My First Apartment - A Journey
Hello everyone!
In this thread you can expect to find my real estate journey to purchasing my first apartment, how I go about it and of course the story behind my interest in real estate.
Let me start off by thanking everyone who has posted their stories / deals / mistakes / leanings as they have all been much appreciated, There's nothing quite like learning from the experience of others, and I am so grateful to everyone who has been so honest about their situation, even if it wasn't a glamorous one.
A little bit about me before I get into what this post will be about: I am a 22 y/o student based in South Africa and have had a keen interest in real estate ever since I was a young kid. I remember (and still do) lapping up all the renovation shows on TV, Grand Designs being my absolute favourite of them all. There's something almost poetic about turning a house from grunge into glory, and I am already anticipating the countless amounts of adrenalin rushes.
I have to give credit to my parents who have helped a lot when it comes to teaching me financial sense. They always told me how important saving is, and not spending your money in one go. Sometimes I do get frustrated as like everyone I also want instant gratification, but it's the long term thinking that has allowed me to push through those weak moments. It really frustrates and in a sense makes me sad to see people my age 'throw' their money away on frivolous things and spend cash without blinking their eyes, and then complain how broke they are. But I know adopting this kind of long term thinking will benefit me down the line.
I am on a mission and am going to stop at nothing to build my real estate empire.
So, I am gradually getting to what this thread is going to be about. Please bear with me, as I hope you will find it as interesting as I find it exciting telling you!
The past few years I have been saving as much as possible, doing jobs here and there and trying to earn money wherever possible. Seeing as I am still a student and not earning the big bucks, I put all my savings into unit trusts and shares as every extra little cent I earn helps (it’s money for free!). In the past two years my portfolio has actually grown 30%, which I am pretty chuffed about (My property unit trust is actually the highest performing UT, outperforming the top 40 listed shares... Can we get a whoop whoop!?).
I set myself the goal of reaching a certain amount before I start looking into purchasing anything, and I am glad to say that I have finally reached my goal. I am looking to purchase a R595,000, 1 bedroom apartment ($44,215 converted) with a large deposit down and enough for some small renovations. The government isn’t as generous with loans down here as they are up in the States, so this means I need at least a 10% deposit minimum in order to qualify for anything. And seeing as I am not working full time I am unable to qualify for a loan – so my parents, graciously will become my lenders, and I am going to put 13% down as a deposit.
My ultimate goal with property is to retire early with my units earning some of that lovely passive income. I have a passion for developing and would love to get into wine farms / security estates and higher end apartments…
So now comes the exciting bit, hope you haven’t fallen asleep yet!
I am really lucky in the sense that I have a family friend who has been in the real estate business for quite some time and is incredibly trusted and reliable. I approached him about two weeks ago, expressing my interest to purchase my first apartment. We met up and he told me all the things about owning your first property, how you should go about it and the costs involved.
Currently he is in the process of sorting out a deceased estate and has mentioned there is a property within my budget and in the area that I am looking in. So I am meeting with him next week Monday to discuss further details and the steps involved.
All I can say is that I am very excited, and can’t wait to share this journey with you. I will of course be posting updates as I go along - keeping you all informed.
Thanks for reading this mammoth of a post!