Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa November 2018 | Page 52

OFFSHORE INVESTMENT
ADVERTORIAL
Save Money with
an Independent Property Specialist
BY LISA BATHURST
N
ew developments are springing up all over the world,
ripe for investing. For an investor interested in buying
property abroad, choosing the right property is key.
International property specialist and founder of Hurst
& Wills, Lisa Bathurst, says working through a property
specialist, will ultimately save you money. “There are so many
developers out there, it is important to know which developers
are reputable and have done good work, and which developers
- and developments - to avoid,” she says.
“Obviously, developers only sell their own stock,” says
Bathurst. “Developers often build properties that are
unpopular with tenants. We’ve seen many developments that
haven’t been designed with the end-user in mind, making
them challenging to rent out.”
“Developers who have built in the wrong locations can
mislead overseas buyers who don’t realise that one street to
the next in certain neighbourhoods can make a big difference,”
she says. “They are also under pressure to sell the ‘hard-to-
shift’ units in otherwise popular buildings. Buying the wrong
apartment in a block can make it tough to rent out. If you
are not satisfied with what you have bought, recourse can be
tricky as international developers often don’t have a presence
in South Africa,” she says.
“Independent firms – like Hurst & Wills - have access to
several developers across many markets. We are able to offer
clients a variety of different investments to best suit their
investment strategy,” says Bathurst. “We are aligned with the
buyer, not the developer, so our clients get balanced advice. As
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine
investment property is our core business, we visit the projects
our clients invest in several times a year and provide unbiased
updates,” she says.
“We only work with reputable developers who have
satisfied our own due diligence, who have been in business
for many years, successfully completing projects and whose
developments achieve high occupancy. Buying new property
can carry financial and development risks, the better developers
have good financials,” she said. “We only work with the best.”
“Independent specialists will also highlight the many other
considerations an investor should be aware of before buying
offshore. Issues such as cross-border tax planning, structuring
and capital allowances, all form part of the larger decision-
making process,” she says.
“We do our own Return on Investment (ROI) calculations
to ensure each investment we recommend stacks up. We have
seen investors being lured in by developers offering guaranteed
returns, but these are not always the best investment,” says
Bathurst.
“As an independent firm, we are able to tailor a shortlist
of investments to suit our client’s unique needs, in-line with
their own wealth strategy and objectives,” she says. “Based in
Cape Town, we focus on developments that suit South African
investors. Our experience and expertise make the process of
investing in overseas property less risky for our clients.”
SOURCE Hurst & Wills