Episode 37: How to build up to 70 units with a minimum rent of R2,500 rent per month

In episode 37, we talk to Witness Mdaka who was born in Giyani and grew up in Tembisa, Johannesburg. 

 

Witness' journey into real estate started in his teens, in 2007, when his mother found out she'd overpaid  her mortgage by R150, 000 (US$8,000), she used part of that money to build 6 back rooms and a garage in their yard. 

She tasked Witness with managing the rental income for the back rooms and explained to him that that that money would be used to pay for his university fees. 

He did use that money to go to Wits University, but unfortunately he failed his first year and his mother encouraged him to apply to Pearson's Institute where he studied business. 

When he got married he and his wife bought his first property for R440, 000 (US$23,750) in Kempton Park so they could use the rest of the funding they qualified for to get more property. 

When his mom passed on, he and his wife gave his apartment to his younger brother and his niece and converted this mom's property into an 11 unit property that cashflowed at R16, 500 (US$890) per month. 

He then gave the property to his brother to manage, which led us to a whole discussion on how powerful our family homes can be when it comes to helping the family financially. 

In 2015, Witness' journey skyrocketed - he bought 4 properties in 1 year and walks us through how he did that in the podcast. 

Today, his company has 70 units in the township, with an average of R2,500 - R3,500 per month and has now moved into buying rundown properties in predominantly White suburbs, rezoning them and building apartments. 

 

Click play to learn more about Witness' property journey and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.