LAND BUYING PROCESS IN KENYA

“Buying real estate is not only the best way, the quickest way, the safest way, but the only way to become wealthy.”- Marshall Field, entrepreneur

Just like you, I’ve set a goal to own Property. When it comes to such 

an important asset, we tend to have mixed emotions. Excitement, fear,

the uncertainty; we’re literally investing a huge amount of money

we’ve really worked hard to into something unknown to us.

“If you’re not going to put money in real estate, where else right?”

That is a really bold move to make and I applaud you for coming this far.

As an Agent one of the things I’ve noticed especially for us the young

Millennials are; yes, we do have the will & the money to acquire property

but do we really have enough information on how to go about it?

Here are some ideas/ steps to consider on your journey to

property ownership.

WORKING WITH A REAL ESTATE AGENT

There are many pros and cons to working with or without a real estate

agent when you’re trying to buy or sell a house or land. The key

or major factor is that Agents are professionals.

If you’re not knowledgeable when it comes to real estate, the terms,

conditions, the professionalism that comes with it, or even the

negotiating process.

A professional Realtor helps you with the property valuation processes

and represents you to the best of your interest.

In this case, I’d advise you to go with a Single-agency which involves

working with just one agent whose only concern is what’s best for you.

When you get an agent you can trust, then you’ll go ahead and sign a

buyer’s agreement. What this means is that the Agent will represent

you and you can’t work with a second Agent.

Real Estate agents don’t get regular paychecks. They are paid a

commission of the sale when the deal is closed. It would be unfair

to ask them to spend their time help you find your home/land and

call someone else midstream and buys a property from a second agent.

“Of course you can ask your agent you’ve signed with to cancel the

contract if you’re unhappy with their services and choose to move on.”

LAND PURCHASING PROCESS

“Buy land, they’re not making it anymore.”
                                                                  - Mark Twain, writer and humorist

We all know that Real Estate provides the highest returns and the greatest values and has the least risk. This process begins with you identifying a suitable property that matches your own preferences.

PRE-QUALIFICATIONS

At Viwak Properties we have a Buyer qualification process that we take you through. What this entails is a form that we fill with your details and we use that information to match you with your dream/desired property.

We then schedule a site visit and you get to see the list of properties we have narrowed down using your pre-qualification form as a guide.

SITE VISIT

During this site visit we provide you with a mutation form, deed plan, & a copy of the title deed. This allows you to visit the Ministry of Land HQ's at the county level where you can confirm the owner of the land. You’re required to carry the title deed to enable the research. Here you’ll get information on any issues connected to the land.

In Kenya a land search costs Ksh.520/=

If the property meets your desired criteria, location, amenities, accessibility, it's within your budget, and all the decision-makers agree, we go ahead and email you a Letter of Offer (LOO).

LETTER OF OFFER

A letter of offer is a physical representation of a prospective buyer's intentions to buy property.

This Letter of offer contains the details of both the buyer & the seller, description of the land, the agreed total investment, mode payment & advocates details.

This is then signed and acts to formally instruct the legal teams of both parties.

TITLE & LAND MAP

After an offer has been accepted, you as the buyer should conduct due diligence on the property. This is in addition to conducting an official search on the title at the Lands offices.

You can also get a land map from a local surveyor. You’ll buy 2 maps. One map will be drawn to scale & the second one showing the neighboring lands.

Each map costs Ksh.300/=

SALE AGREEMENT

Upon agreeing on the price, make sure that the sale agreement has the terms & conditions that both parties agreed on.

The approval of the sales agreement is followed by payment of the agreed deposit to our advocate's account

PROPERTY TRANSACTION COSTS

As a buyer you will incur certain costs whether you’re buying a residential or commercial property.

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY

1. Stamp Duty/Land Tax: The value of the land will determine the amount of money you will pay for stamp duty
   • 4% for land/property within a municipality
   • 2% for agricultural land or property outside a municipality
   • 1% if a property is registered as a company and transfer is by way of shares rather than title

2. Legal fees: Each party pays for their own legal fees based on a percentage of the purchase price on a scale stipulated in the Advocates Remuneration Amendment Order, 2014.

The only exception which appears to be a common practice is where buyers are required to pay legal fees for both parties when buying an apartment. The argument for this is based on the fact that the seller’s lawyer is the one who does registration for all the leases on behalf of the buyer.

VAT: VAT is payable on the acquisition of trading commercial property. The current prevailing rate is 16% of the purchase price. This is in addition to paying the Stamp Duty

3. Agency fees: The agent is paid by the party who instructs them; either by the seller who instructs the agent to market their property or the buyer who instructs the agent for property acquisition. The fee is on a scale capped at a maximum of 3% of the property’s value.

4. Registration and disbursement fees: As a buyer, you are generally responsible for the cost of registration of your title in your name(s) together with other disbursement costs as may be advised by the seller’s advocate

At all times during the purchase process, we are available to provide effective communication between the parties involved.