Land Investments Newspaper Edition 001

EDITION 001

JULY 2014 :: 001

www.landinvestments.co.ke

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Exposing new property investment opportunities in Kenya

LAND INVESTMENTS EXPO

NEW DEVELOPMENTS

Making land-ownership smooth The process of owning land has been heart-rending to many Kenyans over the years but now there is ray as processes are streamlined writes OLIVER OWUOR. It’s been almost a month since the Lands registries in the country were reopened after a clean-up exercise that raised such a huge storm for about two weeks.

Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu had ordered the registries in Nairobi shut so that an audit could be conducted, and a clean-up undertaken. Many thought it was an exercise in futility, but many weeks down the line, a spot check at Ardhi House reveals a refreshing new look.

Kenya’s President His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta flanked by Hon. Charity Ngilu, Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development tours the Lands Ministry registry to appreciate filing audit and progress of streamlining of seamless transactions at the national headquarters.

There is some real order, and now it will take a shorter duration of time to have one’s land issues addressed by the government.

Prior to the clean up exercise, there were numerous challenges at Ardhi house which made life difficult for

The new air we are breathing at Ardhi house is a welcome relieve. those seeking land services. Some of the issues were as follows;

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That conducting searches on titles took too long, sometimes up to months to get results so as to confirm ownership. During this time it became impossible to sign any agreements between buyers and sellers. In fact CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

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Land Investments

JULY 2014 || EDITION 01

Land Investments Expo premiers

Another ideal signature investment-focused event lined to dramatically engage investors and change how land is sought and sold, bought and developed premiers at KICC, writes JENIFFER MBOGORI. REAL WEALTH the organizers of East Africa’s annual flagship events; Ideal Interiors Expo and Ideal Hospitality Expo has partnered with the Kenya Association of Investment Group (KAIG) to host yet another ideal signature event dubbed: Land Investments Expo and Conference.

The focused tradeshow of searching and finding, selling and buying plus identifying and developing the found lands is lined to bring over 7,000 passionate investors to engage with

WHEN IS IT?

1ST–3RD AUG, 2014

This is big. This is the deal-time. The event will daily begin from 9.30am to 6.30pm. If you are inspired by owning land you can‘t afford to miss this.

land owners and selling agents at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre from 1st to 3rd August, 2014.

With the focus to demystify land ownership – that is perhaps, the most ancient and today’s still vibrant expression of wealth – the event aims to showcase attractive landscapes lined for varied investments. Longing to invest are both individuals and investment groups.

EXHIBITING

LAND SALES:

Talk directly to your audience. Be ready for over 73 percent expo visitors looking for land and real estate investment opportunities.

The Land Investments Expo is Kenya’s only ideal face-to-face platform for buying, selling and financing land.

VISITING

THE BUYERS:

Worthwhile exposure for financial institutions with asset financing that will enable potential buyers secure, own and develop land.

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Meaningful impact Kenya, a country with attractive landscapes, lakes and oceanic beaches has the potential of making meaningful impact when land sellers, financial investment firms, SACCOs, asset financing banks and land buyers converge to learn and start the journey of developing and improving business initiatives on commercial, residential and agri-business land.

“The partnership of Real Wealth and KAIG is keen to host this expo since land ownership increases productivity through access to credit and greater on-land investment,” said Humphrey Odhiambo, the expo’s event director adding that banks caring much about asset financing will take this event seriously and tap into requirements of their customers.

During this special event, the government is poised to engage with investors on progressive dynamics of land ownership, land verification and land titling as they’ve as well been invited to secure a stall.

According to Patrick Kariuki, the KAIG chairman, the Land Investments Expo and Conference is set to mark yet another incredible beginning of Kenyans investing on discovered new lands for investment as a result of learning from each other about how to heighten productivity on land with varied investment initiatives.

Land Investments

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Quality engagement

Who’ll be exhibiting?

“This timely event aims to make a difference in Kenya, a country with incredible investment opportunities in real-estate and agri-business arena,” says Kariuki.

Exhibiting at Land Investments EXPO the forthcoming gives the exhibitors the opportunity to put your business in front of 5,000 - 10,000 visitors interested in land investment

According to Humphrey Odhiambo, the events director of the Land Investments Expo, quality engagement is expected among potential land buyers, Land Selling Agents, Equity Financiers and SACCOs. Others to benefit greatly in this initiative are Real Estate Developers, Private Investors, Institutional Investors, Corporate Firms, Recreation and Hotel Developers among other industry players adding value to land.

The premier Land Investments Expo will play host to diverse industry players ranging from Banks, SACCOs and Microfinance firms to Real Estate Land Selling Agents and County Governments.

County Governments will have an opportunity to market themselves to shine as they market themselves to investors invited at the conference and expo. The counties will have the opportunity to attract and invite investments in their spatial plans in an effort to better their social and economic programs.

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Land being a finite resource for development will thus bring together diverse industry sector players. Since Real Estate Agents are among the first point of contact for potential land buyers and developers; they’re expected to make a significant impact at the event.

SACCOs, Banks & Counties While banks will largely engage with investors requiring financial boost, the County Governments will have the opportunity to showcase the best of the county’s investment opportunities that comprise; recreation parks and hotels, commercial and residential properties that may attract investments beyond the county.

“Counties with re-planned growth have the unique chance to showcase uniqueness as they interact with invited corporate investors and investment groups,” said Odhiambo adding that the expo period will be an opportune time for everyone in business to learn more, invest more and grow.

The finance firms will have the opportunity to partner with land selling agents as well as land endbuyers. Exposure of financial products at the event will necessitate individual land buyers and investment groups to

pursue lines of business engagement.

Customers owe allegiance to banks that can listen to them, advise them and facilitate for last mile investment on land ownership or adding value to existing properties.

Section of some spots that are steadily opening up for investment following noted congestion in Nairobi and its environs.

LAND INVESTMENTS EXPO 2014 [FLOOR LAYOUT]

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MEETING CORNER 1

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MEETING CORNER 3

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Refreshment Area BOOKED STALLS

L15

PROPERTY LISTINg WALL

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AVAILABLE STALLS

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L38 L37 ENTRANCE

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PROPERTY LISTINg WALL

MEETING CORNER 2

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MEETING CORNER 4 EXIT

K1

COMMON AREAS

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TO BOOK YOUR SPACE CONTACT: 0721 912 565 / 0733 585 480 / 0700 333 888

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4

Land Investments

JULY 2014 || EDITION 01

What’s your excuse for

not buying land?

Land is big business but there are more than enough of successful failures who choose to thrive on excuses instead of challenging themselves better writes PATRICK WAMEYO. Excuses! Excuses! Excuses…So, what’s your excuse this time?

Generally, when we fail to do something we are expected to do, we almost always have an excuse for it. However, if we analyse any excuse closely, it emerges as a self-destructive alibi for failing to do something, more especially when it involves attaining a set target. For most us, instead of trying to find ways to realize the targets, we resort to explaining ourselves to our perceived judges.

It is important to note that even a handicap cannot be used as an excuse. After all, there are so many handicapped persons who instead of whining, stretch out to achieve their goals. Their determination win the

space in the champions club. Why? Instead of using their handicap as an excuse, they turn it into an asset. Let us explore this further in the context of investing in land.

Reason for failure A handicap need not be a reason for failure in land investment. On the contrary, a handicap can be a reason for success in this industry that accommodates all. People with a handicap always have an offsetting strength that allows them to overcome problems better than others.

Well then, it is only wise to appreciate that everybody has handicaps in varying degrees and forms. History reveals there have been a number of

Making owning land smoother for all Kenyans CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 land transactions in general took longer than is prescribed in the land administration guidelines provided in the law.

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That cases of missing files had become too common. It was not uncommon to conduct a search, get results of a search today and one month later you are unable to get results of a search on the same title because the file cannot be traced.

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In cases of files missing, the public had to content with the painful process of reconstructing files to allow transactions to be concluded. This process of reconstruction was long and very costly.

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Too many cases of fraudulent transfers have been reported. This is a very unnerving situation because it could mean the land you claim is yours may have been transferred to someone else in a fraudulent transaction.

For years, there has been public outcry on the need to streamline operations at the lands registries in Kenya.

Calls have been made to

Having accurate records is the first best step forward in instilling confidence in the office and enhancing sanctity of titles. digitize lands records in this country.

There are always beneficiaries in any chaotic system. Make no mistake; the mess in lands offices was directly profiting some individuals who took advantage of the confusion in the records to extort the public. Cases of having to pay someone to trace a file at the Nairobi Lands registry have been reported.

To this end, therefore, the new air we are breathing at Ardhi house is a welcome relief. “We must commend the CS for being bold to attempt to clean up records at the lands registry.

She will of course experience a lot of resistance in her attempts to improve land administration in Kenya,” said Mr. Omolo Walter Omolo who secured his records almost four years of search.

We must see this process as a welcome and a timely gesture, stressed Omolo

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adding that people must be able to trust a search report from the land office. We must be confident the land titles that we hold belong to the pieces of lands that we own. We must be able to get efficient services from the lands office without needing to know a clerk in the lands office. And we must be able complete land transactions as per the time stipulates in the law. We must therefore credit Ngilu with the good work going on right now.

The ten days that were used to streamline activities at Ardhi house were painful for those with pending land transactions but we must support CS Charity Ngilu and allow her time to streamline records at the Nairobi Lands Registry because having accurate records is the first best step forward in instilling confidence in the office and enhancing sanctity of titles.

Land Investments

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people who overcame insurmountable setbacks to succeed. You might even be surprised to discover that many successful entrepreneurs are diagnosed with developmental reading disorder dyslexia including Richard Branson the founder of Virgin, a successful business in the global circles.

Historically, land continuously increases in value.

Sure there are ups and downs throughout the years, but the overall trend is always up!

get to know it when you have seen them, and learnt what drives value of land. This wealth education enables you to use your brain to come up with creative ideas to improve your life, and that of your investment.

If you are emotionally disturbed with own negative thoughts, it is time you stopped. Harbouring negative thoughts is like allowing your true-self to sit on a chair with wobbling legs.

Try sitting on a chair with sturdy legs; meaning, look at the bright, positive side of life. For instance, land business has its challenges. But ask yourself,

is problem the land? If not, put aside negativity and start thinking positively, so that you can release your mind to learn the skills needed to make good land investments. The only one who can stop you in quality land investment is yourself.

If your handicap is a combination of any of the physical, financial, or emotional type, congratulations. Yes, I congratulate you. Ask Why? You should get to know your weak spots.

That knowledge is important as it will help you strive more to overcome the challenges you may be exposed to.

Coral Property Consultants Ltd Registered Valuers, Estate & Managing Agents

It quite often requires effort and determination to overcome handicaps that may therefore come in form of physical, financial, or emotional.

Incidentally, they can either be real or imagined.

Look at the positive side

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Once you are initially warmed up with the basics of an education, the rest is up to you. Buying and selling land strategically will not require you to make use of libraries. You need on the ground exposure and the zeal to make to make it happen. You must first get to know good land for value, and you

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If your handicap is financial, when you want to plunge into land investments, then there is more reason for you to rise above your present status. If your financial status limits your educational attainment to improve your life, the school is not the only place to learn.

Certainly, there are help centres to get you started even from zero level.

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If you think your handicap is physical, like having a weak body, you can counteract this through proper diet and training exercises. You just need to start! As long as the physical parts of your body are intact and mobile, there’s no reason why you cannot make it strong and useful. Why? Even those without a leg (for example) can be made to walk or run normally.

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So what’s your excuse for not being successful?

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Whenever we look at a handicap, we almost always look on the negative side only. It’s about time we take a look at the other side – the positive and the lessons there to. The positive side may be the difficult side, however it’s the one worth looking into. What’s the reason? Nothing good comes easy. It’s that challenging side that is going to lead us to excel in life.

For one a double layer of perseverance results to more than double the achievement. Where the odds are greater, the prize gets much bigger.

After all the efforts you have exerted, the prize of success shall be a welldeserved one especially in your life and investment that touch on land.

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Land Investments

JULY 2014 || EDITION 01

Getting your land titled It is one thing to buy land and it is equally another to own it as writes CATHY MPUTHIA stressing the need of ownership that has been a challenging journey for most land buyers.

ownership of the property may be established, it may be found that the title is “not clean”… in other words, encumbered. This means that either the title has been used to take a bank loan or has an overriding interest over it.

This is why it is important to conduct an official search over the property with the lands registry who will then file a report of findings. You must also inspect the actual property at this point to ensure you are completely satisfied with it and also ask the seller to point out to you the beacons of the property. Due diligence would differ depending on the complexity of the transaction.

Buying land in Kenya is a process that is not understood by many people.

Most people have no clue of the requirements and the processes and this exposes them to conning. So you have identified the property you want to buy what next?

The first thing is to establish the identity of the owner of the property and ensuring that the identity of the owner and the ownership details match. Therefore insist on getting a copy of the ID of the owner and if it is

a company, a copy of the certificate of incorporation. However this is not enough due diligence as conmen have been known to produce fake certificates of title or fake identity cards.

Establish the title is clean Therefore it is paramount to conduct a due diligence of the property firstly to establish ownership and secondly to establish that the title is clean. Sometimes in as much as the

If the property is clear then the next step involves negotiating the terms of the purchase with the seller. A sale agreement is drawn by the seller for your signing. Before signing, look out for some salient terms. One is the terms of payment, the time by when the payment should be completed and the seller’s obligations. Your only obligation is to pay on time. The seller is required to furnish you with title documents. The sale agreement differs on a case by case basis.

Make payments promptly Ensure you make your payment in time and also ensure the seller gives you the original title deed and other title

Looking to replace a lost title?

A Title Deed requires prime security after its acquisition, because once lost, it may take eternity to replace owing to vulnerabilities involved and the rigorous process involved in obtaining a new one. Even with the cleaning up of the Ardhi House registries, fraudsters always still find their way in somehow.

We have heard of fraudsters who upon coming across a lost Title Deed, forge ID documents and PIN in the names as indicated in the title deed to frequently obtain the right to sell land associated with the Title.

The Kenyan Law under CAP.281 Section 71 (Registration of Titles) states that “In the event of a grant or certificate of title being lost or destroyed, the proprietor of the land, together with other persons, if any, having knowledge of the circumstances, may make a declaration, stating the facts of the case, the names and descriptions of the registered owners and the particulars of all changes and other matters affecting the land and the title thereto to the best of the declarant’s knowledge and belief, and

proprietor of the land a provisional certificate of title.

The law proceeds to state that an exact copy of the original shall be grant or certificate of title bound up in the register, and of every memorandum and endorsement thereon. Reason for providing the provisional certificate shall be contained in a statement why the provisional certificate is issued; and the registrar shall, at the same time, enter in the register notice of the issuing of the provisional certificate factoring in the date and why it has been issue.

However, before issuing a provisional certificate, the registrar shall give at least ninety days’ notice in the Gazette of his intention to do so.

In case you lose your title engage the following process immediately;

the registrar, if satisfied as to the truth of that declaration and the bona fides of the transactions, may issue to the

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You should sign a statutory declaration/ affidavit after losing the title with an explanation of the circumstances in which the title was lost and state the efforts you took to locate the missing title. As an applicant you

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documents like rent clearance, rates clearance, consent to transfer and the signed transfers before making the final payment to him.

Once you have the signed transfer, the original title deed and other title documents, then you are ready to proceed with the process of registration. You first apply for valuation of the property so as to assess the stamp duty payable. Stamp duty is akin to capital gains tax, which must be paid before the property can be registered. Once you pay stamp duty, you then submit the stamped transfers, the title documents and original title deed for registration.

The whole process takes about two months.

However, engage a lawyer to act for you in land transactions as they differ on a case by case basis.

NB: •

All contracts for sale of land in Kenya must be written

•

Only an Advocate can draw up the transfer document

•

The nature of the transaction depends on a case by case basis.

This is a very general highlight and the writer recommends you to engage a lawyer to advice on specific transactions.

Cathy Mputhia is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and can be reached via cathymputhia@gmail. com

should also undertake to indemnify the government from any liability that may come as a result being re-issued with the title or a provisional certificate of title.

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A search report must be attached to the duly signed statutory declaration and the application sent to the relevant Land registrar for approval.

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Upon approval, The Land Registrar will write a letter to the Government Printers authorizing a gazettement. When gazetted, the Notice is taken to Land Registrar after expiry of thirty days from date of gazetting who issues a new title.

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The process takes at least sixty days to be completed.

You may be required to engage an advocate to assist you in the above process. Your Title may get lost when being held as a security by a financial institution. In this unique case, given that the document is lost in the custody of a financial institution with legitimate interest in the property, the law allows for due diligence demands that an application be ensued for replacement of the lost title as soon as the facts of loss are established.

Land Investments

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7

www.idealevents.co.ke

1ST-3rd AUGUST 2014 KICC, NAIROBI

Land on the land you need

17th-20th SEP 2014 KICC • Nairobi

How awesome you’ve landed your hands on this copy. The team behind its publishing wishes to stress it is a worthwhile investment to read it. Why? It is not by accident that you are reading it now. If anything, you don’t have to stop. Reason…you probably have an interest on land.

Perhaps, your focus is on development. Or possibly you’re keen on selling land or buying land.

Whatever your interest, you’ve landed on the right newspaper.

This is the premier edition of the Land Newspaper. You are therefore taking a major leap by investing your time to read it. Simply put, with this publication, you’re equipping yourself to harness a desired future in Kenya’s property market.

of all Kenyans living in urban areas are hardly in a position to afford loan repayments for a house priced at Ksh 700,000. According to the report, the biggest blockage to mortgage take up remains high interest rates of 15 to 18 per cent from the main lenders.

Well then, why this publication? The need has dictated the demand. People want to invest in land. For one, land ownership is perhaps the most ancient expression of wealth. Everyone needs it. However, it takes a process to get it, to invest in it and to make returns from it.

Considering the option to own land and develop, we in this edition stress the need for land buyers to engage with land experts. While, there is no excuse in investing in land, one should as well get to know who they are really trading with.

In this edition, we highlight why buying land or plot is making sense today more than ever before. It is evident now that process of land ownership being streamlined by Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development is stirring people to consider the buying a plot.

On the other hand, market indicators, deduced recently by Hass Consult and Mortgage Company depict that mortgage meant to facilitate for homeownership has pierced through the roof. At current interest rates, half

To this effect, Real Wealth Limted, the organizers of East Africa’s flagship event’s; Ideal Interiors and Ideal Hospitality has yet again put up another signature event that will add value to those investing in land. Titled: Land Investment Expo, the three day event slated for 1st – 3rd August at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre. It aims to connect an average of 7,000 potential individual land buyers and investment groups to Land Selling Agents, SACCOs and Banks with attractive solutions towards land purchase and development of land.

Land is unique. No two pieces of land are entirely the same.

In view of land being a finite resource for development, the rare expo; the first of its kind in the country will also bring Chamas, County Governments, Corporate Companies with an interest in land. Real Estate Developers with interest in residential units, office blocks, commercial buildings, hotels and leisure resorts as well as cities will industrial cities participate.

This is an event you certainly can’t afford to miss.

Land on it.

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To participate in any of the above events please contact us today

0721912565 / o733 585 480 0700 333 888 /0202013511

8 Who are you listening to?

Land Investments

JULY 2014 || EDITION 01

It surely matters to whom you give your ear to writes HILDA OTUGA stressing the need for investors to only consider lending an ear to sources that matter.

As an investor, are you listening to the right people?

Today, virtually everywhere you go, you hear the same sad things: “The rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer.” “There just isn’t enough to go around.” “It takes money to make money.” Aha! These are the words that get you worked-up.

Allowing your inner-self to get workedup after listening to sorry ‘issues’ can lead you to believe that there is some mystical force out there that regular people like you and me just can’t tap into.

Well then, if you’ve subscribed to this

way of thinking long enough, you may be tempted to say, “Since it takes money to make money and I have no money, then what hope is there for me?” I dare say, there is plenty of hope. There is optimism as long as you don’t listen to the wrong people.

Some media naysayers are definitely the wrong people. Why some? The naysayers make news from bad news.

It’s been almost a month since the Lands registries in the country were reopened after a clean-up exercise that raised such a huge storm for about two weeks.

Listen to the right people

Adrenaline rush

Press about the declining value of real estate as an investment or about skyrocketing housing prices that keep regular people out of the market altogether can make the prospect of making money through real estate investment seem almost ludicrous. Yet people are doing it - real people like you and me. And you can do it too. All you have to do is to listen to the right people. That sounds easy. Doesn’t it?

Allow me to hasten to say “Yes!” That’s because it is. It is very easy to find a person who is passionate and knows how to make money by investing in real estate. Where do you find them?

Relevant forums or networking conferences, forward thinking investment banks, reputable real estate firms among them lined to participate at the Land Investment Expo.

Most people would rather have the adrenaline rush of a get-rich-quick scheme than settle into a proven systematic plan to let their wealth increase for them in the background of their lives.

Meat of the matter

If you can break the habit of thinking of life in tragic terms, of convincing yourself that there is simply not enough money to go around, then you will learn to start listening to the right people so you can develop your systematic plan for investing. And what does a systematic plan lead to? It leads you to financial success.

Well, while engaging with them, find out what has worked for them, and apply it to your own life. If it’s so easy, you might be tempted to say, then why isn’t everyone doing it? And that, my friend, is the meat of the matter.

Everyone isn’t doing it for two reasons.

The first reason is that they’ve simply been told all their lives that success is very, very difficult. In fact, they’ve been told, because of the scarcity of money, success is almost impossible. They are paralyzed because they have been listening to the wrong people.

The second reason everyone isn’t investing as they should. If you look at the lives of successful people, those people have followed a systematic plan to increase their wealth. Well, systematic plans aren’t sexy. They aren’t interesting. They aren’t easy. They’re boring and that’s why people don’t like them.

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Because most people think like that, those are the ideas that the media are catering to. That is why murder and mayhem is front-page news and happy things like investing in land and developing it are not. That is why people slow down when they see an automobile accident and not when they see a couple holding hands.

Tragedy has been made to be far more interesting. Just check out the plot line of any major motion picture (cinema).

People like to believe that life is tough.

The good news is, it doesn’t have to be.

In all these therefore, the right people to keen lend your ear are those who have invested in property and profited significantly from those investments.

People like those who would be sharing their worthwhile ideas at the Land Investment Expo and conference.

Would you rather listen to someone who can tell you how you can make money, rather than to people who insist on telling you how to stay poor?

HILDA OTUGA is an established accountant and administrator with a speciality in empowering women to make a meaningful impact in their preferred lines of business.

Land Investments

www.landinvestments.co.ke

9

Invest in your promised land

By Kenneth Kuguru

Are you ready to get started in your own promised land?

It is important that you take a deep breath and relax for a minute before you think so much about your land of milk and honey. Yes, it’s important that you are not too carried away.

While it’s technically true that many of the basics that your hear from people may work, there’s more to reaching the Real Estate Investing Promised Land than announcing your success to the world and waiting for your bank account to fill up with spendable cash.

Here are five important principles to keep in mind that will help speed you along to your destination:-

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Set Realistic and Attainable Goals - While your natural inclination when setting goals for yourself is to blue-sky your potential success, realize that success will probably come to you much more slowly. It will come to you, but just not overnight. The market is in a tailspin right now, so if you’re planning on buying a property for meagre amounts of money then re-sell it within a year for a quick profit, you may run headfirst into a brick wall. Yes hitting the wall isn’t difficult if you haven’t planned for the possibility that there just might not be anyone lined up waiting to buy your property.

2

Know Your Local Real Estate Market - Like the back of your hand it is extremely important to know all that surrounds your property. Ignorance has its repercussions. The guru real estate investors are all chanting the same mantra about knowing your local real estate market. You may think it’s a ridiculous concept, a waste of time, but there’s wealth of practical knowledge in the advice.

By knowing your local market you’ll stay on top of current trends, prices, and rental rates. It’s nice to know what properties are selling several kilometres away from you. If you don’t know what conditions are like in the area in which you’re investing, you are most likely going to overpay hundreds of thousands and sometimes even millions of shillings or you’re your financial projections on flawed numbers. If you do that, you could go from real estate investor to real estate loser much faster than a politician who break campaign promises.

3

Perform a Solid Cash Flow Analysis - Having an absolute grasp over how much your anticipated income and expenses will be is critical to your success. If you’re expecting monthly

Investing in land is one of the greatest investment strategies available for everybody who wants to build wealth! cash flow of Ksh 200,000 per month yet your property only fetches 85,000, then you’re in trouble. A minor difference in rent rates would mean the difference between a property that gives you monthly positive cash flow and one that is slowly sucking your bank account dry.

4

Have an Exit Strategy - In case things aren’t going quite in the way you’d planned, it is wise to be found to have prepared for it. Life is unpredictable and you really don’t know with an absolute certainty what perils are waiting just around the corner. It could be a financial disaster, a tenant that challenges you to “make them” pay their rent, or a personal health crisis.

5

Don’t Draw Your Boss a Picture – Don’t ever tell-off your boss.

The “Go to Hell Attitude” neither helps you nor add any value to current employment. Your initial inclination may be to quit your job just as soon as you’re financially able, but there’s a powerful testimony in holding onto your “real” job as long as possible.

Other than possible paid vacations, your daytime gig has a couple of other benefits that being self-employed don’t have. For instance, health insurance and a regular income -- not to mention the warm, fuzzy feeling it gives your friendly loan officer when he or she pulls your credit report.

get as motivated as you like to get as rich as you can by investing in real estate today.

Let’s face it: financing is hard enough to come by right now. If you prematurely quit your job you might be unwittingly casting off a valuable line of credit or other financial resources. So go ahead,

Kenneth Kuguru is one of the most talented accountants in real estate investing who likes calling himself pastor of numbers in the Promised Land.

Unless you’re a large investment bank you can’t count on the government to bail you out. Note that even governments get broke. Your financial troubles should therefore have a grand groundwork for recovery in case the unforeseen occur. I know you can’t look into a crystal ball and know what the future holds, but knowing what’s next if certain things take place will help keep your feet dry in the event of a financial flood.

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Don’t forget to keep these easy steps in mind when you do get started down the road to real estate investing success. You’re headed for the real estate investing Promised Land. Just use some common sense when you do or you could wind up being a modernday Moses, wandering around for forty years in a financial wilderness.

Following these simple steps can keep you on the right path and could keep you from losing your way.

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Land Investments

JULY 2014 || EDITION 01

Land-buyers need land experts

Converting movable and liquid life savings into an immovable and illiquid asset comes with huge emotional and sentimental baggage if not value writes ROBERT YAWE, stressing on the need for buyers to connect with land experts.

For centuries even as man lived in the naturally provided habitats called caves the issue of land has always been contentious as heads of families protected it for the wellbeing and livelihood of their families.

Today is no different and the unfortunate part is that we keep forgetting the repercussions from treating the issue of land lightly.

As we look at land let us not just see the physical and tangible part of it but the entire ecosystem that revolves around it both tangible and intangible.

Emotional and sentimental When one converts their movable and liquid life savings into an immovable and illiquid asset it is obvious that this will come with a lot of emotional and sentimental baggage if not value. So as you hand over that title-deed to the new owner, k now that you have handed over more than just a piece of paper.

Those who handle this sensitive commodity called land have been demonised by society more like the mortician yet both provide an essential service that we truly would not be able to live without as the alternative is unfathomable.

As with children from the same womb there will always be those who go astray but that is no reason to throw out the baby with the bath water.

Land experts I therefore refuse to be drawn into the misinformation of treating those who deal in land as heartless scoundrels.

Instead of giving them derogatory names such as agents, brokers and dealers instead I will refer to them as land experts.

With the devolution of the country administration expect the role of the land dealer to become even more profound as they will be the link between the developed centre a.k.a Nairobi and the emerging regions.

Counties that appreciate the role that devolution plays in land go out of their way to initiate and catalyse development. They go out of their way to invite investors and accommodate experts of all walks of life who can add value to the land.

The land experts are resilient, resourceful and in most cases reliable as they can dig up an owner from the depth of depths. I have interacted with land experts for years and it never

ceases to impress me how vast their networks are and their diligence.

Clueless of the processes Land is a very sensitive issue and it is rare that the common citizen will ever handle more than a single land related transaction in their entire lives which means that they are more likely than not to be totally clueless of the processes and procedures for secure acquisition, however knowledgeable they may pretend.

So as the land expert you have to play the role almost like that of a priest whose ears are open and attentive to listen to confessions. When dealing with land buyers get to know that they are making big sacrifices in their lives.

The buyers try to reason no matter their state of mind.

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From just identifiers Many of the land experts have evolved over the years from just identifiers of the right owners of a piece of land to wholesale buyers who then breakdown the land into mwananchi (common citizen) affordable chunks as most large tract sellers are usually not interested in the “retail end” of the business.

If these land experts never emerged the shanties in Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret, Mombasa and other areas of the country would have been 10 times their current size.

They have proven to be more reliable and effective than the land buying companies that were setup soon after independence many of which went on to impoverish their members and others remain in eternal limbo even today, more than 50 years later.

As the level of sophistication of the land expert continues to increase they have taken on more and more complex land transactions that baffle even the most learned friends. Their faith in the industry has seen them plough back profits, which is more than we can say about the players in other industries.

Provision of amenities What we need to see as the country continues to develop are land experts who start looking at the subdivision business like planners taking into consideration more than just the number of pieces of land they can get out from a block but also look at the provision of amenities.

With time we also expect that they will transition from land experts to include infrastructure development, construction and redevelopment.

Taking how far they have come without assistance from the government and treatment worse than that given to Zacheaus it is my sincere believe that they shall lead us to the promised lands.

Land Investments

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12

Land Investments

JULY 2014 || EDITION 01

Guts of Guton stirs-up

land buyers

As investment in land gains momentum in the country, Guton Kenya has taken a deliberate stride to educate potential land owners on the steps and benefits of acquiring land in different parts of the country.

Driven with an insightful mantra, “Todays Investment Decision is Tomorrow’s Investment Destination,” the Guton team led by Messrs Daniel Omari and Phillip Manoti is championing for the sharing of reliable and quality information to land buyers keen to discover investment opportunities in any of Kenya’s 47 counties.

“Our attention is focused to holding the hand of first-time land buyers as well as those who are keen to develop their land by providing them with valuable advice way in advance,” says Mr. Manoti adding: “It is only when they are equipped with valuable information that they can effectively plan and invest wisely”.

The company evidently fired-up to unveil new investment opportunities across the Kenya is upbeat that Kenya’s Vision 2030 can be met if young investors are empowered with valuable information and finances. “We want the young investors in land to avoid the

common mistakes made by first-time plot buyers,” notes Manoti stressing that there’s need for any land buyer to ask the right questions before making that first deposit when buying land.

The bid to unlock the door to the investment world with the assistance of Guton’s professional business experts recently prompted the company to unveil Guton Investment Club.

Why a club? According to Omari, the ultimate goal of Guton Investment Club is to conquer the pawns of poverty by creating real wealth.

“Our aim is to ensure that investors get personalized attention as we walk them into effective planning, purchasing strategies and actualizing development,” he says asserting: “This investment club walks with you step-by-step on the various realistic approaches in the purchase of assets.”

As the company’s Investment Club aims to accelerate the investment curve it has continued to partner with

Ndatani plots for your growth

varied industry players to ensure that their promises yield the best returns in future investment opportunities.

“Pole Pole” Solution The “Pole Pole Investment Solution is a revolutionary model that shifts that since its inception is enticing membership, particularly, the middle class workers. The initiative aims to change our customers’ mind-set from the world of paying for higher interest rates when they have an option saving their cash and settling payments for their basis in a Pole Pole – Kiswahili word for (Slowly Slowly) mode and hence avoiding the high interest rates charged elsewhere.

His charisma and valuable time that he spares for his customers tells volumes that he didn’t walk into the real estate business to try but to nurture it. Indeed, it is for this reason the Ndatani team has sold thousands of plots in Embakasi, Syokimau, Athi River, Kitengela and Bamburi. The company addresses the issue of home ownership through land acquisition and phased construction.

Investing in a plot They buy land, sub-divide it and sell it at affordable prices. “We try as much as possible to make land affordable considering that land is for all Kenyans.

Every working class work towards investing in a plot,” says Muema adding: that Kenya has an annual housing deficit of 150,000 units and this may get worse as population rises and the easiest way to

Ndatani Enterprises founded in 1995

by Mr. Alexander Muema, a lawyer by profession has awakened a range of land property buyers considering the unbeatable ranges tagged on the plots that the company position’s in the market.

Pushing potential buyer with the mantra, “Mtu ni Ploti” ( A Person is a Plot) Muema has perfected the art of quality engagement with virtually every client who walks into his office with the intention to buying or selling a plot.

Mr. Alexander Muema, Ndatani Enterprises

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The solution helps the members to further avoid overstretching their finances or over-borrowing through securities or guarantors. It thus opens a 9 to 12 months purchase initiative that enables members to have an opportunity to access more assets and create more wealth. “Remember, owning more assets is a major pillar in individual economic stability,” says Manoti.

Benefits to Guton Club members range from having an ideal opportunity to purchase land to guarantees of getting title deed upon completion of monthly instalments. Besides the members being exposed to reliable investment networking opportunities, they are also helped to reduce the burden of overstretching their finances.

address this challenge is to encourage more people to buy land and build their own units.

Ndatani sells plots for home ownership, as an investment vehicle, for speculation purposes, in hot spots or even for other economic use. In 2005, the Embakasi plots were Ksh70,000 and now go for Ksh1.0million. Athi River at KMC was Kshs.100,000, now is Ksh 2.5million. Kitengela New Valley was Kshs.130,000 and now is Kshs. 2.0million.

“We understand every person’s needs and we have custom made products to suit their needs of location, financing ability and size”.

Ndatani offers all buyers purchasing in cash major discounts. Clients have also a choice to buy plots in installments of up to 6 months. It also secures plot finance, facilitates in the processing of title deeds and creates links with the building professionals such as architects and construction finance institutions.

In a bid to offer more solutions the company also facilitates take-off of project by building in phases of say 3 years – plot purchase, foundation, walling, roofing, fittings then finishes, getting building approvals from the various institutions, on behalf of the buyers, sources for construction financing and links contractors and suppliers of materials amongst other benefits to her clients.

Plots currently being disposed by Ndatani are in Kitengela (many sites), Utawala, Mlolongo, Syokimau, Kinanie, Kisaju (close to Bora), Isinya-Konza bypass and Isinya-Kiserian (pipeline) bypass. The plots are available for as low as Ksh 250,000 at Isinya and with the price trends in these areas, good deals abound.

Land Investments

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Mortgage rates inhibit homeownership This year’s first quarter Mortgage Report released by Mortgage Company and Hass Consult reflect that commercial banks have substantially maintained their unusually high borrowing rates, despite the growing impact on the housing market in the country.

In a bid to tame the situation, the Deputy President William Ruto called for an enabling environment to allow Kenya to achieve one million mortgages up from the current 20,000.

How tenable this ambitious projection would be achieved remains the big question considering that rates of most of the mortgage lenders have remained unchanged, says Ms Carole Kariuki, Managing Director of the Mortgage Company.

Mortgage index report According to the mortgage index report, despite some minor adjustments and short-term interest rate discounts, Standard Chartered Bank remained the lowest cost lender at an unchanged 13.9 per cent rate.

The most expensive mortgages are offered by Consolidated Bank at 19 per cent, while Chase Bank is the only bank to negotiate counter rates with individual clients in a range between 16.5 per cent and 19 per cent.

“With the mainstream lenders hanging on with such tenacity to such high margins on their lending, the delayed take-off in Kenya’s mortgage market is distorting the country’s housing range, discouraging private developers, and locking out all bar the elite from home ownership,’ said Ms Kariuki.

“In the absence of any more constructive approach from the commercial lenders, mortgage takeup now depends on government intervention, either through supporting mortgage backed securities

to stimulate the secondary mortgage market, or through the creation of housing funds and even mortgage subsidies.”

Data compiled for the Mortgage Report shows that just 1 per cent of urban Kenyans can currently afford the mortgage repayments for a house priced at Ksh 5.7m, and a further 4 per cent for a house priced at Ksh3.9m. Half of all urban Kenyans could not afford the loan repayments to buy a house at Ksh700,000.

Market dynamics There is clearly something wrong with the market dynamics, which comes down to critical aspects that relate to funding, accessibility and access to mortgage.

For a young executive working in a decent job earning Sh100,000 a month, he might well want to live in a nice two bedroom apartment on the right side of town. But he can only afford to if he rents the apartment. At the lowest

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13

current rates of 13.9%, mortgage repayments are sometimes double or triple the market rent.

In regard to funding, the report recommends the need for mortgage rates to be reduced from the current average rate of 15.5 per cent to between 6 and 9 per cent a year. If we reduced rates into this range, our young executive will pay between Ksh 83,500 and Ksh100,000 a month. This is a major shift, but it is still not enough to allow for universal home ownership.

World over, where mortgage access is a commonplace, pension funds and insurance companies use their long term funding to buy mortgage backed securities. Perhaps Kenya is ready for this. With the proposed increase in pension contributions, there is an opportunity to transform our market, states the report. If the increase in contributions was tied to the use of these funds to allow all Kenyans access to cheaper housing, the increases would be far more popular. Home ownership allows “real” security in old age as well as creating wealth from capital gains.

14

Land Investments

Do you have land for sale?

Do you want buyers for your land?

Do you stand to gain when more people invest in land?

Do you finance buying of land?

JULY 2014 || EDITION 01

Expected: Over 7,000 focused land buyers Exhibitors: Land Selling Agents, Banks, SACCO Investments; County Governments Experience: The connection of land-buyers to land investments Expo Space: 68% Booked : Have you secured your space?

SUPPORTED BY

SPEAKERS PATRICK KARIUKI: Chairman, Kenya Association of Investment Group REGINALD OKUMU: Land Valuer, Ark Consultants PATRICK WAMEYO: Financial Academy MWENDA THURANIRA: CEO, MySpace Properties ROBERT YAWE: CEO, QuadrantShift Africa

HOSTED BY

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EVENT MANAGER

Land Investments

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I am now wiser

to choose a career that would help other hard working Kenyans keen to invest in land, I’ve since launched an investigation company and the dividends of the initiative have started paying off.

The care to investigate land and property before guards you against financial disasters while you are in an upbeat mood to invest, writes STANLEY MAINA.

December 2009 was to mark an investment turning point in my humble life following a deliberate choice I made to buy a 50 x 100 plot in Kantafu, Machakos County. This awesome piece of land is along Kagundo Road, an area that is lately steadily buzzing with business activities.

Since I work so hard to earn the little I can, I felt betrayed but didn’t want to begrudge anyone. Instead, I chose to join Nairobi Law Institute for a Diploma Course in paralegal studies majoring in private investigations. After two years, I came out polished and wise in land transaction dealings.

My walk to purchase the land was largely aided by my uncle since I was very green in the area and had very vague knowledge on the steps of acquiring land. Parting with Ksh 130,000 was an investment move that I was surely proud of. Why? I had the burning desire to live in my own house and with time enjoy the freedom of driving into my own compound.

Since my desire to thwart any hidden agenda in land dealings prompted me

15

Stanely Maina, Director, Elite Scorpion Investigators

Unlike other goods that we are used to purchasing off some kiosks or supermarkets, I learnt that owning land is not a piece of cake. It’s a serious business. Securing land, no matter the size is a process that I can only equate to marriage – an affair that requires couples friendship, understanding and commitment to make the togetherness work.

But with my uncle in the mix, I took things easy. Whatever he could say was what I could do. He in this regard asked me to pay for the land, and I parted with the cool Ksh 130,000, knowing that the next minute, I would be jumping in the identified plot.

But…Alas! This was not to be the case following his instruction that I must again go and see the heads of society selling the land. I obliged. However, least did I know that an extra Ksh 35,000 would be sourced from me.

Upon his node, I paid it and was given a society membership certificate.

Well, in my mind I knew that having paid the extra amount, the land was now mine only to realise that I had to make another trip to Machakos at a convenient time for the Land Board who would ascertain that the land had indeed been bought.

In Machakos, it was clear that I bought the land at Ksh 130,000 but there was no mention whatsoever for the Ksh 35,000. Up to this day, I haven’t experienced any value from the membership…a feeling that has left me to believe that the extra amount was swindled from me. Why? The society membership document, means nothing in the face of the land dealing.

The most important document that my uncle should have helped me pursue was the Title Deed which I much later secured from Machakos.

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The company, Elite Scorpion Investigators based in Nairobi squarely renders services that relate to in-depth scrutiny of land and property following the understanding that unscrupulous persons have perfected the art of conning investors their hard-earned monies. Elite Scorpion vision is to make the land buying and selling process seamless.

EDITION 001

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FREE COPY

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Monthly property updates

Join us at the Land Investments Forum Are you investing or intending to invest in land?

Are you keen to know how to mitigate on land investment risks?

Are you interested in knowing how you can purchase land in optimal low prices?

If any or all the three above questions are on the affirmative for you, then the Land Investment Forum scheduled for 1st August, 2014 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, Lenana Hall is certainly for you. Wisdom calls for all interested to invest in land to have and share some knowledge.

The forum brings together, land buyers and sellers, Property Developers, Investment managers in SACCOs, Banks, County Government officials and Corporate Companies to engage with investment experts in the real estate market on issues that pertain to how to improve land investment for housing, recreation facilities and other social amenities.

Among the investment experts lined to moderate the highly inspirational sessions are Patrick Kariuki, Chairman Kenya Association of Investment Group, Robert Yawe, CEO Quadrant Shift Africa, Patrick Wameyo, Executive Director Financial Academy as well as economic experts from the ministry of lands.

Among the topical issues lined for your learning are:-

Patrick Kariuki, Chairman Kenya Association of Investment Group

Robert Yawe, CEO Quadrant Shift Africa

Patrick Wameyo, Executive Director Financial Academy

How to mitigate risks in land investments

suggest it’s a tricky market - with a few bright spots. So what are the bright spots as you invest in land in any of Kenya’s 47 counties?

investment’s progress over time.

What are the land investment risks and how are they mitigated? Three factors improve land investments for housing: Funding for Lending, local planning authorities and splitting risk between investors and builders. The rate of building new homes in the Kenya should be about 200,000 per annum, and yet the country’s homebuilders are constructing about 20,000 homes annually, as you invest in land do you stand a chance to make a return on your investment?

How property funds is performing Is capital growth promising and indeed fitting into the whole of an investment portfolio in the land you have or intend to invest in? Most probably…and if so, get to know that land buyers keen to invest in properties or are often presented with a very mixed picture of expected income. Several variables

How to overcome difficult landowners in land transactions Usually, landowners’ financial, occupational and emotional conditions affect their willingness to sell property... and the land buyer benefits from knowing this.

How to identify qualified joint venture partners in land investments The history of land investment and developed real estate are instructive.

Having the right joint venture partners is a key component.

How to track your strategic land investment growth

How to purchase land at an optimal low price Purchasing land at an optimal low price requires timing and skill from the investor. Several factors can affect the current and future of undeveloped land, not the least of which are specific characteristics of the property itself and the overall economy. The first aphorism of investing is simply this: “Buy low and sell high.” Are you ready for the steps?

If yes, the Land Investments Forum is squarely for you.

Whereas the above topics are scheduled, the floor is open for three more insightful presentations touching on land investment opportunities. You are invited to present your summarised presentation on or before 12th July, 2014 to forum@landinvestments.co.ke

Alternative investments such as land can yield better-than-the-market returns. Investors can also track the

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