Communicare doesn’t need just one month to celebrate its female employees! Celebrate with us as we feature our formidable women all year round! Kara Ascott, Leasing Manager gives us insight into her career journey. How to lead from behind: Lessons in property management Q.   Take us through your journey in real estate, how did it begin and how did you know this was to become your career? Kara Ascott: Leasing Manager A.   Years ago,  two partners I was in business with at the time started looking at alternative options to renting office space in Cape Town Central.  Rental offices in Cape Town CBD were exorbitant and traffic in and out of the city center was a nightmare during peak season! We formed a property holding company and purchased a commercial property in Pinelands Business Park through Divaris Property Brokers and moved our offices from Cape Town CBD to Pinelands. A few years later, the partners came to a mutual decision to dissolve the business and the unit was once again sold through Divaris Property Brokers.  I was then approached by Divaris and asked if I would like to try out a career in commercial real estate.  At the time I thought they were crazy as I knew very little about commercial property, but, after some thought and much convincing, I agreed. I spent three years with the Divaris family “learning the ropes” of commercial property and loved every minute of it! An opportunity later opened up with JHI (now Excellerate JHI), where I managed to gain experience in facilities management (Old Mutual portfolio) and leasing (Sanlam, Capital, Nordic, Gemgrow, and Subrolinx portfolios). Q.   What are the biggest misconceptions about a career in property management and real estate? A.   That it is an easy job with big returns. Nothing [...]

20 September 2021 For immediate release A fire broke out in an apartment in one of Communicare's complexes called Creswell House in Newlands on the morning of Sunday 19 September 2021. The manager of the complex called the fire department who successfully extinguished the fire. Regrettably, an 85-year-old tenant, who was found unconscious in the apartment was pronounced deceased, as attempts to resuscitate him failed. "I am devastated to learn of the passing of one of our tenants who was part of the Communicare family for many years. I extend my condolences to his family on behalf of Communicare during this tough time," said Makhosi Kubheka, COO of Communicare. Affected tenants and the family of the deceased have been offered trauma and grief counselling by Communicare Social Development Officers, who are qualified social workers. The cause of the fire is currently unknown. The South African Police Service (SAPS) are investigating the incident and the tragic loss of life. There were no injuries to other tenants at Creswell House. ENDS- For further information contact: Balisa Mancayi Bntloko@communicare.org.za 021 421 6008

Noma-Afrika Maxwele, Vulamathuba Manager Communicare doesn’t need just one month to celebrate its female employees – celebrate with us as we feature our formidable women all year round! Noma-Afrika Maxwele, Vulamathuba Manager gives us insight into her career journey. Why it is so important to empower young people and prepare them as a future workforce. Practical resources for a Black Child from the township, who is ambitious & determined to succeed against all odds. Q.   You’re passionate about youth empowerment and skills development. Take us through when you made this discovery, what were the circumstances in your life? A.   After completing matric with limited opportunities to study further and a lack of career guidance I decided to join the post-matric “bridging year” programme that The South African Educational Projects run for a small group of township youth that recently matriculated to help prepare for further studies or training and careers. The opportunity opened my mind to Post School Education and Training, youth empowerment, and the gap in the system for every black child to access the opportunities. Since then I have made a conscious decision to live on the following values:   Purposeful  - I live every day with a determination to make a positive change in society. This includes the employment/project opportunity I embark on needs to be aligned to my values and resonate with the person that I am. Empowerment -  I drive youth development and opening up spaces for every underprivileged youth and adult to access the available skills development opportunities, whether is it through engagement or sharing of available resources. Fulfillment – At the end of the day I look each day with gratitude and the work I do gives me great joy, knowing I am making a difference. Impactful – I want to [...]

31 August 2021 The transfer of homes to Communicare tenants in Ruyterwacht has begun after the organisation announced in March this year its intention to sell its property in the Cape Town suburb. This follows several sales campaigns since the 1980s to sell free-standing houses in Ruyterwacht and Brooklyn. Communicare has already facilitated homeownership for 1 500 former tenants. The remaining 271 houses are now being sold together with flats, group housing and townhouses. Since March, Communicare has had several community engagements to assist current tenants to purchase their properties, assisted tenants with finance options, negotiated the sale of several blocks of flats and successfully negotiated the transfer of tenants’ lease agreements to new managing agents. Apart from several tenant engagements, Communicare also conducted a survey to assess interest in the sales campaign. The organisation is encouraged that 73 % of respondents expressed an interest in owning their property. 53 % of current tenants are younger than 50 years of age and a significant number have more than one person working in their household. Only 8% have indicated a bad credit score. By all accounts, many of our tenants will qualify to buy the homes they currently rent in Ruyterwacht. Several finance options are available to tenants to make homeownership a reality. New homeowners Currently sale agreements for 17 houses have been signed by prospective owners who were previously tenants, of which 5 are in the process of being transferred. A young couple, Annique Hartzenberg (29) and Adolph Wayne Meyer were the first to respond with all the necessary documentation required to purchase their home in Ruyterwacht. Their keen interest ensured a successful home loan application and conclusion of the sale process. Annique and Adolph have been tenants of Communicare for two years with their two children. Annique said that [...]

19 August 2019 The Communicare family is excited to inform you that we will be moving office on the 23rd August 2019. As of the 26th of August we will be at our new business premises, Park Lane Office Park (next to Vincent Pallotti Hospital). Please note that we will have limited staff and telephone lines for reception and call centre from 13h00 on the 23rd. Our telephone numbers and email addresses remain unchanged, with a change of our physical address as stated below: From 26 August 2019: Block A, Park Lane 2 Park Road, Pinelands, Cape Town Our Communicare Call Centre remains your primary point of contact for all tenant enquries. 0800 266 737 or callcentre@communicare.org.za. Please contact us with any further questions you have concerning our new location and address change. We look forward to continuing our business with you at our new address. Yours Sincerely, Communicare Download Press Release

28 April 2019 Many of Communicare’s senior tenants woke up this morning with a sense of relief after the social enterprise informed 284 tenants that their rental discounts were extended until December2019. Collectively, these pensioners will save over R2 million this year. “This must come as a welcome relief to our tenants who rely soley on the government’s old age grants and find it hard to make ends meet in these tough times. We always try to help our most vulnerable tenants. I’m pleased that this is now the third year that we can offer these pensioners a rental discount,” said Anthea Houston, CEO of Communicare. The larger discounts this year are the result of the various changes that took place at Communicare in recent years. The organisation’s restructure and a number of commercial developments likethe sale of the head office on the Foreshore, make these discounts possible. Over the past 90 years, Communicare’s tenant mix has also changedwith more people paying market related rentals in middle-income households. Some of the surplus is used to subsidise new social housing developments and to offer current tenants rental discounts. This model ensures that Communicare can be sustained into the future while providing affordable and decent housing for Cape Town residents. The restructure involved the creation of goodfind Properties to manage Communicare’s residential portfolio with units priced at market rates. As a non-profit company, no money is taken out of the company by shareholders.Instead the surplus is used for new rental developments and to offer benefits to tenants such as the rental discounts. Communicare has usedasocial enterprise model for decadesbuttheorganisation’s new structure ensures that Communicare can sustain its income in future and invest the surplus in new developments or benefits for tenants. A sustainable model means more affordable housing for more people [...]

17 MAY 2018 PRESS RELEASE Communicare is committed to providing opportunities for more people to live with dignity and to improve their quality of life. We currently manage 3375 rental units in well located areas in Cape Town. As part of this commitment, we’re proud to announce the launch of goodfind Properties.This exciting new brand will be responsible for managing a number of our properties and tenants from now on. It will also allow us to offer an attractive housing option to a younger, more upwardly mobile audience. This new brand will help us to create and manage spaces that both individuals and communities are proud to call home. Homes where they feel safe and that give residents the opportunity to grow and thrive. As part of goodfind’s specialised offering, tenants will benefit from additional call centre staff and a dedicated email line for queries and service. We will also be developing a customised tenant portal which will allow residents to check statements and log queries online. In addition, we will be investing in and upgrading our property portfolio starting with construction of 138 new units in Musgrave Villas in Diep River, followed by upgrading existing properties in Rondebosch, Wynberg, Brooklyn and Ruyterwacht. Finding a place to call home is one of the most important and empowering things a person can do, and it’s why we’re so excited by the possibilities goodfind Properties creates. 0800 266 737 (Toll Free) callcentre@goodfindproperties.co.za Download Press Release