 is chair and welcome to another episode of the developer show. Today we are joined by Andres Kiyokati from Apple Property Connection and they are showcasing their latest development, often Pretoria, called Fifth on Brooklyn. Andres, it is a pleasure to have you back, you on what? Our first time on I show you've done this before and it's really good to see you again. Thanks man, thanks for having me here again. As I said, it's absolutely a pleasure, always nice informing the public about one of the new products that we have on the market. So absolutely just a pleasure, as I said. Now it's really good to have you back. So Andres, for people who haven't seen you on the show before, for people who do need a reminder, could you give us a run through about what clients can expect if they do decide to purchase through Apple Property Connection and also just tell us a bit about yourself, tell us about your team. No worries. As I said, Apple Property, we already started as a development agency specializing in new developments. So that's where we start the market, then we branched out into a residential and also recently started commercial. So we have all market facets we're specializing in, but we saw a niche in the market. So when working with an agent from Apple Property, all of our agents are fully qualified, they have their FFCs, they have written the exam or they're in the process of writing the PDE for exam. So all of our agents are fully qualified up to date with the latest market trains and knowing what laws to follow at the end of the day. So Fifth on Brooklyn is a new hot kid on the block. Tell us a bit about that. And it's a fantastic development. To give you an idea, I put so much faith in the product. Myself as an agent bought one of the units in the development. So that's one of the things there's only 30 units. All these developments these days, they're so colossal and large, don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with those big developments. But I personally believe in mine in your smaller developments, where you have meta security at the end of the day, if you're only 30 units, your security is much better, your access control is much better. So we only have 30 units and we've got three variations of units. We have our A plan, our B plan and our C plan. And our C plan is quite nice. I will get to that a bit later. We'll definitely talk about that. Tell us where Fifth on Brooklyn is located. Obviously the name gives a bit away, but just run us through this location, run us through about the amenities around it. And then we'll talk more about it as a unit in and of itself. So the developments located in the heart of Menlo Park, Brooklyn area, it's actually in the board of Brooklyn, Menlo Park and Brooklyn. So if you literally go over Brooklyn road, and then, sorry, there's just plain flying overhead. So literally when you just cross Brooklyn road and you're in the Brooklyn area, so you're in the hub of the Brooklyn Menlo Park area, you're close to all amenities, you're close to the university, you're close to Menlo Node, you're literally close to all amenities, close to a spa, close to pick and pay, close to Willys. It's a fantastic, fantastic area. So tell us, when we talk about areas, and it's something I've wanted to speak to a developer about previously, when we talk about these areas and what's around them, what thought process do you go through before picking an area or what thought process do developers usually go through before picking an area? And why is it so important for a customer who's looking to purchase into a development to keep in mind? Well, what I always tell my developers, and what I also tell my potential buyers at the end of the day, location, location, location, you can always change the property, but you can never change the location. So your location has to be the most important thing. Is it close to schools? That's the first thing I always have, tell my clients when you want to buy a property and the developers, make a list of three things. What I must have, what would be nice to have, and what are deal breakers. So my first thing is, is it close to schools and amenities? I'm not going to break down any other areas or anything, but a lot of these newer areas are very far from schools. And that's a big issue for families these days. It doesn't help you drive 45 minutes to school every morning, because the traffic is going to kill you. The same what I can say about work, you have to be close to your place of work, your bubble, your vicinity. So my three checklist, your schools, your place of work, and your place of shopping, where you feel comfortable with. What is your bubble? It's very nice to see that it's in Brooklyn, because I think you're going to be close to everything with the way Brooklyn's built up. Absolutely. So now we've spoken about the three plans that are available. Can you expand on those three plans and what they include? No, definitely. So we'll start off with our A unit. Our A unit, it's 76 square meters big. They're quite popular as well. Well, all of our units are popular. With our A unit, it's 76 square meters big. You have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, decent size open-plan kitchen lounge area with a private balcony, north facing balcony. That's the first thing that we also spoke with a developer. All of our balconies are north facing and they're not facing each other. So that just gives you a bit more privacy. So that's our A unit. Also two parking bays. A lot of these other developments these days, you only have one parking. Yeah, we have two parking spaces, always maybe a brother and a sister or a guy that's buying, but he's renting out the second unit. So we have two dedicated parking bays for each unit as well. Then with our B unit, it's a little bit smaller. So they're going for 1.5 million rent or 1,499,000. For 1.5 million rent, you've got two bedrooms, two bathrooms. But what we made nice about this unit is you have a guest toilet. So when people come and visit you, they don't have to go into your personal private space as well. Again, a decent size kitchen. Also a nice north facing balcony. A little bit smaller than A unit's balcony, but still a decent size balcony. And then we have one of my favorites, the C unit. Now the C unit's roughly about 83, 84 square meters big. They are duplexes. In my opinion, I've not seen anything else of this in the area. So they used to be going for 1.77 million. So 1,770,000. The developer has not dropped the price, I think until the end of this year. So they're going for 1.7 million rent. Duplexes. So then you also have two dedicated parking bays, the same as the A unit and the B unit, two dedicated parking. Then you come in on the middle level, slightly large kitchen, open plan, living area, nice balcony again, guest toilet. And then you have your own private stairwell in your unit. Main bedrooms on suite. And your second bedroom is also on suite. So main bedroom on suite with a shower, toilet and a basin. And your second room is on suite with a bath basin and toilet. So it's like almost like a duplex townhouse. So your unit C, the developer has put a discount on until the end of the year. So essentially anybody purchasing between now and the end of the year, by the time generally rolls around, if you purchase as an investor or even just a homeowner, you've almost made $70,000 in capital gain when this gun falls away. Absolutely. Absolutely. So that's $70,000. We might extend it maybe until the end of the year. If we see the units are selling fast, it depends at the end of the day. But that's $70,000. It's a massive saving for the clients. Because with that $70,000, you can maybe buy new furniture. You can buy your Bosch appliances. Being also Black Friday month, you can get all of your appliances ordered at the end of the day. That is not a shabby saving at all, especially at this time of the year. Going into the amenities, so if we take a look at the development in and of itself, what kind of amenities are located within the development? Well, being such a small development, we have the key amenities at the end of the day. Security is one of our first priorities. So we've got CCTV cameras right around through the old development, making sure that there is proper access control as well. Other amenities, you have to have your natural amenities. So we've got a small, I don't want to say a display area, but we've got a small park area there with a jungle gym and everything. So people can go outside if they feel these four walls are getting a little bit too much for them. But what I personally like is being outside. So being in a semi-quiet area, you can jog around. If you want to, you can like stuff between the Jacaranda trees, especially this time of the year. It's a fairly very safe area. I mean, not going all out on the amenities within the complex. That has quite a good benefit on your rates and levies. Could you talk a bit around that? Absolutely. So we want to keep the levies as low as possible because we are targeting young working professionals. And we have to look at the price at the end of the day. So our levies are 700 grand per month. That's usually a lot of people get shocked. So our levies, at this moment, it's estimated at 700 grand per month. And our rates and taxes are 840 per month. So what I tell my client, but these are only estimates. You're only going to get your proper rates and taxes once you get transported off the mother earth. Then each one is going to come on and they're going to give you a defined amount. But the area average is about 840 a month. And levies again, as I said, we're estimating 700 grand per month. This can go maybe a little bit high as the development goes on. But for rates and taxes and levies to be around about the 1,500, 1,600 a month, in my opinion, it's really not bad value for money. If we take a look at those costs from an investment point of view, so if I'm purchasing within first on Brooklyn from an investment point of view, how do having such low levies affect this if I want to rent it out? It's actually a very good question that you're asking there. It's brilliant because for the main fact is your levies always has to be paid by the home owner, not by the tenant. So the lower your levies is, the better profit you're going to make in at the end of the day. So if you do buy, let's say the B unit for arguments for 1.5 million grand and you're renting it out, let's say for 12,000 a month. If you take away all of your levies in your rates and your taxes, you can easily clear 10,000 a month, which isn't bad value for money and remember your levies also includes your building insurance. So for 10,000 a month profit, that's 120,000 a year that you can make easily and that's if you're renting at 12,000. The IE rent if you're renting for 13 or 14,000 a month, again you can clear 11,000, 12,000 grand. So your profits are endless at the end of the day. Those are the kind of nuggets of wisdom all of our viewers are very happy to hear. If we talk about it now from a building perspective, what phase is Swift on Brooklyn in? I'm actually glad that you asked that question. We actually completed the whole development. We're ready for occupation. Yesterday we gave in, or yesterday everything was registered at the Deeds office. So the first 15 people are moving in this month, which is great news for all of us. So if you do have any problems with the units, you still might have snags or years. So the building team is still on site, but construction is 100% completed. So there's no phase left, which is great for everyone. So essentially if you're purchasing this month, you can move in as soon as the transfer is completed. You can even move in before the time if you want to say now you say, Andrea, we have to move in by the 1st of December. That is a possibility. Then occupation or end is applicable. But if you want to move in once your bond has been granted and everything seems to be in order, you can move into the property. Okay. Well, on that note, let us cut to some images on 5th on Brooklyn and we will be right back after the break to the developer show. Today we are showcasing 5th on Brooklyn and we are joined by Andre Exquio-Cutty from Apple Property Connection. Andre, thank you so much for taking some time out to join us. Again, absolutely. Just a pleasure. Just a pleasure. So, Andre, before we cut to the break, we took a look at some of the units and we are also speaking about the different units and what comes within them as well as within the development in and of itself. I wanted to talk about the units themselves again. Let's just move back into it. If I decide to move in to one of these units, could you talk to me a bit about what kind of finishes I can expect? The finishes, since we are targeting young working professionals, as I said earlier, we bring in a high-end finish at the end of the day. So, the finishes, in my opinion, compared to other developments again in the area, again, I am not going to break down on the other developments, but we are putting in modern finishes. We are putting in proper caesar stone tops. We are putting in very nice laminates and flooring. Our sliding doors, they are beautiful. They are floor-to-ceiling sliding doors. So, when you open these sliding doors, you get all of this nice fresh air coming into your unit and we also raised our ceiling a little bit higher than the norm. So, you have this space because at the end of the day, 66 squares, 76 squares, 84 squares, it is, they are not massive squares. So, what we did is to give the people idea of more space. We raised our ceilings and the architect, Andres Swarth, really did an amazing job there to give a sense of space in these units. Sounds absolutely brilliant. You mentioned that this development is completed now. In terms of it being sold out, what stage are you in there? How much of this development is sold out? How urgent is it for people who have been listening that think this is perfectly right for them? It's got the right locations, built in the right way. How urgent is it to get in touch with you? Well, we are currently 50% sold out. So, as I said, the first 12, 13 people are moving in. Three people have already moved in. So, we 50% sold out. We signed two contracts so far this month as well. We're waiting for bond approval and seeing what their finances looks like. So, at this stage, we have 16, 17 units of the market. So, we only have 13 units left. Of the 13 units, we have one unit left. We have a couple of B units left, which is great for investment purposes. And we've got four C units left. So, between the amount of units left and that 70,000 ring discount, it's very, very urgent. People get in touch with you. Absolutely, absolutely. And what I can tell everyone if they are interested, I still have a couple of nice corner units also still left. Look at that. You speak to Andre. You say you saw him on the private property developer showing he's going to hook you up with the nice units. Absolutely. So, we did this last time you're online as well. And we did a little section called advice with Andre. And I'd like to go straight back into that and move into an advice section so we can give people who are maybe first time home buyers or looking to invest or possibly looking to invest for the first time a little bit more information around why developments are perfect for investments. And to start that off, could you just talk about what advice you'd give to buyers that are looking to invest into property today? Fantastic. Be it in a new development or residential or whatever you have to buy, I always tell my clients, if you don't even buy with me, make sure the agent that you're working with works from a respectable firm and they have a FFC, Affiliability Fund certificate. That is the most important thing because I see so many comebacks, sometimes where there are issues with property and then the agent isn't registered with the board. And then they've got no food to stand on. So yeah, make sure that the agent is from a respectable firm and they have a certificate. So that's the first thing. Now, when buying into a development, make sure that the developer has what they call an NHBRC. It's a blue certificate. That means he's registered with the National Home Owners Building Society and then he can build property. And if there is a comeback with this property, the NHBRC will come out and inspect the property. And you also get some warranties because they are registered with the NHBRC. Definitely as well. Since it's also a new development, you have what we like to call a snag list. So when you move into the property, of course, you're not going to notice everything immediately what's wrong with the property. It's sometimes it's going to be wear and tear or something of that sort. So once you move into the property, the clients, the moment they move in, they call me, then they have what we call a snag list. Then they can say, Andre, there's a clean chip here on the wall or with the step a little bit loose at this door, he's not working. So the first time then I come out, snag list, I give it to the developer. He sends it to his foreman on site and then they fix the issues. They are the same, but that breaks within two months time or there's a toilet leaking, anything of that sort. Then they can also come out and help with these products at the end of the day because it's human elements. It was made by humans. So sometimes there might be small little issues. Now, when we say that clients need to take a look if they're registered with this organization or to see if they've got these types of certificate, what is the easiest way to find out these things? Is it to approach the developer or the real estate agent? Is there a way online to check this? There's possibly these two ways that you can check it. The first way is of course ask the agent. There's no shame in asking. Just say, Andre, do you have an FFC? Can I see your FFC? I always have mine on my phone to show the clients. It's a normal PDF document that we download from the board and we have to renew it every year. So if it's 2020, you ask for the 2020 FFC. If it's 2021, of course ask for the 2021 FFC. So that's the first thing. The second thing is with the NHBRC. That might be a little bit more difficult to get, but just again, you ask a proper developer's agent, do you have the NHBRC of the developer? Can I see it? It's normal questions to ask at the end of the day. Rather be safe and sorry when it comes to purchasing a home that might be with you for the next 20 years. Now, if we talk about this development, what makes this a very good investment? Well, there's several factors. Hopefully one of them I'm going to be one of your neighbors. So that might be one of the great factors. Now, one of the great things is it's in a cul-de-sac. So it's in a dead-end street. It's in fifth row. I'm actually showing this weekend again if people would like to drop on by. So you can just follow the Apple boards. But Menla Park, what makes Menla Park such a great area. A lot of the roads that are borderline in Brooklyn have been closed. So we're in fifth street. So fifth street is completely closed off. So you're not going to have all of that for Baye Chanterepik if that makes sense. So literally you're one of 30 units in the development and the street itself I think has 25 units. So it's a very quiet street. So once you spot with maybe kids or anything in the future, they can easily ride their bikes up and down Fifth Street. And it being situated in Brooklyn means you're closed to pretty much everything Pretoria has to offer. Absolutely, absolutely. And again, the Jacaranda trees, that's again my personal favorite. If you see these purple Jacaranda trees, as you're walking there with the B Block C Block S, they are to die for. It sounds absolutely beautiful. Now for customers looking to purchase again, why purchase into a development as opposed to a normal freestanding house? Well, again, that's my opinion. But I like security at the end of the day. There's nothing wrong with freestanding properties. But I want to be in a either in a boomed area or a new development where you're completely closed off, you're safe, you're secure, you have nothing to be worried about or to be concerned about. So that's the first thing. And again, you're a community of people. So if you go away on holiday or anything, then you can quickly ask your neighbor, Hey, man, I'm going away for two weeks. Do you mind watering my plants? Do you mind taking anything wrong with my unit? If the alarm goes off? And again, it's very security. Now, for a client watching the show and thinking, you know, Andrea, you sold me a one-up purchase within Frith on Brooklyn, I'll absolutely love what you've told me. I love the photos. What costs do they need to prepare for if they decide to enter into this journey? See, that's that's the great thing when buying in a development. As I mentioned last time, there's a couple of added benefits when buying in the development. The first thing is you do not pay the transfer duty or the transfer cost in the specific development. It's not always applicable for all developments, but in this case, for this development is applicable. So you're not going to pay the transfer duty because it's a batch transaction, as I said last time. And the developer made an arrangement with a conveyance also for the transfer duty. So there's an additional $20,000, $30,000 that you are resaving. So that's one of the benefits. The only thing that you would have to pay is your bond registration costs, which is between you and your bank. And now if I decide to purchase, what's the process that you'd be taking me through? If I call you up and say, Andre, like I want to purchase this house, what's the process I need to expect? What are you going to help me with? What do I maybe need to prepare myself and to either have on hand when I call you and I make that call, or do I need to prepare myself going forward once I've made that call with you? No, we've made the process very streamlined, to be honest, as easy as possible for our clients. So what I always like to do is let me show you the product. I take you out of the product. If you say, you know what, Andre, I love the product. I want to buy the product. Then what I do is I take one of the units off the market. If you see, you know what, I want the argument say, I take unit number 15 off the market. I send my developer a WhatsApp. So please remove this unit. And then I immediately send you all of the documentation to fill, or you can come to my office. We've got great coffee here. And then we signed the offer to purchase. After we've signed the offer to purchase, we give it to the developer to accept the offer. After that, it even gets more easier and more streamlined. I send it to my bond originator. She pre-qualifies you. So she asks you for all of the documents, your three month space slips, if you are a salary earner, if you're self-employed. There is a little bit more routes to jump through with. But what's nice, she is specialized in her field. Then she gets you a bond for this property at a great interest rate. What they also do is they apply to all four of the banks, be it AppSign, NetBank, StandardBank, and FNB. And if you are a select graduate individual, she also goes to Okay. And Andre, to close off, you've really given us quite a lot of information to digest here. But to close off, you've got a relationship with private property. It's not the first time you've come on the show with us. Could you tell us about how that relationship has helped you market your developments over the years? Absolutely. It's actually grown from strength to strength. It's fantastic working with you every single time chat. It's fantastic working with all your other consultants there as well. What we do is we've got a developments package on private property as well. We get inquiries from them on a regular basis as well. So our development stands out from the crowd. So it's all your normal residential properties. Then you end smack dab in the middle is our little development. So that's the nice thing. And it's not just that, just the ease of service. I mean, I can't say anything about your competitors. But whenever we have an issue of either phone your consultants, they click on the ball, they jump in whenever to help, they jump through to help us. Andre, it's been a pleasure working with you. And it's a pleasure having you on the show. So thank you so much for taking some time to join us. Absolutely pleasure. As I said, whenever you have any questions, anything about developments, give me a call. As I said, I'm always there to help. And I think my details will also be on screen as well for any questions that people might have. Absolutely. If you're tuning in and you want to get hold of Andre, which I'm sure you will, all of these details will be there. There'll also be a link to the development where you can go and take a look at that development and browse through the different unit offers and the floor plans. Guys, please do tune in again when we host another development show. We broadcast every single week, Saturday and Sunday. And also, don't forget to tune into our other shows that happen on the private property Facebook page. We have ones about everything. So don't be shy. Browse the video tab. There's always something there with information that is definitely going to benefit you throughout your whole home buying journey. Thank you once again for tuning in. And I look forward to seeing you all next time. Thank you. Goodbye.