uMaSTANDI
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The Trust for Urban Housing Finance (TUFH) is a specialised commercial property finance company that finances property investors exclusively in inner cities. They finance entrepreneurs in their purchase and refurbishment of rental properties and focus on affordable rental housing. They not only provide capital but guidance from the negotiation process to construction and renting.
uMaStandi is a subsidiary of TUHF, whose aim is to test the feasibility of extending TUHF’s successful inner-city finance-plus lending approach to backyard rental housing in South Africa.
uMaStandi’s primary focus is on landlords who wish to develop new, formally constructed backyard rooms with associated ablution facilities that comply with local town planning and zoning conditions. Their secondary focus is the rehabilitation of existing backyard rooms and second dwelling units and/or conventionally constructed backyard rooms to ensure their compliance with applicable regulations.
Since inception they have financed 21 property entrepreneurs and have committed R45,4 million in mortgage loans.
They were originally set to focus on financing the development of compliant backyard rental stock in Bram Fischerville in Gauteng and Masipumelele in Cape Town. Over the first year of implementation, responding to market demand these initial focus areas have expanded to include Greater Soweto, Spruitview, Lenasia and Eldorado Park in Gauteng; Khayelitsha, Delft, Delft South, Grassy Park, Mandalay, Blue Downs, Gugulethu, Langa, Ilitha Park in the Western Cape. uMaStandi is forecasted to grow its loan book to R204 million in the next five years to support the demand in the areas mentioned above and other parts of Gauteng such as Tembisa and Mamelodi.
Property development and management require a certain set of skills from the property entrepreneur to ensure that the business is sustainable. Oppenheimer Generations Foundation not only believes in increasing the affordable housing stock through innovative models but also in supporting the entrepreneur. The uMaStandi model enables existing home owners to generate an income from their property. We have therefore partnered with uMaStandi to further support these new property entrepreneurs with the necessary skills they need to manage their funded projects from inception to completion. This is done through the provision of training, mentorship and over sight services.
You know how it is when you’re working for someone, and all the time you’re thinking ‘You know, I could be doing this thing?’ It was like that.
