Real Estate A Piece of Dirt

Estates. The perception about estates. I thought it was about size, extra large to be exact and only rich people had them.

Crop and animal farms; sugar cane plantations in Africa, Caribbean, Brazil and Cuba; cotton plantations in the U.S.; land for grazing horses or cattle; vineyards in Bordeaux France; Buckingham Palace and related mini palaces; and homes of the rich and famous like Oprah. That was my idea of estates.

Then mother died. A jewellery store where she bought her kids and grandchildren wrist watches called telling us to pay what was owing on the account.  We said the person who was their customer had passed on to our ancestors.  They said her estate should settle the bill. 

What estate?  I said we were not rich enough to have an estate. The jewellery store then explained that it was not only about wealth.  Estate meant possessions, what a person had when she died including debt.  What estate could a woman born black in a white country like South Africa have? She was legally not a citizen and therefore could not buy a house.

I therefore learnt the hard way what estate means. Land is real estate. If it in the same league with other possessions like cars, boats, private jets, designer luggage, 600 pairs of shoes or paintings from Sotheby’s, why does it have ‘real’ attached to it?

Land is real estate because life as we know it happens on it.  We are born on the land (via hospitals now).  Ancient Africans used to bury the umbilical cord behind the house, to anchor the child to its roots.  South Africans still ask you about where your umbilical cord is buried.  They want your identity. Although there is cremation now, the land is still the last bus stop.

What is called the economy happens on the land.  Banks are richer than governments because they own land, vacant land or with houses or factories on top.  Remember that next time you see those yellow machines demolishing a building downtown.  It is useless now and something new will be built.

In early June, I went to a neighbourhood I used to frequent a lot.  Big shock.  A single storey corner house was gone and in its place was a double storey structure, which was still covered in plastic.  It didn’t have a yard notice about condominiums, but I counted six possible units. 

My eyes were not playing tricks on me.  I took a picture of it some years ago because it had the most interesting icicles in winter.

Land.  Land is the real estate, not the wine cellar, recording studio or the indoor swimming pool.

By:  Nonqaba waka Msimang.