Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa Real Estate Investor Magazine - June 2017 | Page 63

N
osizwe Solwandle’s (nee Mdingi’s) journey from
life as a young girl growing up in a rural village
in the Eastern Cape (EC), to her current position
as an independent, single mom and the proud owner of
three investment properties in the Cape Town area is an
inspiring one to say the least. There are three distinct
themes woven throughout Nosizwe’s story: work hard,
learn from others, and partner well.
Her first lesson about the business potential of real estate
came through her grandfather, who rented out buildings
on his property, throughout her childhood, to teachers and
students from her local high school. She herself became a
tenant at the age of 17, when she moved to another village,
without her parents, to finish her schooling. On weekends,
Nosizwe worked as a hair stylist to supplement the money
she received from her parents, who had relocated to Langa
in Cape Town because of her father’s illness
Nosizwe regularly visited her mom and dad over school
holidays. Not wanting to be a financial burden, she found
work as a cleaner for a landlord renting out rooms to UCT
students and short term guests ‒ a job she loved. She would
also visit family members who ran their own businesses, at
her father’s request, which she now recognises as his way of
encouraging her to be more business minded.
After matriculating, Nosizwe moved to Langa and
enrolled at an education centre to improve her pass marks.
It was during her tertiary studies at the University of the
Western (UWC) that her father sadly passed away and she
was forced to drop out due to financial pressures.
“I got married and became Mrs Solwandle, at the age
of 28, and stayed in a bungalow in Khayelitsha with my
husband. Unfortunately, when my newborn daughter was
only two months old, my husband passed away. I was left
with little support from his family, so my family moved
me back to Langa to be with them. I sold the bungalow to
support myself and my daughter. My husband didn’t have
any policy pay outs and I had no income, so I began to buy
and sell men’s clothing to support myself.”
Fortunately, Nosizwe did have her husband’s pension
money, from five years of work in a factory, which she used
to buy a property, cash, in Samora Machel.
“My aunt, a qualified nurse, took me under her wing to
help me through this challenging time, supported by my
uncle, who played a fatherly role towards me,” Nosizwe
explained. Her aunt encouraged her to attend a business
skills course to keep busy. Nosizwe went on to complete a
security training course, computer course and a home care
course (offered for free by the Government).
Nosizwe secured a permanent job in 2006 as a security
officer with the Western Cape Department. More certain
of a regular and stable income, she chose to sell her
property in Samora Machel to clear her debt. By then
she had made substantial improvements to the property,
adding on two more rooms, which she was able to rent
out to tenants while she also lived there. “My tenants each
www.reimag.co.za
paid me R300 a month to rent a room from me,” shared
Nosizwe.
With the money left over after paying off her debts, and
after a promotional transfer to another department, she
could secure a R148 000 bond and raise R100 000 to put
down as a deposit on a new property in Langa, which she
moved into and shared with tenants.
It was during a train ride home from a work-related
workshop in Belville that she learned from a fellow
commuter about cheaper-than-expected properties for sale
in Maitland. This prompted Nosizwe to do some online
research, where she found out about a one-room flat in
Maitland that she could afford to buy. She contacted the
seller, Meyer De Waal of My Bond Fitness, to view the
apartment. Meyer explained to