By Mbali Tanana
Makhanda-born real estate agency owner David Rodgerson, 65, attributes the success of RE/MAX Frontier Properties to his passion for property and the longstanding relationship he has with the community.
The former co-owner of Grocott’s Mail, says while his passion had always been to connect people with homes, he made it his mission to make his mark in the real estate business, connecting people to homes after he and Geoff Grocott, his business partner of seven years, sold the publication to Rhodes University in 2003.
Rodgerson, who works with his wife of 42 years, Jean Rodgerson, said they started their Makhanda business operating from one room with only two other employees, one of which is still with the company today. This was after their main branch in Gqeberha opened the year before. While he said the Gqeberha business was the biggest of the two, the Makhanda business remains closest to their hearts.
The recently appointed vice- president of the Makhanda Horse Riding Society attributes his passion for connecting people to homes from his years of experience, working for human settlements in the early 1980’s where he was very instrumental in the Zenzele Housing Project which focused on low-income housing in Makhanda and other parts of the Eastern Province region.
“I worked for the government in the 1980’s and we had a mandate to help with the housing of a lot of the black folk, as a lot didn’t have access to home ownership and we were instrumental in the rolling out of the 99-year leases. It was one of the first housing projects in the country. It was very rewarding and fulfilling, restoring dignity and seeing to it that people had a roof over their heads,” he said.
While at the employ of the then government, Rodgerson said he was headhunted by Eskom and appointed as the head of human resources and was tasked to facilitate housing for Eskom employees.
“Because my passion has always been in connecting people to suitable homes, it naturally made sense for me to pursue the business and now, 20 years later we are still going strong,” he said.
The couple, Graeme and Kingswood College past pupils, are parents to three children and have six grandchildren. They attribute their success of the business to their longstanding membership in the community and the strong personal relations they have with the people of Makhanda from over the years.
“Despite the many potholes and maladministration by the Makana Local Municipality, Makhanda is very close to our hearts because it has always been home to us,” said Jean.
“The place where you live is more about the people you mix with more than the potholes, so the personal relationships with friends here outweigh the glaring poor service delivery issues, and make the town a special place for us. It’s home,” said Rodgerson.
The well travelled businessman said while they had lived in East London and Cape Town due to the Eskom role, they had settled in Makhanda because of the strong relations they have in the town. With the two branches, Rodgerson said he often travelled between Gqeberha and Makhanda to oversee both branches.
The Nelson Mandela University graduate said a lot of their clients were childhood friends who often looked for property for their children, who then also later returned to look for property for their children.
“It’s been an ongoing generational chain, we are so fortunate to have built those relations and to have people trusting us to find them suitable homes for their families or children and that is what keeps us going, knowing that we are entrusted by our customers. We are longstanding members of the community, and that has been the key to our growth. Property is an expensive investment and people want to put it in the hands of people they trust and we can say that we have gained that within the community,” he said.
The company which has recently expanded with RE/MAX Unique, a virtual agency which comprises 18 satellite agents, in areas outside Makhanda – where there is no physical RE/MAX branch, now has 63% of market share of sales in Makhanda thanks to the staff compliment of five rental agents, six sales agents and four responsible for body corporates whom are among a total of 25 staff members at the local branch.
The couple encouraged other entrepreneurs who want to thrive and succeed in business to “live your business.”
