Nobody should cheat you that owning a house is Nairobi is impossible.We have few tips to guide you on ways you can easily build your own house and move from a rented apartment.
- Own a portion of land
If it’s in a major town like Nairobi and you have limited cash don’t strain yourself with very expensive plots. Just buy a portion of land far from CBD but close to a tarmacked road. A good example is buying a 1/8 acre around Koma, Kangundo road, Witeithie, Machakos, Kisaju etc @600K approximately 500Metres from tarmac.
Make sure the portion has little to no black-cotton soil.If you get the plot on a gentle slope (Not flat land) it would save you on landscaping and foundation costs.
If you haven’t saved this amount, consider taking a loan most preferably unsecured or secure using a logbook. Securing the land using a title deed is expensive at times the legal costs exceeding the interest on loans.
Transfer the property into your names/company names.If you take a loan service it first.
- As you are preparing for construction do preliminaries like House plans and compare costs of materials.
Tips on designs: make your house as compact as possible to reduce on foundation and walling
costs. Avoid too many heaps on roofing to cut on roofing cost. French design roofs are the cheapest though old school. But a house is a house. During this time see an architect and design your house.
- Cost estimates.
Don’t wait for what you don’t know, see a Quantity surveyor and have him prepare the total quantity of material needed for every stage. After he does it, find the costs by yourself and check where to source them conveniently. Don’t plan to build on credit from hardware or material suppliers. The best credit is a loan facility. This will also make it necessary for the QS to give you a BQ in case you are stuck somewhere so you can use it to source for a loan from a bank.
- Get approvals if required.
- If doing a bungalow you can keep an architect to consult as you do your house with local fundis. For mansionettes don’t risk get an Engineer. Prefer to pay the registered fundi as per stage. e. g Foundation, Walling and ring beam, roofing etc. As a novice you won’t understand how much work a fundi will do in a day.
Approximate cost for a 3 Bedroomed bungalow house without fittings. Site has little to no black cotton soil within Nairobi and its environs. With black cotton soil the price can increase to almost any amount. E. G 3feet black cotton in Syokimau might need you spend an extra 500K for excavation and back filing.
Foundation and walling – 600-700K
Roofing with MRM box profile mabati- 300K
Doors and windows – 150K
Plastering and tiling – 250K
Ceiling- 200K
Wiring and plumping 100k
Painting – cost carries with taste.
Total=1.7M
