Episode 92: How to build 21 units in 2 years using other people‘s money

In today’s podcast episode, we talk to Moloko Makgele, founder of Zest Property Investment Development and a fund manager at Absa for the last 8 years.

Moloko has an Accounting degree, post-grad in risk Management and an MBA from Mancosa.

He has been an entrepreneur for years and has tried multiple businesses until he decided he needed something that can create a proper stable income, which is how he decided on property.

In 2018 he partnered with his cousins to buy their first investment property cash in Polokwane. The property was an old RDP house in a 400-meter yard. The plan was to build rooms on the property. 

They didn't do anything with the property for 10 months and he noticed that he was the one taking care of the property. He felt like he was the one pulling everyone so he offered to buy out his cousins for R120, 000. 

At about the same time, his father went on pension in early 2019, so he borrowed money from his father to convert the property (in the podcast he shares how to talk about money with your family) and demolished the actual house and built 10 units.

In the podcast, he shares the challenges of building a house in a separate province and how he had to change builders 3 times and how it took him 6 - 7 months to build the units, vs the 2 to 3 months he had planned.

He finished building the units in March 2020, for R800,000 (US$56,380) and they were fully occupied within a month, renting at R2300 (US$162) per unit.

He then bought a second property in Kempton Park, using money he had borrowed from friends after renegotiating the terms of the loan with his dad. 

He bought a house, rezoned the house and partitioned it into 11 one-bedroom units, added wifi to the development. 

This is such a great episode because we go in-depth on discussing money with family and friends.

Click play to listen to this episode and please share your feedback in the comments below.