BACKSTORY: Brian McKechnie, heritage architect and property investor

What’s your one top tip for doing a deal?

I think a good deal is about fairness. Leave emotion out, never overplay your hand and never seem too eager to close.

What was your first job?

As an undergrad I used to take an old lady grocery shopping.

How much was your first pay cheque, and how did you spend it?

It was a long time ago, but it definitely wasn’t much, even back then. I probably spent it on repairs to my hand-me-down Jag. A poor financial decision that brought pain to my bank balance and joy to my life.

What is the one thing you wish somebody had told you when you were starting out?

Be intentional with the work you choose. Early decisions, good or bad, often set the path for the rest of your career.

If you could fix only one thing in South Africa, what would it be?

Listening to the growl of distant generators while uneasily monitoring the battery status of my MacBook, the answer is easy — Eskom!

What’s the most interesting thing about you that people don’t know?

So many things, but they’re probably not fit for the pages of a respectable publication like the FM. Honestly though, I’m not that interesting.

What’s the worst investment mistake you’ve made?

The previously mentioned Jaguar, which I still own today.

What’s the best investment you’ve ever made? And how much of it was due to luck?

I bought my first investment property, a flat in Ansteys Building in downtown Joburg, when I was 25. It was a lucky find. I fell in love with the Art Deco design of the vintage skyscraper and the sweeping views from the generous windows. I didn’t know anything about bond repayments, or levies, or rental yields, but the inner-city property market was affordable, and the area was popular with dependable up-and-coming renters. That flat, and other affordable city properties that followed, paid for themselves many times over.

What is the hardest life lesson you’ve learnt?

Enjoy every day where you’re at. Don’t look back too often, and never let things you have no control over define who you are, or steal your happiness.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Patience. I think most South Africans would agree.

What is something you would go back and tell your younger self that would impress them?

I’d tell the dorky kid at Northcliff High that he’d make it into architecture school. That he’d grow into his looks and that he’d meet people and do things he couldn’t even dream of while staring through the accounting classroom window.

Was there ever a point at which you wanted to trade it all in for a different career? And if so, what would that career be?

Every single day, but then I remember that architecture isn’t really a career, it’s more a life philosophy, and I wouldn’t change a single part of it.

If you were President Cyril Ramaphosa, what would you change, or do, tomorrow? 

Oh Cyril! The guy landed a tough job at a terrible time. He’s balancing atop a giant house of cards and I wouldn’t want his spot for any money. That said, end cadre deployment. Professionalise the state and put qualified and capable people into the government …  29 years of patronage has brought South Africa to its knees, enough is enough.