Accomplished broadcaster, business owner and entrepreneur Faith Mangope has never been one to accept no for an answer, learning from a young age that the only way to be more, and do more, is by refusing to accept defeat.
She’s also unapologetically passionate about investing in property, which she believes restores dignity – and she’s encouraging other women to do the same.
“Patriarchy has really done a number on women. We have been taught that we are only good when we are next to a man. Sure, a lot of women are buying apartments, but how many aspire to own more?”
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Mangope has always had aspirations to own her own home. It took her less than 10 years to pay off her family’s bond and buy an apartment and two houses, and she's just getting started.
At a time when her peers were enjoying life spending their disposable income, Mangope was tasked with providing for her three siblings and her mother, who was struggling to deal with the collapse of her marriage. Mangope decided to pay off the family’s home bond before focusing on her aspiration of putting in an offer on a home of her own. She was only 26 years old at the time, and the family’s sole breadwinner.
Her first buying experience was daunting as she had to familiarise herself with the technicalities of applying for finance. But, she says, the challenges were eclipsed by the euphoria experienced when the bank called to approve the bond for her a three-bedroom apartment in Greenstone Ridge. Buoyed by her successful investment, Mangope decided to buy a second property.
This time, the banks were sceptical about whether a young and single woman would be able to afford a second bond, despite research from BetterBond and TPN which shows that the most active investor in South Africa is female and in her late twenties to mid-thirties. After a few rejections, Mangope was advised by a male friend to “think like a man, not a woman” and to take ownership of her property journey. So she changed tack, saying to her private banker: “I want a 100% bond and I want you to help me get it.”
Not even the pandemic could deter Mangope from her property investment aspirations. She bought her third investment property – a five-bedroom, six-bathroom home – during Level 5 lockdown.
“I have gone from being the girl who had to borrow R40 in high school to buy electricity for her family, to the woman who owns a five-bedroom home with six bathrooms.”
Property has allowed Mangope to realise her childhood dreams of living in the home and suburb she aspired to, despite her circumstances.
“Don’t tell me that someone living in a shack is the best that they can be.”
Now in her mid-thirties, she has her eye on turning commercial spaces into low-cost housing opportunities.
“There’s something about property that gives people dignity. If we can give people the dignity of owning their own home, or renting, then we are restoring our faith in humanity.”
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