The letting workshop had double value for me, both as a landlord and as a tenent.. I am now making use of a rental agent with houses I am renting out in Bellville and Swellendam (W.Cape). Your lease agreement is excellent, and gave me a lot of confidence to continue the process without a rental agent.

On the other hand, I was also renting myself, a farmhouse in the Heidelberg (W.Cape) district. After all the practical information I learnt in the letting workshop, I realised that my landlord was trying to take me for a ride. With the information I was able to confront him with legitimate and up to date information - on which he had no answer, and lost his "case" against me. - Pierre van Den Berg

My partner and I attended the PIN Investor Letting Workshop in Feb 2008 with no expectations as we already considered ourselves to be rather knowledgeable in the art of letting property.  We have a few properties on our books and have been using standard contracts and 'gut feel' screening to place tenants and manage the properties.  Needless to say, we were in for quite a surprise on the day. 

Within the first 15 minutes, we realized that we had better start taking some notes as we clearly had LOTS to learn.  We started the session going through the legalities of renting properties out ... I was amazed at how many things I did not know pertaining to both landlord as well as tenant privileges.  It was not long into this session that we also found out that the advice we have received from other guru's in the property market would see us lands us in trouble if followed and done in the matter they advocate.

Karen and Sean then shared some 'nuggets of wisdom' on how to find and screen the right tenants, how to manage them and how to evict them legally if they become non-performing tenants.  We received some key contact information and most of all - we were given AND taken through (step-by-step) a legally sound contract for residential letting that favors the landlord and empowers him to deal with all types of issues.

We walked out of the seminar feeling that it was money well spent and have recommended it to our friends that are currently dabbling in property investment.  We then sat down and went through our letting agencies methods, contracts and administration.  We ended up giving them notice as we felt (after discussions with them) that we were better equipped to handle the letting process than they were.  I was, in fact, getting a huge kick informing them of issues that they were not aware of. 

As a matter of fact ... of the 3 places where we've used the new contract and new practices that we were taught, we have yet to receive a late payment (or non-payment) on the rent or experience any problems with the tenants. 

I can recommend this course as the one course you MUST do before renting out your own or someone else's property (rental agents ... take note!).  It is money well spent and the support received from Sean and Karen on the PIN forums after the course rounds off the total package rather nicely.  All queries were answered within 24 hours (or less!).  Well done Sean and Karen.  Keep up the good work and keep the education coming!". Eugené L. Pienaar - JHB

The biggest lesson is that you need to use the correct lease agreement and perhaps even more importantly, you need to UNDERSTAND your lease agreement.

The workshop helped me understand the lease agreement and how I can use it to my advantage, especially when it comes to cancellations and terminations. I have avoided many headaches by attending the workshop because it gave me a clear idea of what you can or should do when a tenant is not paying the rent. And as a bonus it’s also really interesting stuff!. Johan van den Berg – JHB

As a relative newbie to the property market - from a purely investment point of view; I found the Calculating Residential Investment Deals course very informative and easy to follow.  I am wanting to get involved in the rental  / development market and feel that I am getting better equipped to do this as a result of learning and expanding my understanding. Joanne du Plessis

---

The Calculating Residential Deals course was excellent, outstanding, clear and very well presented. I can now see the difference between an investment property and a home ownership property so clearly. Jessica Huston  - CT.

---

I really enjoyed the Calculating Residential Investment Deals course! It was very well constructed.

Overall I feel I grasped the main idea behind the course of how to work out and calculate a property to determine whether a property would be a good buy long term or in the short term, in real financial terms. Jason - Gary's Real Estate

---