2026

When it comes to construction, one of the most important part in your building is the foundation. No matter how beautiful the house is, if you have a weak foundation, then it is of no use. I often tell my clients that you can cut corners in every other place but NEVER joke with the foundation of your building. During my time in construction and by extension real estate, I have seen how unforgiving a bad...

One of the most contested issue when it comes to moving from a rented house is getting your rent deposit back. The landlord or agent will give you countless excuses just so that they can find a reason to withhold the security deposit. While not every tenant might qualify to get their deposit returned, I strongly believe in a fair system where justice prevails. The truth of the matter is that if you can...

Buying property from the diaspora has proven to be a challenging activity for many Kenyans leaving there.  Dealing with the systems and laws of different countries which are in most cases not aligned makes the process of transferring money quite opaque. Kenyans who choose to embark on the journey towards property ownership have to deal with many moving parts; property due diligence, balance exchange...

One of the most popular debates you will ever hear among investment circles is the Real Estate Vs. Paper wealth (i.e., stocks, mutual funds) question. Most people try and argue which option is better over the other and on a typical day you are likely to find such debates going on Facebook, Quora and Reddit. The truth is that both forms of investment are in competition and proponents from both sides will...

One thing that I have come to realize over the years is just how little most Kenyans know about construction. And I don’t blame anyone, you see our education system has been quite unhelpful in preparing us for real-life. You go to school and are taught about the ‘parts of a locust’ but no one ever explains to you about the different house options that exist. This lack of knowledge in construction and...

Let me start this off by asking you a simple question, how much rent are you currently paying? And how does it compare to your income. I have been a property manager for several years now and some of the tenants who we have had issues with are those who rent houses above their income. If you move into a house whose rent is way above what you can manage, then you can expect to run into rental arrears from...

I get a lot of questions as to how we come up the construction costs for various projects. Or why do some apartments that look similar in size and in the same location vary significantly in their cost. Well, it all boils down to the cost of finishes that have been used on the project. In many cases, the amount of money used on the structural part of the building is nearly if not equally the same. Stones,...

Land is one asset that I would jokingly describe as the ‘Kenyan Dream.’ Regardless of the bad publicity investing in land has gotten over the years, most Kenyans still hold it in high regard. Land rivals the various forms of paper wealth which are pushed to us as being better alternatives. With this in mind, the price of land has been growing day-in day-out and prime areas around towns are no longer...

We are all familiar with the common saying in investing that states “Buy low, sell high.” Well foreclosure properties offer you as an investor this rare opportunity. Foreclosure simply means the process of a lender repossessing and selling a piece of property when the borrower is unable to payback a loan. In Kenya, this niche has been a preserve for few investors owing to the legal complexity and...

According to recent data from KNBS, about 70% of Kenyan landlords choose to self-manage their rental units. To many landlords, it is a way of reducing costs while remaining in control of their investment. However, when your rental portfolio exceeds self-management, you will definitely need some help to undertake the operations. This is where a property management company comes in. But not just any...