Although women have long been the key decision-makers when it comes to home-buying decisions, it’s not that long since they could only buy the property or enter into any type of binding contract with the authorisation of their fathers or husbands who then had legal ownership as well as managerial rights.
So, says Yael Geffen, CEO of Lew Sotheby’s International Realty, and with recent data from Statistics SA revealing that South African women are living almost six years longer than men and almost half of all marriages end in divorce, it’s vital that they start to take control of their financial futures by taking an active role in family finances if married and starting financial planning as soon as possible.
READ: How single women are getting a foot on the property ladder
Property24 speaks to Faith Mangope, a broadcaster, business owner, and entrepreneur, who has never accepted "no" for an answer. Her character is defined by her ability to turn bad circumstances into positive ones.
Mangope’s property journey
“My property journey began when I had to pay off my mother's home in 2014/15,” Mangope says this was one of the most important moments in her life.
In the aftermath of her mother's divorce, Mangope in her mid-20s at the time was tasked as the family’s sole breadwinner to provide for her three siblings and her mother. She decided to pay off the family home bond before putting in an offer to purchase her first home.
Her goal was to work extremely hard in an effort to pay off her family home.
Once she achieved this goal Mangope felt a sense of pride which propelled her to purchase her own property.
“I bought a beautiful, three-bedroom, two-bathroom investment apartment which I currently rent out.”
As a result of her successful investment and having gone through the eye-opening experience of additional costs that are implemented when purchasing a property, Mangope decided to purchase a second investment property.
Despite this, the banks were still sceptical about whether a young, single woman could afford the third bond.
Mangope explains that before she could purchase several financial institutions rejected her bond application.
However, she was not deterred and decided to change the strategy by approaching her private banker and requesting that he assist her in getting a 100% bond.
SEE: What you need to know about renting your first property as a young adult
Her private banker stood by her and walked the journey with her. She says “I had to take a stand and said I will not take no for an answer. I told him we are going to work together and get it but I had to be deliberate and intentional about it.
“I love the feeling of winning and receiving congratulatory letters from the bank, so I decided to buy my second property, a four-bedroom, two-bathroom double-storey home in an estate,” says Mangope.
After reaching her goal of purchasing her second property there was no stopping Mangope from pursuing her next property investment ambitions and she was able to purchase her third property during the pandemic, a five-bedroom, and six-bathroom house.
“Lockdown and Covid were the least of my worries, all I wanted was to buy another property, and private institutions thought I was mad since it was hard times for our country. I told them that I do not work according to the economic climate otherwise I'll hold off on my dreams,” she says.
Despite facing many difficulties as a child, she now owns three properties under her name.
"Bad things have happened to me, but we have the option to allow the bad to define us, or to define good from bad for ourselves."
SEE: Affordable homes that won't break the bank
What’s next?
Mangope says she wants to turn Johannesburg into “vertical estates”.
“My goal now is to buy dilapidated buildings in one of the cities in Gauteng, refurbish them, and provide people with a dignified living.”
My love for property comes from childhood trauma
“As a child, my father took us to view houses with the understanding that we would move in, but it never happened.”
“I made a choice as a child as to whether I will only look at these houses or experience the joy and pleasure of having them.”
Top tips Mangope offers first-time buyers
1. Location, location, location! - It is important to take a look at the neighbouring suburbs, the proximity of amenities, and the proximity of schools if you plan to have children.
SEE: The South Coast and Durban suburbs with good schools
2. Take a look at the additional costs – Do your research on additional costs such as levies, initiation fees, repairs, etc. In many cases, buyers are blind-sighted by the additional costs.
3. Know what you are buying into - Contractors can tell you about all the things real estate agents won't tell you about a house they are trying to sell.
4. Have money to fix, always - Before moving into a house, always fix enough so it reflects your personality.
5. Enjoy your home – Often working hard results in people struggling to enjoy what they have accumulated.
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