Mom and dad

The time has come for us to decide on where we going to study next year. We know that this to you might seem a bit over the board but we have finally made a decision of where we going to go study.

We have decided to go to Cape Town to study at UCT. I am pretty sure that your very curious to why we want to go study at UCT. Well here is our reason.

1. It’s in Cape Town, the beautiful city.
2. It is South Africa’s oldest university
3. Its record of academic excellence
4. Its consistently the highest ranking university in South Africa
5. It offers free university transport shuttle services
6. Its excellent student resources

Here are the things that we think that we have to talk about. First is accommodation, we need to make sure of where we going to sleep, second we need to look at food because I mean we all have to eat, third we need to address the financials of us living there. Lastly we need to consider transport, we obviously need to get around.

I am pretty sure that your asking yourself what type of accommodation we are considering. We are looking at renting a flat or house and buying a flat or house

What is renting, well renting is paying for a space or item but you do not own it legally. Renting is basically me paying to occupying or use a space or item that has a legal owner. But I am not the legal owner.

What is buying, well buying is paying for a space or item to own it. You become the legal owner of something when you buy it.

Renting is cheaper than buying, you have more options to choose from, no maintenance costs, no hidden costs etc. Renting is more expensive in the long run, you don’t have enough space, the logistics can be difficult to get rid of.

Our options for renting are Campuskey and South Point.

At Campuskey we will receive free electricity and water, free Wi-Fi, free laundry token, En suite bathroom and a kitchen that is fully furnished but doesn’t have a microwave. The kitchen will be shared between the two of us. It approximately costs R13 680 for the both of us. Please do not forget that the rooms are fully furnished.

Now to move on to the next one which is South Point. South Point is fully furnished but it has a kitchen which is shared between 5 people. It also has laundry facilities in the building and a chill zone. It offers free Wi-Fi. It will cost about R 3 400 per person.

Now I know that buying a flat or house would be a long term investment. Buying a flat or house would also be cheaper in the long run but that’s only if you are planning to stay there after university. This house is also very secure so safety won’t be a problem. You can also be able to use the house to secure a loan from the bank. Buying a house is expensive because you are going to have to pay interest which after you have paid the loan amount the interest would be double to loan amount imagine. There are many hidden costs and also it is hard to maintain it.

We were looking at a townhouse in retreat which is a place in cape town. The place costs about R 850 000. It’s a very secure place and it has parking but only for one car. It is a 4-bedroom house with a kitchen, 1 bathroom and a lounge with a dining room. If we are going to pay for this townhouse with via the bank, then we will need to make bond payments. If you going to pay it over 20 Years with an interest rate of about 10% interest, you are going to be looking at about R 8 203 per month which after 20 years is going to be R 1 968 720 which is double the original amount.

As occupants of these places we going to have to abide to the rules of contracts, we have to make sure that we pay in time and that we make sure that we pay in time and that we make sure that the room is in its original condition. In South Point one of the rules is that if you fall pregnant you will have to leave the premises in your 7th month of pregnancy.

The appliances that we will need while living there is a microwave, an iron, a vacuum cleaner and a printer because of our school assignments.

To help you with the financials of us living in Cape Town next year we would like to tell you that we would look for part time jobs around the area to get money so that we can cover expenses that will not need Thousands of rands.

So before we concluded we would like to make it clear to you on what we have decided on. It is clear to everyone that Campuskey isn’t the cheapest but it is the best choice. Why we think so, well its simply because that Campuskey is much closer to UCT then the other two options. It’s a 6-7-minute walk from Campuskey to UCT so that means that we won’t have to use public transport. This place has laundry facilities so we don’t need to buy a washing machine. It is a very secure place and the area around it is very vibey so we won’t be going out much.

Thank you very much for listening to us, I hope this would influence your decision on allowing for me and my twin to go to Cape Town.