Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa November 2018 | Page 10

MASTER INVESTOR
The Rawson property development and construction
business are still going from strength to strength having built
in excess of 3500 residential units in the Western Cape already.
Currently, he has a property development pipeline of some R3
billion depending on their appetite for risk.
Bill the property investor
Bill’s first property investment he bought for himself was a piece
of vacant land he bought in Kommetjie, Cape Town which he
resold shortly thereafter. After doing all the calculations he
realized that it was a poor investment as there was no proper
income stream. Although he had made a profit on the capital
growth of the sale, it took him a bit of time to get his cash back, so
the risk and reward didn’t make any sense to him.
From the proceeds of his first property earnings in 1973 he
started embarking on investing in property, buying vacant land
and then investing in houses which he renovated, sold or rented
out. It was through this that he learnt how gearing and borrowed
finance can accelerate and improve income to purchase property.
Bill has always kept educating himself to stay abreast of the
latest business trends, politics and economics today. His journey
to make a difference in the game still continues and he has not
switched off but aims to only work three days a week. However, he
still gets very enthusiastic when he comes across great investment
opportunities in the form of good people, good ideas, lucrative
property or business opportunities.
Some of Bill’s best experiences include investing in great
properties after doing thorough research on their value and
its opportunity for either investment or redevelopment and
negotiating the most favourable terms when possible.
His worst experience in investing was in what seemed like
a great opportunity at the time when he miscalculated the
potential for the area to improve as he had based this on incorrect
assumptions. Ten years later he sold the property for the same
price for which he had purchased it.
Don’t over-estimate Mr. Market which is extremely difficult as
an optimistic property person who has seen the values of property
particularly in the Western Cape just continue to increase year
after year since 1971.
Most important investment lessons
Always have cash and energy reserves and a Plan B that can be
put in place should the economy change negatively so that you
are never forced to sell.
Bill has always invested in his own businesses and property. He
has not understood the share market, offshore property or equities
market. He has adopted the philosophy that you must not invest
in what you don’t understand and what you can’t control.
Property in both residential and commercial sectors has treated
him well in all of his businesses of property franchising, property
development and investment. He has always invested equally in
residential and commercial properties which generate income for
his investment portfolio.
Bill has created a successful business through creating good
systems, building teams that lead, teaching and employing 1000’s
of people who feed families every day and look after customer’s
needs. Bill says, “The success in uplifting people so that they can
look after their needs has fulfilled me as a person and given me a
purpose led life.”
I am always encouraging people to start their own businesses
or I am challenging their thoughts that they can do it.
Opportunities going forward
Bill says there are many opportunities going forward in the
SA property market. As the population of Africa and South
Africa continues to grow so will the need for housing. He says
opportunities are on the sections of the market that is the most
profitable and affordable.
Technology if used correctly will hugely enable a very
competitive real estate industry so stay up to date or just employ
a service provider that is. We will still need to make our own
decisions and lead our own lives and businesses but hopefully
through technology we will have reliable information should
we need to make calculated decisions. Bill is excited about the
technology that they have continued to invest in that enables and
improves their buyers, sellers, landlords and tenant’s experiences.
Bill’s vision will be fulfilled if company continues beyond him
to serve all of its partners and clients in the best possible way so
that they can continue to add value to the many lives daily. They
are also very excited about their new property developments that
they are bringing to the market very soon.
Bill’s life philosophy is be to be happy by helping others so
that we can all live a peaceful and meaningful life. He says the
biggest impact he would like to make on the world is to help and
encourage others to do the best they have with what they have
been given.
BILL’S TOP 10 PROPERTY INVESTMENT TIPS
1. Define the property investment market you want to invest in and study it in depth.
2. A good investment is an income producing property which appreciates.
3. Invest in what you know you can afford and control.
4. Whatever you buy today must have the same or an improved value tomorrow.
5. When buying think about who you would be selling or renting to in the future and how they will pay for it.
Will they need and get bank finance and will the bank agree the value.
6. Are there any potential changes in the town planning by the local authority in the near future which may
affect this property?
7. If you are using bank finance then you should give thought as how an increase in interest rates could affect
this opportunity and if you are concerned then to consider take a fixed interest rate or a term bond.
8. Determine if there are there any political activities on the horizon that may affect your investment?
9. Have the title deeds checked and explained to you by a qualified conveyancer. If there are references to previ-
ous title deeds then get those checked out as well.
10. Always check that the buildings are built according to the approved building plans, zoning conditions and
are not affected by any heritage limitation or restriction.
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine