As arguably the toughest property year in decades comes to a close, the Leapfrog Property Group has identified four top Black achievers who have overcome the challenges and beat the recession. As South Africa’s only empowered, national real estate franchise group, Leapfrog is leading the industry in terms of transformation, skills development and transformation.

Vincent Nkabinde, Pinetown
Vincent Nkabinde worked at Spoornet before joining the property industry in 2001 when his interest was piqued with the purchase of his first house. After some initial trepidation about the transition from trains to property, he took to the industry like the proverbial duck to water. He joined principals Natasha and Trevor Lauderdale, then of ‘Realty One’ who gave him his initial grounding in the ways of the industry. Under the Lauderdale’s mentorship, Vincent quickly absorbed the nuances of the industry and achieved significant sales success in a short space of time. Towards the end of 2007, Realty One joined the Leapfrog Group, a decision Nkabinde says was driven largely by Leapfrog’s attractive training protocols, incentives and shareholder offering.

Since the merger, Vincent has sold 24 properties valued at over R16m. His property sales bracket ranges from between R220 000 to R2, 2m, a reflection of the nature of the Pinetown property market and the broad price range in which he operates.

During his tenure with Leapfrog, Vincent Nkabinde has been named the Top Sales Agent for Regional Sales Volumes, been in the Top Ten KZN sales values segment and also recently qualified under the new NQF legislation. Vincent attributes his success to a combination of factors, specifically, the support of the Lauderdale’s, hard work and determination. Of the past year, he says: “It proved to be a particularly difficult year for the property market. I chose to stick to the basics and provide the best possible service I could to foster trust and confidence in my clients. Support from Leapfrog also helped us weather the storm.”

Trevor Lauderdale says that Vincent is extremely dedicated and works tirelessly. “Vincent is always available; he’s reliable and capable of working in a diverse property environment on his own. He was our first agent and has become a valuable asset to the company.” Vincent is glad he took the plunge to join the industry. He hopes to open his own branch in time and become a force to be reckoned with on a national level.

Marvellous Mahlangu, Leapfrog Glenvista
Before Marvellous Mahlangu became a property man, he waited tables at a Mimmos restaurant in Bassonia. His Principal, Jacques Bronkhorst frequented the restaurant and was struck by Mahlangu’s infectious personality, ready smile and willingness to go out of his way for his customers. Bronkhorst duly invited Mahlangu to join him as an assistant at Pulse Realty, Bronkhorst’s offices at the time. Mahlangu began his property career working for Jacques Bronkhorst in 2004 and has since never looked back or regretted his decision.

In Mahlangu’s first year he assisted with the general administration of his office where he learnt the ropes quickly and was a veritable ‘sponge’ says Bronkhorst, sucking up any and all information he came across. In 2005 his duties progressed from that of assistant to junior estate agent. He partnered with Rita Figueira and the pair achieved significant success and awards soon followed including “Most Improved Agent 2005”, “Best Overall Agent 2006” and the Pulse “Supreme Award” in 2006 .

In 2007, Jacques Bronkhorst joined the Leapfrog Group. In the same year, Mahlangu was named ‘Top Agent of the Year’ and Leapfrog Glenvista was recognised as the top Central Region Leapfrog Team.

The following years proved just as successful for Mahlangu, albeit somewhat more difficult given the recession. To date he has sold 80 properties and achieved in excess of R72 000 000. Marvellous works across the property spectrum in Glenvista and the surrounding suburbs. His strength lies in working with first time and middle income range buyers. “I feel blessed to be able to work in this industry and I enjoy it immensely. At this juncture I am content to remain where I am but I would like to open my own office someday. It will of course be a Leapfrog franchise as I am very happy with the way in which the company conducts itself and the way they treat their franchisees. The fact that I am also familiar with all of Leapfrog’s policies and protocols would also make for an easy transition in this regard,” says Marvellous.

Jacques Bronkhorst holds Mahlangu in high esteem. “Marvellous is one of my top agents. He is disciplined and possesses a great sense of humour. He’s self motivated and persists in the face of opposition. His passion for his work is manifest in everything he does and we expect great things of him in the future.”

Enos Ramoroka, Leapfrog Faerie Glen
Enos Ramoroka’s reputation precedes him. His sojourn in the real estate industry began in 1998 when he and his wife Jeanette exited the world of broadcasting where he held the post of Executive Producer and his wife the post of Transmission Producer at the Bophuthatswana Broadcasting Corporation.

The Ramoroka’s subsequently completed the basic Institute of Estate Agents of South Africa (IEASA) real estate courses and joined forces with the Realnet Group where the Ramoroka’s ‘farmed’ the suburb of Doornpoort with great success. Enos won several awards during his tenure with Realnet including ‘Rookie of the Year’, ‘Best Negotiator’ and ‘Most Units Sold’. In 2000, husband and wife passed their Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) examinations.

In 2001, Ramoroka decided to open his own firm, ‘Enos Estates’. Ramoroka cited the move as essential in that he felt it was time to adapt. He adds that the ability to do so is crucial to an estate agent’s stock in trade. During the period between opening his own firm and joining Leapfrog in early 2009, Ramoroka served as Deputy Chairman at IEASA, successfully completed a real estate brokerage course with his wife and served on various committees with the Multi Listing Services in Gauteng’s North and North Eastern region.

Ramoroka chose to join Leapfrog to “rub shoulders with real estate superstars” as he puts it. “Leapfrog was an obvious choice. It’s a company with vision and takes a fresh, vibrant approach to the industry,” he says. “From the outset it was clear that Leapfrog would be one of the market leaders and we want to be a part of that. Leapfrog’s support is also excellent and allows us to concentrate on the job at hand. While some agencies may be suffering from vanishing leadership syndrome, the opposite is true of Leapfrog,” says Enos.

Ramoroka works under the auspices of Faerie Glen Principal Joanie Le Grange. She says he is well respected in the industry and that he is thoroughly dependable and reliable. “Truly a rare find,” she adds.

Despite only joining Faerie Glen in March this year, Ramoroka has already sold 20 properties to the value of xxx. He currently services Soshanguve and various surrounding suburbs.

Simon Rachomanyane, Vanderbijlpark
Although a relative ‘newbie’ to the industry, Simon Rachomanyane has proven that he can hold his own. Before joining the industry, Rachomanyane was a jack of all trades having worked for a funeral parlour and directing a stage production amongst other professions.

The real estate industry appealed to Rachomanyane and he wrote the EAAB exam in 2007. Unfortunately he failed. Undeterred he rode from estate agency to estate agency on his bike and applied for a position without success until he knocked on Anneli Koekoemoer’s door, a well-respected and multi-award winning real estate professional. Anneli managed to see past the bike and lack of qualifications and took Rachomanyane under her wing.

According to Koekemoer, he learnt quickly and became involved with sales within a short space of time. She adds that he made a point of being available 24/7 and worked incredibly hard. Later that year, Koekemoer joined Leapfrog and Rachomanyane was dubbed ‘Rookie of the Year’.

At the beginning of his real estate endeavours, Simon found the going hard given the combined difficulties of less than favourable trading conditions and that of having to learn the particulars of a new industry.

Says Rachomanyane: “In the beginning it was quite discouraging as there was a distinct decline in the property market at that time. However I persisted. I had the support of my family and Anneli and my faith in God helped pull me through. The market is beginning to turn now and I believe the experiences of the past few years will stand me in good stead in the future.”

Simon has sold over 16 properties this year alone to the value of xxx. He also recently passed his NQF 4 qualifications. He intends to ‘compete’ on a national level a few years from now and is working hard to achieve that goal.