steps to get there, this is especially true in
property investing.