Last week, Propertybook sat down with Strive Chicks, the listing agent at Thaton Properties, one of Zimbabwe’s leading property developers. We discussed the 2267 Lifestyle Estate, it’s price, friendly payment terms, the full amenities the estate will offer, as well as the future of Zimbabwe’s property market. Read the transcript of the full interview below, or watch the video, also linked below.
RM: Well, Strive, thank you very much for that tour. I really love this apartment. What can you tell us about the pricing, the location? You mentioned already we're in the heart of Glen Lorne.
What do interested buyers need to know about this?
SC: So, from here to Highland Park, suppose you're not having your meals in our clubhouse, you want to go and have your meals at Highland Park, it's only 6.1 kilometers. If you want to go into the CBD, suppose you're working in the CBD, it's only 12 kilometers. So, the issue of the location, very good.
You saw the road that we have here. The cultural roads are good. And coming to the issue of price, we have really sweetened the deal for a three-bedroom apartment on the ground floor.
It's only 260,000. And we're not saying to you, bring the bag of 260,000 in one go. We only want 40% deposit, which translates to 108,000.
And even that 108,000, you can spread it over three months. Wow. Once you have given us the 40% deposit, we can sign the sale agreement with you, we can allocate a unit for you.
And then the balance, you can pay it over up to 72 months. You can choose. You can choose whether you want to pay.
If you were to pay the balance over the next 12 months, we are not even going to ask for an interest. If you were to pay in 13 months to 24 months, then your interest will only be like 9%. 25 months to 36 months, your interest will only be like 10%.
Where can you get that kind of interest in Zimbabwe?
RM: Pretty incredible. No interest in the first 12 months at all? That sounds amazing. I mean, we hadn't even spoken about how you said there's a clubhouse.
SC: There is a clubhouse--we're going to explain that to you. So, the other offering that we have is a three-bedroom with a loft. That's the one on the second floor.
So, that unit goes for 270,000. The extra 10,000 is for the special lift, which the clients have actually demanded that they want this special lift that we have. We're going to show it to you as well.
So, it will come for an additional cost of 10,000. And those second-floor apartments, suppose you wanted to make it into a four-bedroom unit. You can buy a three-bed and a one-bed.
We can close the entrance to the one-bed, open another door on the non-load-bearing walls, and you can have a nice penthouse for yourself. So the price for a three-bedroom with a loft, 270,000, and a two-bedroom apartment goes for 175,000. Let me highlight that our prices are excluding VAT.
So, as a property developer, we are supposed, by law, to charge value-added tax. So, our price, 99,500 for a one-bed, is excluding VAT. Our price, 175,000 for a two-bed, excluding VAT.
When are you going to pay value-added tax? At the time when you want to take transfer of your sectional title. Then you'll be able to pay value-added tax to Zimra.
RM: I mean, you mentioned to me that the one-bedroom apartments are already completely sold out. People are already seeing how unique and valuable this space is, and demand is really high, and it's only a matter of time before nothing's available.
SC: So the wise investor has already jumped in.
These guys are going to be operating Air BnBs. You saw the quality of the work that we have here.
And for 99,500 only, you can have a unit which will give you a return of plus 10%. The rentals here are going to be 1,000, maybe 1,200. If you do short-term letting, you will get much more, even 2,000 from this space.
RM: So, could you share with us the vision that Thayton Properties had with this development? What motivated it, and what are you looking to do for the Zimbabwe property market as a whole with a place like this?
SC: It's many things. Number one, we live in a difficult economy, and many people think the way to succeed is to cut corners.
I'm sure if you saw our kitchen, the things that we are giving, if you saw the quality of the work that we are doing, all the people that are working on this building, they are employed by Thaton Properties. And we have hired the best professionals in every field to be able to deliver a quality product. Our founder and executive chairman is an award-winning business-person.
I don't know whether you know this, that this development has already won an award in Zimbabwe because of the quality of the work that we are giving. Developers in our country, not all of them, have a bad reputation of cutting corners. You see a development which was done in 2017, you go and look at the house, everything is falling apart.
We are using the best materials to build. We are sourcing them from wherever we can find them. Look at our pricing model.
We also understand that the country is going through difficulties. So, we are almost, in a way, providing funding to the market.
So, the issue of quality and sustainable living—the air con that we spoke about, it uses less energy. The SMEG appliances, they use less energy. We know ZESA is struggling with electricity generation.
And we are bringing you appliances that do not take so much of energy. Look at the issue of water. We have a prolific bore in the development.
And we are going to have 400,000 storage tanks so that you can always have water. Water is essential. You can always have water in your development.
We say this is a lifestyle estate. Where can you go and you find a person, even if they live on 10 hectares, who has their own golf course on the property? We have a part-to-part golf course in one of the corners to enhance lifestyle, to promote family. We have a clubhouse.
Suppose you are a busy person like yourself, and you do not have time to cook. You can order your meals from the clubhouse. And driving in Harare, especially in Harare, is really a nightmare.
And we are trying to save you the trip to the gym. Why? Because next to our clubhouse, we are going to provide you with a gym. So you have to cancel your gym membership.
You do not have to drive in the morning or in the evening to go to the gym. You drive home, and then you'll be able to go into part-parts at the golf course or mini golf course. You can order your meals.
You can go to the gym. You can go to the sauna. You can go to the steam room.
You can go swimming right next to your house.
RM: Strive, I love how you just keep dropping little surprises on me throughout this interview. All of a sudden, I'm aware that there's a clubhouse, there's a putt-putt course, there's going to be a gym.
In addition to all of this, a sauna, a steam room—that sounds like the cosmopolitan kind of lifestyle that Zimbabweans have been looking for and haven't really been able to find. And Thaton Properties is now bringing that to the average Zimbabwean.
SC: So, you have captured it.
We have gone out, and we have seen how other people are living. Why can't we bring the same quality of housing in Zimbabwe? That's what Thaton Properties stands for. I love that.
RM: I've had the privilege of traveling around the world, and it's so frustrating when you come back and you see Zimbabwe and you see a country with so much potential, and you wonder why certain things aren't developing in such a way. But then I come here, and I see Thaton is doing exactly what I have been praying that Zimbabwe would be doing, and to do it so elegantly. I don't have a lot of experience in materials and furnishings, but just from walking around, I can tell that there's a lot of high quality in the building and the finishings that you've put into this.
So, I really commend you for taking so much effort and putting in so much dedication to building a place like this.
SC: You're putting it even better than I can. But some of the clients that have come to view our units have given those kinds of testimonials.
In terms of the quality of the housing, the material that we're using, we are unmatched. So, we invite you to come and see for yourself what we are delivering to Zimbabwe. We are an award-winning company after all.
RM: I definitely can tell. Thank you very much, Strive. This has been awesome.
SC: Thank you, sir.
