Buying Property in Cape Town vs Renting: Real Costs & ROI Breakdown

Buying Property in Cape Town vs Renting: Real Costs & ROI Breakdown

We’ve had so many comments about why on earth did we buy in Cape Town and also telling us that we’re absolutely mad to do so. So, in this week’s video, we want to share with you the pros and cons of buying versus renting, the risk that we had to weigh up, and also our longerterm plans. But before we do that, if you’re new around here, hi. We’re James and Rob. I’m Rob. I’m the retired one, and this is James, and he’s still working. And it reminds me of that fact every single day. And we are a married couple from the UK. And we’ve been traveling to Cape Town for over 10 years now. Starting out renting Airbnbs, sometimes questionable, most of the time expensive. And more recently, we have bought our own home in Cape Town. On this channel, we share travel stories, a bit about property, lifestyle, and what it’s really like to try and split your life between two different countries. Yeah. So, it’s part travel vlog, part retirement journey. And to be quite honest, sometimes part comedy of errors. So if you enjoy mix of travel, honest storytelling, and maybe your disagreement caught on camera, then you are definitely in the right place. So make sure you’ve hit the subscribe button and let’s get started. For over 10 years, we kept coming back to Cape Town or we fell in love with the place more and more. And each time we went, we rented Airbnbs. Some of them were great, some of them not so much. dodgy Wi-Fi, air conditioning that didn’t really work, places that didn’t quite live up to the pictures, the wrong location that turned out to be really noisy. And of course, we stayed in some that were wonderful as well. But none of them ever felt like home. We always felt like we’re visitors living out of our suitcases. And of course, we were paying someone else’s mortgage or their bond or their investments, and we weren’t really getting anything for it in return. And you know what? They just weren’t cheap. When I was staying there for two to three months, I was paying anywhere between 3 to5,000 each time. And for a number of years, we started thinking, should we buy somewhere? And actually, for probably 3 years that we went, we did actually view properties, but never found one that really ticked all the boxes or one that, you know, when you walk in, you feel like, yeah, this is a home until we found the one that we bought in Bantry Bay. Now, we paid $2.68 68 million for the apartment, which is just over £100,000. So now, instead of paying £4,000 in Airbnb rents every year, we’re saving that. And not only that, we’re also making about £5,000 a year in rental income as well. So that means we’re getting an annual benefit of around £9,000. And if I’ve done my maths correctly, that means it will take us about 10 or 11 years to actually recoup all of the investment that we have put into the apartment. Now, of course, renting has the benefit of making us some income every year, but it also means that the apartment is never left empty. So, if there are any issues, then those issues get fixed before they become a major cost. So, for example, we had a washing machine leak, which obviously was caught by the tenants immediately. Had that happened when no one was there, then it would have turned into a major flood, which would have cost a lot more money than fixing the washing machine. But here’s the thing. It’s not just about the maths. Yes, the money is great. It’s about that sense of coming home every time we arrive in Cape Town. We can leave all our clothes there. So, we don’t have to lug clothes from the UK to South Africa every time. We can leave the fridge stocked. And of course, we’ve got the same neighbors and a famil familiar area that we live in. It finally feels like home, not just another holiday rental. Okay, so as I said in introduction, lots of comments about why on earth did we buy in South Africa rather than renting? And surely there are lots of other parts of the world that you want to explore. So why tie yourself down to just Cape Town or quite simply, my god, you are absolutely mad to buy in South Africa with the current political environment. But here’s the thing. We didn’t buy this as a holiday home or some kind of investment property, but we bought it with a view to it being our home and our goal to spend more time here in the medium to long term. Look, I know there are absolutely risks and I hear all the comments that people left. Yes, I know that Rand has been fairly unstable. We understand the political situation in South Africa and and also some of the dangers in Cape Town. But to be quite honest, our friends have been hearing the same story for the past 20 years while they’ve lived in Cape Town and nothing has really changed. And in the meantime, they’ve been living amazing lives here. And none of the scaremongering or doomongering has actually come true. Now, of course, that doesn’t mean it won’t in the future, but right now, we are happy with the investment that we’ve made. And you know, if the worst happens, maybe the rent collapses or the political climate changes, then well, we could rent the apartment out longterm if we weren’t able to get there or we could sell the apartment. So, we totally understand it’s not a risk-free decision, but it is a wellthoughtout, considered decision, and we felt like the benefits outweigh the risks. And you know what? One of our wise friends said to us, don’t ever invest more than you can afford to lose. So if the absolute worst happened and we lost the apartment, it would be devastating and gutting and change our life plans considerably, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world. We haven’t plowed all of our pensions, for example, into the apartment. So if we did lose it all, then our lives wouldn’t be over. It just we would just be going on a different journey and of course we massively disappointed. So would we do this again? Would we recommend it to others? Absolutely. For some people, it’s absolutely the right decision. For other people who want more flexibility and want to explore more parts of the world, then renting absolutely makes sense. And indeed, we rented for the first 10 years before we bought. So, we got a really good sense of the place. And we also really, really, really did our homework about where we wanted to live, the kind of property we wanted to buy and the process and the risks associated with it. So, we really happy with the decision right now, and we definitely want to call South Africa our home. Now, this isn’t the end of our story in South Africa. It’s the beginning. Our retirement plan is to split our time between Europe and South Africa. So, spending the Northern Hemisphere’s summer in Europe and then the Southern Hemisphere summer IR winters in South Africa. And if you’ve been following the vlog for a while, you’ll know that we’re currently downsizing in the UK. And our plan probably in 2 years time is to use some of the money that we’ve released to upsize in Cape Town to a two-bedroom apartment. You know though, it’s not just about property. It’s about building a life here. The community, the friends, the routine, and that sense of belonging. That that sense that we’re coming home and we feel comfortable and that we want to be there rather than a place that we’re just going to visit on vacation. Are you finished now? You’ve been talking for ages. Someone had to explain the numbers and talk about why on earth did we decide to buy in Cape Town. All right then. Well, I’m back for the important bit. We’d love to hear what you think. So, would you choose flexibility or stability? Do let us know. Would you split your life between two different countries? Where would you choose? So, let us know in the comments. We absolutely love hearing your thoughts. And as you know, a lot of the videos are inspired by the comments that you guys leave, both good, bad, and the ugly. But other than that, this is James and Rob signing off for now, and we will see you next Sunday. Bye. [Music]

Thinking of buying property in Cape Town? We share the truth about renting vs buying, the costs, the risks, and why we finally invested in a home in South Africa.

We’ve had so many comments asking why on earth we bought an apartment in Cape Town instead of just renting. Some people think we’re mad, others want to know if it’s really worth it.
In this video, we share the truth about buying vs renting in South Africa — the real costs, how long it’ll take us to recoup our investment, and the risks we had to weigh up, including the political climate and the Rand’s instability.

But it’s not just about the maths. After 10 years of renting Airbnbs that never felt like home, this is about building a life — neighbours, routine, a fridge we can leave stocked, and the joy of arriving somewhere that feels familiar.

Our Cape Town real estate investment journey covers property investment returns, Western Cape market risks, expat property purchase decisions, and why we picked Bantry Bay over other areas.

We’ll also explain how this fits into our retirement plans — including splitting the year between Europe and South Africa, and why we might upsize in Cape Town in future.
What you’ll find in this video:
• Real costs of renting vs buying
• ROI breakdown: R2.68m (~£100k) + rental income
• Political & currency risk explained
• Why we chose Bantry Bay
• Emotional + lifestyle factors
• Our plans to split time between two continents

Today’s Highlights:
00:00 – Are we mad for buying here?
00:50 – Our renting experience in Cape Town
02:10 – The maths: cost vs rental income
04:00 – Why we didn’t buy sooner
05:05 – What if the worst happens?
06:30 – Our future plans in South Africa
07:15 – Final thoughts & your turn!

► Who Are We?
We’re Rob and James, two adventure-seekers who have been exploring the world together since 2011. We love to travel and believe life is the sum of all your experiences, so we want to cram as many in as we head to our retirement years. We are based on the south coast of the UK and Cape Town, South Africa, and love to travel the world in all forms of transport, from campervans to cruises, from exotic destinations to exploring our own country.

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