Fanie Booysen

Fanie Booysen is a real estate agent for Seeff Properties Pretoria East.

What makes your area special?

I love Pretoria. We're staying in the biggest part of the man-made forest in the world. The hills and valleys in Pretoria are absolutely fascinating: you've got all the hiking trails, you've got all the nature reserves, you've got all the beautiful parks. I love nature and the wide variety in Pretoria is actually phenomenal.

I specialize in Garsfontein and have done for 16 years. I stay here myself and I love it. Garsfontein is one of those typical suburbs where you get youngsters who like buying town houses, and then you get bigger families who want to be close to the primary school and high school, and then you get the yuppies – the young upcoming professionals. They all want to be close to the highway, and close to the main access routes. And that's why Garsfontein is so popular. The stands in Garsfontein are also mostly bigger than a thousand square metres, which is a good size for a stand nowadays. If you compare Garsfontein with some of the newer developments, Garsfontein houses are bigger and they offer more.

What sets you apart as an agent?

When you select an estate agent to sell your property, it’s important to work with somebody who is a good estate agent: visible in the area, with a successful track record. It’s not good to work with a rookie or somebody who doesn't know the area at all.

An experienced estate agent will work through the characteristics and the features of the house, and show the buyers exactly what they need. The skill is to find the right buyer for the right property. A good estate agent will always listen to the needs of the buyer and try to make that magic match between the house and the buyer.