We first established as a sole proprietor real estate agency in 2005 as Waleed Ras Property Services (WRPS), offering a sales brokerage service, dealing with residential properties only, working out of a backroom in my (Waleed’s) home. After a few months, we included a rental service, which eventually evolved into a limited property management service. The business expanded and we opened our first office in Victoria Road, Woodstock, towards the end of 2006, with a staff complement of four. Over the years our services expanded to include brokerage of commercial properties, as well as sectional-title management services. To date, we host a staff complement of ten, all contributing to a wealth of experience that we are able to share with our clients.
During 2021 we rebranded from Waleed Ras Property Services to POTERE INVESTMENT PROPERTIES and converted the business to a close corporation entity. This strategic change aligned with the business’s renewed focus on property management. PIP has acquired the most advanced technology available to assist in our delivery of management services, i.e., automated invoicing systems, active arrears management, job tracking, and legal compliance, to name but a few. We pride ourselves on a “HANDS- ON” approach to management with a pro-active mindset that ensures that property values (and ultimately your investments) are continuously enhanced.
We also relocated to new offices in the same year and can now be found at 324 Victoria Road, Salt River. This location is easily accessible to our current client base, which ranges from the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town through to its CBD and across the Atlantic Seaboard towards the West Coast.
Since inception, we have been registered with the EAAB, now known as the Property Practitioners’ Regulatory Authority (PPRA), and have remained fully compliant with industry regulations (FFC can be presented on request).
PIP is guided by me, Waleed Ras. As the principal and director, I encourage an ethical, entrepreneurship attitude from PIP staff, always seeking win-win outcomes, based on integrity and honesty for all parties. I started out in the real estate industry around 2002, when I acquired my first property. Prior to this, I was involved in various businesses, most of which I had established, developed, and eventually sold. I started my first business at the age of 21, while completing a National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). This business funded my studies and was sold 10 years later. During this period, I acquired experience, amongst others, in plant and building management. Subsequent to establishing WRPS, I reinforced my business acumen by completing a Master's Degree in Business Administration. While completing this degree, I was invited by CPUT to lecture Property Economics and Finance to final year students.
I believe that we should never stop empowering ourselves with knowledge, be it from books, people or life experiences, which should be applied to create opportunities for progress, in any shape or form. It is this approach to continuous improvement that has been integrated into the fabric of the work that we produce at Potere.
Our name, Potere, pronounced as “Poh-tierre” has its roots in the Latin meaning “I can”, I will” and generally implies a positive connotation in any language—this is the ethos of our attitude towards delivering our services to You, our valued client.
We strive to SIMPLIFY YOUR “WORLD” by promoting a living environment that contributes to quality of life within the community in which you live and invest, whilst simultaneously enhancing property values through a proactive management style.
To make PROPERTY OWNERSHIP A PLEASURE! (Our recipe is a closely kept secret.)