Step by step guide on how to buy land in Kenya

  

Date Posted: 2/2/2018 8:03:12 AM

Posted By: ROZA  Membership Level: Silver  Total Points: 961

---

In Kenya today land is very essential. If one does not have land, they don’t count. In a way this is a good thing because we have seen people investing their money on other businesses only for them to collapse in the end, and may be the source of their capital was a loan. The good thing about land is that it appreciates instead of depreciating. This means that its value increases instead of decreasing. If you buy a car and start driving it today, tomorrow its value will be less, even if you are to sell it again. But it seems that even if land is very valuable, most people in Kenya are not well informed about the process of buying it. So they find themselves in situations where they are conned and their hard earned money go with conmen because these conmen know that most Kenyans are ignorant. The following are the steps that one needs to follow to acquire land in Kenya:

1. Visiting the site
This is where one visits the site where the land he wants to buy is. One is supposed to go in person so as to survey how the land is, and decide if this is the kind of land he really wants, in terms of his preferences. This is also where he sees what kind of infrastructure is there, and weighs whether the land is worth the price being mentioned.

2. Conduct a search
This is where the buyer asks the seller for the copy of the title deed and then goes to the land registry to conduct a search. Then the buyer will know everything about the land that he intends to buy because the search reveals the land owner, whether the land has a loan attached to it, whether it is free to be sold

and so on.

3. Buy a map
A map is bought in those land offices. One will also be able to find a surveyor there. The surveyor will study the map and will be able to tell whether the land is really the one being sold. You will find that some land sellers will show you the land they want to sell, but later changes its location. May be they said they will sell you the piece of land near the road only for them to trick you and sell you the land that is at the farthest end. But this surveyor will avoid this.

4. Negotiate
If everything is alright you can now start negotiating and it is a good thing to involve a lawyer.
Additional tips on how to avoid being conned while buying land are the following:

i. Avoid buying land in very remote areas. This is because in non remote areas you can find your future neighbors whom you can ask about the history of the land. They can even tell you who the real owner is, unlike in that land where there are no people to enquire from.

ii. To avoid fake companies do research on the company’s history and for how long they have been on business. Conmen tend to start up fake companies that last for a while and then dissolve them so as not to be caught.

iii. Avoid buying cheap land. As the saying goes, when the deal is too good, think twice. That land that is supposed to cost millions and now costs several hundred thousand could be a fake deal.

iv. The government allows that if one pays 10% of the whole amount, he can do something as a way of developing the land, may be dig a bore hole, fence it or something like that. That way if it is a fake deal, the real owner can come out and protest. Also when paying that 10% pay it directly to the owner of the land, so that if they are using a fake ID (identity card), they will be found out.

In conclusion, nowadays owning land is not as hard as it used to be. One can now buy land in installments or even get a loan and pay it slowly and become a happy land owner. Don’t be left out.

---

Next: How to balance education and friends in campus
Previous: Understanding Poly-Trauma and Blast Exposure