HOW ABOUT SOME TIPS ON HOW TO IDENTIFY A GENUINE REAL ESTATE COMPANY IN KENYA?

We live in times where real estate has become such a cliché kind of business. We can no longer walk a kilometer without seeing posters of companies selling burroti maguta maguta (plots with high value) as they are commonly termed. There are areas these companies target and most of the times have their offices there. For instance, there are real estate companies in Malindi, real estate companies in Thika road, real estate companies in Joska, Real estate companies in Utawala, Real estate companies in Juja, real estate companies in Nanyuki and lastly real estate companies in Kenyatta Road.

There are so many real estate companies selling cheap lands in Malindi, lands in Kenyatta road, Selling lands in Joska Sunshine and others selling lands in Thika road that have existed like forever and there are others that have come up and have had such a good picking. All in all, real estate, especially buying and selling of land is the one thing you can never go wrong with. Land appreciates in value each passing day thus, an investment in land can always be a plus for both the buyer and the seller.

Although in everything there are always prone and cons, same applies to real estate. If you are an investor and would like to invest in real estate, may it be buying of property or buying of land, you have to be very careful in where you place your bet. The legitimacy of a real estate company really matters, hence thorough research on the suitable real estate company would go a long way.

Some of the tips on how to identify a genuine real estate company include; 

1.Willingness to all you conduct due diligence

When you get the chance to conduct due diligence you, you will be able to gain confidence in what you will be placing your money on.

Requesting a site visit is one of the very effective ways you can conduct your due diligence, in that when you go to see what the company is offering it will be easier for you to make a smart investment decision based on what you will have observed.

2.Conduct title deed search in the land

Title deed search is the process of retrieving document showing events in the history of a piece of property to determine details and regulations concerning it.

The ministry of lands provides a platform where potential buyers can conduct title deed search before they make a commitment to purchase a property

There are two main methods of conducting title deed search in Kenya:

Manual title deed search: This type of search is conducted physically at the lands registry.

Online title deed search: Tis search is conducted online. This has been made possible by digitalization of land records, however this is only available in Nairobi county and will soon be rolled out to other counties.

Documents required during a title deed search

1. A copy of the title deed you are conducting search on
2. A copy of your KRA pin certificate.
3. Your contact details i.e. phone number, postal address and email address.
4. Copy of your identity card.

 Key steps when perform an online title deed search;

1. Log into the e-citizen platform and create an account
2. Navigate to the ministry of land and physical planning and select the land search option
3. Input the title number of the property under search complete the online land search form.
4. Confirm that all the details are correct before submitting the form.
5. Select your preferred payment option, which can either be through M-pesa, credit card or a Debit card.
6. Once the payment is successful, proceed to print the search results.

A land search costs Ksh500.

Also you should always make visit the company’s physical office in order to see the legitimacy of the company.

Assurance that a company is also registered and licensed is very important. This means that whatever they offer is genuine. This also assures you that the company is operating legally hence the product is legal too

It should always be a cause of alarm if the company’s representatives are not willing to disclose this information.

One is likely to trust companies with online reviews compared brands with no reviews, hence check out the company’s online reviews in order to gain the confidence in the company

Last but not least, real estate is a long term goal, always take your time and analyze and invest.