In touch with Robert Konigkramer

By Coert Coetzee

I am very excited about the Treoc Business Academy – and can not wait to attend. Well done…
I think it is a great idea and am certain it will be very successful.
I always ask myself ‘how can I work smarter’? As my business grows I find that I am constantly working harder and as it grows there is more reliance placed on my self in order for it to run effectively. Even employing more staff members has not helped me and I am constantly struggling to delegate as to lighten my load so that I can concentrate on, (as Niel says), working ON the business and not IN the business. I look forward to it…
Your article on the 15th April ‘Rich Young People’ raised an interesting point and something that I am glad that you drove home – it is not about trying to have ‘x’ number of properties; “keeping up with the Joneses” but it is about a portfolio that suites the individual.
I am single with no dependants. I can afford to cover high shortfalls and take a bit more (calculated always), risk than (say) a family man with a wife and to kids who has to worry about school fees etc. Every man to his own. Something though, which I tried to convey in my speech in Bloem, but unfortunately I don’t think people fully understand is that it is not my business that has made me successful in property BUT property that has made me successful in business. I came across a comment on a property website re. my speech in Bloem which was published on your website and the comment was that they felt it was impossible for a 21yr old with a low income to purchase so many properties in such a short space of time and that it was my business which afforded me the opportunity.

This is certainly not the case! We all know that structured right, it is not difficult to purchase properties on a low income. (Use a family member as surety, use rental income to boost income etc) It is definitely, 100% only because of the security and cash flow (mortgage bonds), that my investments properties offered me that I was able to grow my business to where it is today. I did my first development of 3 units without a development bond from the bank. I bought the land with a bond and then I used money accessed via mortgage bonds on some of my investment properties to build the units. Once built, I sold them – I did not settle the bonds with that money but used that money to buy another plot of land, accessed even more money from my investment properties and completed a 6 unit development without a development bond…. and so on and so on. (All about OPM! Using the banks money to make me money… and then rolling it). In the beginning of my business the banks would not offer me a development bond because I did not have a track record as a builder & developer – their suggestion was that I partner with an established developer for my first few developments in order to attain a track record.

Noways – give away half of my profits to somebody who is little more than a name on the application form – no ways! Thank you Treoc, thank you investment properties, thank you mortgage bonds! (Now that I have a track record I have the banks approaching me offering me money for developments – funny how the interest that I pay on mortgage bonds over my investment properties is a few % less than that of a development bond).
Now my business just so happens to be involved with property, but this same principal could apply to anybody in any business. Take your street corner hot dog stand national – open franchises around the country. Buy new equipment for your workshop so that you can repair the latest vehicles. Whatever your business is, the security that investment properties offer can help you to grow it. Obviously you have to be sure about what you are doing, it is not free money, it does have to be paid back some day and if the business fails there is a problem. Yes, at first it is your properties that help your business, and down the road when your business is doing well, it is your business that grows your investment properties. But, without the investment properties in the first place, you would still be stuck in the starting gates.
I am working on a development in PMB at the moment. It is definitely not a typical “Treoc Type” property investment but does offer good returns – purchase price would be about R600k and nett. return probably around 1% per month. Everything would be managed by a management company that I would form. The project is still in it’s infancy but I was wondering who I could speak to at Treoc about the possibility of making this an offering to the Treoc Investors? I realize that it doesn’t fit within the typical “Treoc Type” category but think that once presented it may be an attractive offering. I am considering maybe even offering a guaranteed rental return for a period of time (maybe 6 months or a year). Could you please put me in contact with the right person to speak to?
Thank you again for everything! Take care, sure to see you soon!
Rob

Last week I wrote about he exciting new products we are going to launch. As usual I am too fast for the infrastructure and due to some legalities that are still outstanding I will have to postpone the launch. My people are working very hard on finalising everything and hopefully I will have more news next week. In the meantime I am going to discuss the basic pros and cons of the new products on the seminars. However, I will keep you posted and as soon as possible I will send a newsletter out with all the detail. In the meantime we are not losing out because opportunities are just improving with the pending further increase in the interest rates. Just watch this spot.
Happy House Hunting!