Follow the smart money
Category Financial Mail
Ronald Ennik, CEO of Ennik Estates, affiliated with Christie’s International: I have lived in Johannesburg’s Parkwood close on 18 years and love the area’s tree-lined streets and village-like atmosphere. In fact, five years ago we moved house in the same street.
A friend and I originally bought the property diagonally across the road from where my wife, Jodi, and I used to live. It was an old, ugly duckling and the idea was to renovate and on-sell. We later realised we would have to knock the house down and rebuild from scratch.
So we demolished and created such a beautiful, contemporary space that Jodi decided there is no way this was going to be a spec house. We sold our old home and moved a few doors down the road.
When it comes to property investment, I’m quite a strategic thinker. So the idea of being close to Rosebank, which I have always believed will become a major business hub, was a key criterion for choosing to live in the area. Our house is 100m from Oxford Road so we can walk to the Gautrain station.
Jodi and I don’t have kids — I was a cynical bachelor until the age of 46 — but we entertain a lot, which our house is perfectly suited for. It has 6m high, double-volume living areas, with massive glass windows that let in plenty of natural light, creating an amazingly airy and spacious living area.
The house also provides the ideal backdrop to showcase our collection of contemporary art. I own a small, lock up and go townhouse in Upper Greenpoint, Cape Town, which I bought in 1992. The unit sits high up on Signal Hill with beautiful views of the harbour and serves as a great base to explore the Cape.
I enjoy fly fishing and am part of a syndicate that co-owns a 500ha trout farm near Dullstroom. It’s the perfect weekend bolthole, with no electricity or access to e-mails or the Internet.
Author: Joan Muller
