Smart investors are realising huge value in property investments in unlikely places. TUHF recently hosted a drive around downtown Durban showcasing their successful projects.
Property boffins love to warble on about trends, but there’s nothing quite like seeing opportunity first hand to appreciate it. Not too many people know about property financier company TUHF – a national commercial outfit with a R4,2-billion loan book which is doing some amazing work redeveloping suburbs across South Africa.
TUHF was formed in 2003 to fill the void created when big money fled the inner cities. TUHF is a specialised company that finances brave property investors, many though not exclusively, in inner cities. TUHF funding for over 650 buildings provides more than 43 000 residential units across South Africa, including over 80 projects in KZN where Sershin Moodley is the regional manager.
Moodley, TUHF portfolio manager Sabir Yusuf, and colleagues Sireena Ramparsad and Banu Naidu filled the Durban Ricksha bus recently and took property professionals on a ride through the CBD, Glenwood and Morningside areas, giving passengers the chance to marvel at what TUHF and its partners are doing.
TUHF customers are funded between R50 000 and R50-million. They target yields of 12% and over. Though typically identified with the inner city, TUHF has funded a host of projects in Phoenix, Red Hill and Avoca. Moodley says the demand for safe, densified living with good amenities is driving the repurposing of old properties, adding that TUHF entrepreneurs operate in the affordable sector.
“We are a mortgage financier. We are a non-bank financial services company that borrows money from the capital markets and invests it to help entrepreneurs grow property businesses.”
In Durban, smart TUHF projects stand out from their neighbours. The focus is on clever overhauls and an array of services that keep good tenants. The old Beach Hotel on the promenade, for example, was funded by TUHF. It caters for student accommodation, although only 10% of TUHF’s portfolio is student accommodation. Among the Beach Hotel’s offerings is a McDonalds and a gym.
Yusuf describes TUHF customers as “street smart and quick off the mark”. Another TUHF-funded building is the impeccably restored and maintained Art Deco building, Berea Court.
Among TUHF’s services is an annual building inspection for each of its projects. Moodley says while banks and funds are preoccupied with the bottom line, TUHF looks at the social impact of developments and the potential for capital appreciation.
“There is a growing demand for safe, family-friendly accommodation with amenities in urban development zones,” Moodley says. “Our property entrepreneurs are filling this gap.”
View the gallery from the event:
