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plan on reaching a R5 billion book
represented in every major city in
South Africa.
Says Jackson, “We fund ordinary
South Africans who have certain key
attributes. They live or work in the
city and have researched the market
potential. We have made a business
of recognising ordinary people with
potential. We don’t care if you can’t
speak English or your formal educa-
tion was cut short. We want to know:
Can you hack the vagaries of residen-
tial real estate? Have you done the
work and are you hard working? Do
you have integrity and are you hands
on? We have clients who have tried
commercial banks and been turned
away by a security officer, or a recep-
tionist asking what they were doing
there. But they all have common
attributes, they understand inner
cities and they are property entre-
preneurs.”
“We have funded domestic work-
ers, builders, electricians, teachers
andwe particularly like cops. We have
even funded former CEOs of JSE listed
companies. We are a place where
anybody can come for a cup of coffee
and talk business and inner cities.”
TUHF Limited is now registered on
the JSE Debt Securities Listing Board
and the final stages of the R1 billion
DTMN programme are in the process
of being carried out. Instrumental to
the listing of the DMTN Programme
in the form of a credit enhancement
is a R200 million Jobs Fundaward by
the National Treasury.
“A great thanks to the NHFC for its
continued support and taking the ini-
tial risk of planting the seeds of what
TUHF is today,” concludes Jackson.
Returns for investors...
Continued
▶▶▶
I
n 2012, Solly purchased Verena
Court in Primrose with his police-
man’s pension and funding from
TUHF and established his company
Take Shape.
Solly painted the building in the
company’s signature blue andpurple,
Verena Court stands cheerfully on a
corner with the sounds of children
playing behind the secure fence and
neighbours happily chatting, content
in the knowledge that the building
is well maintained and a safe place
to live.
The property comprises of several
building configurations, including
a block of flats with 18 one-and-a-
half bedroom units, a house and
two semi-detached buildings. The
block also has a small supermarket
on the ground floor that provides
residents and neighbours with their
daily needs. Solly employs an on-site
caretaker and a cleaner to maintain
the property, while the family-run
supermarket provides employment
to four people.
After purchasing Verena Court, he
repainted the inside and outside of
the flats and made additional minor
changes to uplift the building. The
house and semi-detached buildings,
however, needed major develop-
ment. Solly installed access control,
as well as a gate with remote controls
for tenants who park their cars on the
Case study – Solly Ramalamula
property. He met with all residents
prior to the refurbishments to explain
his vision for a clean and secure living
environment. Although this meant
a substantial increase in monthly
rentals, he explained that most of
the tenants chose to stay and greatly
appreciated the recently installed
access control and well-maintained
environment. The rooms are rented
for between R800 and R1 300 per
month, while larger family apart-
ments cost R2 800 per month, with
an additional levy for parking.
Solly has extended his business
to incorporate Take Shape Property
Management, which assists other
property entrepreneurs.
Solly Ramalamula’s belief in the importance of safety, security and
cleanliness, along with hard work, entrepreneurial tenacity and
TUHF’s assistance, has enabled him to leave his former occupation as
a policeman, to become the owner of five TUHF-financed properties.