Louis Kruger Property Management (LKPM) was founded by Louis Kruger (snr) in 1975 and has been attending to the administration, management and letting functions of several community schemes, office blocks, shopping centres, apartment buildings, houses and student accommodation since.
We have been managing sectional title schemes since 1999 and still manage the scheme we started managing in 1999. Although this was never our core business, but being property investors ourselves, we noted that many community schemes suffer financially as a result of ineffective management.
This prompted us to make use of our extensive knowledge of property management to offer a superior administrative and management service to community schemes. By offering our clients a tailor-made service, we have grown our portfolio significantly over the last 7 years. We pride ourselves in successfully assisting several distressed schemes to implement new measures to ensure financial success.
The past 25 years saw LKPM adding considerable value to a number of client’s shopping centre, office, and industrial investments. With successful leasing we have significantly increased occupancy levels to nearly 100% at all the buildings in our portfolio. Some of which had 100% vacancy levels! We are well aware of property market conditions in the Western Cape and concluded new leases with major national and international companies in all areas.
We also have experience in managing student accommodation on behalf of the University of Western Cape. This includes placement, managing electricity purchases, maintenance and entry and exit inspections.
Our extensive experience in neighborhood and convenience shopping centre management gives us the ability to effectively analyse and interpret trading conditions to advise property owners on marketing and leasing strategies, tenant mix and lease agreement structure. By redeveloping and effectively using existing voids we have also succeeded to convert several “dead” spaces in commercial buildings into income yielding areas.
Our expertise in the management of residential properties is second to none. We have clients using our services in excess of 40 years. Actively managing over 300 residential units and several mixed-use buildings, we continuously reflect a 100% letting ratio. Our proven collections systems maximize the speed of payment to our customers and minimize costs.
Adelle van Tonder, with more than 15 years’ experience with the company, ensures the best possible tenants are placed at market related rentals. With the exception of 2020 and 2021 she has almost always maintained a 100% occupation rate.
We have developed streamlined systems to ensure quick cost-effective solutions and built up relationships with a pool of contractors for different maintenance challenges and we are able to assess and solve problems effectively and quickly if necessary.
We have actively managed the improvement of buildings in projects from R10 000 to over R5m, as well as a number of tenant installations in excess of R1m. This included negotiations with local authorities to ensure compliance, asbestos certification, fire compliance and painting. We also effectively manage the tenants or occupants affected by the improvements.
With more than 30 years’ experience in collections we have effective processes in place to minimize arrears while at the same time maximising occupation. Dedicated staff manages and assesses, with senior staff where necessary, each individual case and implement the most effective solution.
We know that to effectively manage a property which creates hundreds of issues per year and staying in contact with thousands of owners and tenants, we need proven management systems. We use WeconnectU, MRI Property Manager (previously MDA), and Redrabbit. These systems are accepted as the best property management systems for commercial and residential property respectively. It ensures up to date reporting and efficient and fast transfer of payments to the owner’s account.
By using the up to date system tailored made for the industry allows us to keep track of everything in your sectional title or home owners’ association. From current arrears to letters sent and trustee approval for payments. Owners have online access to their accounts and trustees will have access to vital financial information at any time.
For commercial properties we can do multiyear income projections, portfolio summaries, VAT reports and many more income and maintenance related reports.
In addition we can create tickets for each maintenance query or request and effectively manage the process. For rental properties we up to date inspections with photos in electronic format for easy comparison.
LKPM is active members of the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA), Council of Debt Collectors and The National Association of Managing Agents (NAMA). We have intimate knowledge and adhere strictly to the Estate Agency Affairs Act, The Housing Rental Act, The Consumer Protection Act, The Credit Act as well as The Sectional Titles Act and the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act.
Each handpicked member of the team has over the years contributed to the success of the organisation. Most employees have more than 5 year experience at LKPM and other more than 10 years. Team members have been given the opportunity to become experts in their respective field. A dynamic system is in place wherein each person understands and performs their specific functions. We have dedicated personnel for accounting, collections and maintenance allowing the portfolio managers to focus on managing their properties.
Mariza Pretorius who joined our company more than 10 years ago heads the Community Management department, together with Louis Kruger and their team, she excels at problem solving, implementing cost effective maintenance solutions and putting sectional title schemes and home owners’ associations on the right track to ensure long term financial stability.
Louis Kruger joined the company in 1991, part-time from 1990. Starting his career by collecting rentals for the United Bank Properties in Possession department in the Kuils River, Eerste River, and Blue Downs area. He has been managing residential and commercial property since. Being a residential and commercial property owner himself, his key strength is his hands-on experience in all facets of residential and commercial property ownership and management over an extended period. This empowers him to understand and deliver according to the expectations of every type of property owner.
Louis completed the Paddocks courses for both Sectional Title Scheme Manager and Home Owners’ Association Scheme Manager, a Certificate in Shopping Centre Management (CSCM), a Certificate in the Fundamentals of Shopping Centre Marketing as well as an Advanced Certificate in Shopping Centre Leadership with honors. The University of Pretoria in conjunction with the South African Council of Shopping Centre hosts the certificate courses. In addition, he completed several courses and information sessions hosted by Tertius Maree (sectional title), Paddocks (home owners’ association), The PPRA and other institutions on the Sectional Title Act, Consumer Protection Act, Rental Act, Credit Control Act and Home Owners’ Associations. Louis also completed, as per government requirements, NQF5 and successfully wrote the PPRA PDE exam in order to act as principle of a registered estate agency and to operate an estate agency trust account.
Mariza successfully completed het NQF4 and NQF5 and passed her PDE exam in order to operate a managing agent. She also successfully completed the Paddocks Sectional Title Scheme Manager Course in 2023.
Currently we manage a variety of sectional title schemes, home owners’ associations, office blocks, mixed use buildings, single residential units, student housing, industrial buildings and retail. A number of these buildings have been under our management for more than 40 years stretching over two generations of company ownership.
At LKPM we pride ourselves in the fact that we understand property and the requirements to effectively manage it. Our low staff turnover, knowledge and effective systems make us the obvious choice to manage any type of property.