The Process Buying a Home in Kenya

Buying a home can be quite hectic and it needs you to be alert lest you fall in the hands of scammers. There are lots of people who pause as gents or home sellers, but they are conmen. Also, uncooperative government officials can be quite stressful to work with. 

However, you do not need to worry too much. The tips discussed below will help make your home buying journey easier. 

Look For the Perfect Home

Jumuika.co.ke has made it easy to for you to find a home. All you need to do is scroll through our website and look for a home that matches your needs. You need to look for a home that is in a location you like, within your budget, and your preferred size. 

Once you find interesting properties, call the agents and plan site visits. It is very important for you to get a look and feel of the homes. Once you settle on one, you can move to the next step. 

Due Diligence

It is important for you to involve a real estate lawyer at this point. The lawyer will help you request documents that are needed to conduct due diligence. Such documents include national ID, title deed, etc. With these documents you can conduct a search to identify who the owner of the property is. Also, you can check if there are any land rates arrears or court cases pertaining to the property or owner. 

  Moreover, these documents will help you estimate the value of the home so that you can give an informed offer. Do not forget to conduct due diligence on the owner and/ or the selling agent. Another important part of due diligence is inspecting the property. Ensure that the seller provides you with documents that confirm that the building laws were observed when putting up the home. 

Making an Offer

After getting satisfactory results from doing thorough due diligence, you can make an offer. Your real estate lawyer should prepare the offer document. In most cases, you will negotiate with the seller even before you write the offer letter. However, in some cases you have to come up with the price quote. Make sure that your price is reasonable. 

Your offer may be accepted or rejected. If it is rejected, you should inquire into the reasons and decide on the next course of action. If accepted, you will sign a sales agreement. The seller prepares the sales agreement. Ensure that your advocate goes through the terms of the sales agreement. 

After that you are expected to make a downpayment, usually 10% of the total price. The rest of the payment should be made after a transfer has been initiated. 

Closing on the Property

After you have completed payment and transfer has been initiated, you will need to register the title deed and the land rates certificate in your name. this process is done at the lands office, and your advocate can facilitate the same. Sometimes buyers are required to pay stamp duty, usually up to 4% of the property’s value. 

Once you have all the documents in your name, you can pay your advocate/agent and collect your keys.