How Thoka Properties created a thriving rental business with PayProp

In an interview with PayProp, Precious enthused over PayProp’s assistance with rentals in a way that he hadn’t thought possible. “It’s been a very smooth ride from the start. They were very informative; always available.”

A rental conversion

Before he began automating rental payments with PayProp, Precious admits to “hating rentals with a passion, because I just thought there was too much work required. The input and output didn’t seem to make business sense. So, when we started Thoka Properties, rentals were not part of the plan. However, after a few months we realised that we were losing out on a lot of business. I thus decided to reconsider this entire thing.”

Precious knew that if he was going to add rentals to his business, he needed to keep the administrative overheads low. After doing some research, he came across PayProp and found that it made the whole operation a pleasure. It smoothed the process, which was a relief, says Precious. “We did not want to keep following up with tenants about the rent money.”

He worked with one of PayProp’s sales executives who provided the PayProp demo and the initial proposal. “The salesperson was very good. Everything was explained. It was really a great experience, and looking at the costs to us, they are minimal. There was no way I could not say yes.”

Precious goes on to describe how they could get hold of a support person directly who knew exactly who they were and where they needed support. He says, “Having studied and done my exams, I understood rentals in theory, but now it was time to put it all into action. I was on a learning curve, but PayProp made sure it was a smooth one.”

Rave reviews

In 2019, Precious hired Kea Mahlangu, an experienced rentals administrator, to manage the business’s growing portfolio. She was amazed at the simplicity and efficiency of the system.

In the first month Kea was really raving about PayProp. She had been working in a similar position elsewhere and said to me, ‘Wow, Mr. T! For the first time in months, I don’t have stress. Every day where I used to work, I would go through the bank statements and all that, but this is the best thing that I could have ever come across’. It just made things very easy for her; she couldn’t believe how well the system works. Precious Thoka, Principal

While PayProp enables rent payments in a range of ways (instant EFT via  a Tenant portal, online banking, in-store retail payments, etc.) Thoka Properties only accepts debit order payments for maximum peace of mind. “We must deliver what we promised to the landlord,” says Precious. “Simple as that.”

Service – value from Day 1

Asked what impact PayProp has had on his business, Precious highlights the excellent service the agency has enjoyed. “From the first day, the service was the most important thing. It aligns with who we are and  what our vision is as a company.”

I always tell my agents that we need to give our clients a ‘wow’ moment. If we cannot produce the best, we are not doing it at all. This is who we are, and in that PayProp is right alongside us. Precious Thoka, Principal

Stress-free rentals

PayProp’s reporting is very important to Precious. “When my rentals administrator comes to me with a report, it’s clear and simple – no funny stuff.”

PayProp also cancels out the headache of withholding the deposit. As Precious reports, “it’s one of the main reasons why I took on PayProp. One of the primary reasons I hadn’t wanted to do rentals was deposit calculations, but PayProp makes that easy. I was also concerned about payment security, but with PayProp’s unalterable audit trail to prevent fraud, it’s a stressless thing for me.”

“These things can be very stressful for business owners or rental managers. But with PayProp you know what income has been received today, you’ve got all the records required, and when it comes to the year-end work, it’s straight-forward. It’s like PayProp is another member of the team.”

Business during lockdown

For someone who didn’t like doing rentals to start with, Precious sees it as quite ironic that they provided the company with vital income during  the COVID lockdown period.

“It helped a lot because you don’t have to be in the office to manage rentals with PayProp – you can work remotely. As I’m talking to you now, my rental administrator is not even in the office, but believe me, she’s working wherever she is. And I love the fact that you can even work fully on your phone. I could be travelling or be very far away and I’m sent a message on WhatsApp to check on something or approve a payment.  I don’t need a laptop; I just log in on my phone and right there and then I can execute the task. You don’t have to wait for Monday to work on PayProp.”

That’s the bottom line. Our clients know that we are always available. It’s something we can do as we draw on the system and give clients their statements and anything else they might be asking for, at any time. A lot of our landlords send us messages that they are very happy with the service we have been offering, because all they want to see is their money coming in. Precious Thoka, Principal

With PayProp automatically flagging up tenants in arrears and sending out automated payment reminders (on approval by the agent), Thoka Properties collected 100% of the rental income owed to their clients during lockdown – an excellent success. They only had one client in arrears who was nevertheless able to pay within a short period of time.

Vision for the future

When he started Thoka Properties, Precious Thoka believed that residential rentals were an unprofitable, stressful waste of time. Now, having seen the admin-busting power of PropTech, he regards PayProp as key to the future success of his business.

Asked about his plans for the company, he envisions that, after what he calls their “current foundation phase” of five years, Thoka Properties will be a leading property franchise extending throughout the country – powered by PayProp.