THE PROCESS OF HOUSE BUYING IN KENYA.

Owning a home is a keystone of wealth, both financial affluence and emotional security. It creates the best feelings ever. It can’t be described in words, it can’t be quantified in money. It makes life’s daily grind worth facing. It assures you after all the apps and downs, you have a place to go to, a place that will always invite you with open arms. It is however not an easy undertaking. One needs to perform an analysis on circumstances around owning a home. It is important to buy a home for the right reasons. You should be sure you are ready and aren’t just buying because it’s what you are expected to do, or it’s the next step. If you buy before you are ready there can be major financial consequences. For one, if you overspend on house owning, you can become house poor. Parallel to these, making payments toward the ownership of a real estate property can be a good investment in the long term. However, planning for such an important purchase is of paramount importance.

There is no right answer for everybody. You need to look at your personal reasons for buying or renting a home against your short and long-term financial goals. Then you can decide what is right for you and your family. I am choosing freedom. The freedom to live wherever I want, to do whatever activities I want while the income streams I build up over my working years support all of my expenses in early retirement. However, there’s more to a home purchase than picking your favorite listing and moving in. It’s important to understand all the steps of buying a house, as well as what to look for when buying, what questions to ask, understand the hidden costs, and how to close on it.

Take an audit of your personal finances.

When you are planning to buy a home, the first thing that should go through your mind is how much you can afford. If you are planning to buy with your savings, then you should have a clue of how much you can afford to offset all the payments. If you are planning to take a mortgage, you should have started working on refining your credit score to necessitate easier approval of your loan. Generally, homebuyers are expected to put up 20%-40% of the buying price before acquiring the mortgage. Some banks ask for no deposit at all, though these arrangements often involve hidden costs that you need to confirm before further committing. Other cost involve the  Stamp Duty: Between 2% to 4% of the property, Survey Fees: Between Ksh 30,000 and approx. Ksh 80,000, Conveyancing Fees: Approx. 1% of the value of the land or house, Mortgage fees which depends on the mortgage amount and the lender, the initial premium may be about Ksh 10,000 upwards. Buyers are generally responsible for the cost of registration of titles in their name(s) together with other disbursement costs as may be advised by the seller’s advocate. If you’re planning to purchase the house through mortgage, also consider the type of loan payment that best suits you and any other charges that may accrue.

List your priorities and find an agent.

Once you know how much house you can actually afford, you can actually begin your search for a home among listings in your area of choice. Talk to friends, family and professionals about your priorities. With your list of priorities and your pre-approval information in hand, find an agent who specializes in that area and who is able to give you their honest expert opinion, making your buying process simpler An agent can facilitate negotiations between buyers and sellers and show you lots of properties that fit your budget and meet your needs. Note it might not be possible to find a house that fulfills every item on your wishlist and this process might take time. With the help of your agent, you will determine a fair price to offer the owners of a home in which you are interested. You should concur to the opinion of your agent, as he or she will know a lot more about the housing market and the rules that apply to home offers.

Do Due diligence and inspections.

You must get a lawyer to do a search, to ensure that the property is free from any encumbrances. That means it was not built on a road reserve, it is not grabbed, and the owners have paid any dues charged and you can trace the title deed back to the very first owner.  During the Process of Buying Property in Kenya, It is critical that you meet the seller in person, if this is not possible, the agent or the advocate should be in a position to make a full disclosure of the seller’s details. You also need to confirm that the property exists during the Process of Buying. Get all the relevant documents, Get a copy of the Certificate of Title or the lease document.If possible, get a history of the property. In documents like the Ndung’u Report to confirm that the property was not a public utility earmarked for repossession or set aside for a public utility. If you are inclined to think that the land is part of road reserve, check with KeNHA or KURA. Buy a survey map of the property to ascertain that the land exists, then engage a licensed surveyor to confirm the beacons and the size of land. Search on the property clearers if the property has any encumbrances like bank loans, cautions or inhibitions, some of which must be cleared before a transfer is registered.

It is important to have the house you are purchasing professionally inspected to ensure you are aware of any damage or signs of structural wear. An inspection will confirm whether the homeowners were honest in their listing and reveal any issues that might have gone unnoticed. Make sure the house you are buying is in good condition and that you are satisfied with the amenities, the water connection, the electrical connection, sewerage system. If all the implements are functioning well? These may look insignificant, but having a sharp eye to this will assist arrest high renovation costs. After the inspection and the appraisal of the property, you can make the payments. Don’t be in a hurry to settle for the first house that you think is perfect, weigh all possible options.

Submit paperwork and close

You will work with your lawyer and your real estate agent to ensure that all of the relevant paperwork for your purchase is in order. You will be able to move into your new home as soon as all of the paperwork has been completed and the seller of the house has been paid.

To avert or minimize the chances of being a victim of Land buying and fraud, avoid cash payments during the Process of Buying Property and always Get legal advice, get a lawyer to draw up the sale agreement and help with the transfer. It will safeguard your interests. A specialized lawyer is conversant with the sale process and details that you might not be aware of.

Never rush to close a deal especially if you are being smooth tongued to hasten the process. Follow your keen intuition, If a deal feels not right, it probably is, so Walk.

Call us today on 0701099948 or email us on real@dpk.co.ke for more expert advise. Cheers.

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