How To Invest In Kenyan Real Estate

Earning a decent salary minus investing will never get you rich. That’s the brutal truth; no arguing about it, period!

Let’s take for example, in Kenya, a basic salary of about Ksh50, 000 ($600) is considered a decent pay. With such an amount, you can get a decent home to rent, access better education and if you happen to save, you will be to able afford a nice car eventually.

Nevertheless, will such an amount or even more make you rich?

Hell no. Why?

Okay, let’s say you’re the penny-pinching type, who saves almost 100% of whatever gets into your hands. Now after saving all your salary for about a year — which is, of course, impossible, your account will be reflecting an accrued total of ksh600, 000 (roughly $7000). By pushing it further to 10 years, you’d have made an accumulated total of about Ksh6 million ($70, 0000).

Is such an amount enough to get you the “rich” title or get you a descent home? The answer is still a big No.

In simple words, if you sometimes dream of becoming rich someday, then it’s high time you considered thinking in terms of investing and not earning. And if you’re somehow stuck between choosing the right investment to make, then this article has a better idea for you—Kenyan Real Estate. That being said, how can you invest in the Kenyan real estate industry?

How to Invest in Kenyan Real Estate

Well, to begin with, you have to build up your starting capital. This can either be done by saving or inquiring from your local bank about loans. Either way, you have to come up with an effective financial plan that will enable you to place at least 25% down payment on the residential real estate that you’re planning to invest in.

Real Estate Training

Also important, try enrolling for a real estate training seminar within your locality to learn more about how the business is run. If you stay in Nairobi, there are several well-reputed convention centres and training institutions, which offer quality courses on real estate; enrol in one. Alternatively, you can head to a local bookstore to read more about real estate investing, before tossing any money into the business.

House Evaluation

Before putting any real money into the business, you must have enough knowledge on property assessment or analysis. If not, then consider hiring an appraiser with enough experience to help you evaluate the value of a particular property before putting your money into the business.

Make A Down Payment

If the condition of the house you’ve inspected meets your standards, go ahead and make a down payment and then rent it out straightaway. In so doing, you are likely to find a tenant who pays an amount that covers—if not exceeds—your monthly mortgage, altogether with fees and property taxes.

Building Up Equity

Your next step should be to build up equity by having the tenants pay up the mortgage for you. While doing this, be sure to keep a cash float for contingency purposes.

Use The Equity You’ve Built Up To Pay The Down Payment For Another House

If you have a goal of building a mini-real estate empire, then here’s your chance to use the equity you’ve been building up to pay the down payment for another house. With this option, there’s no limit to the number of houses you can acquire, provided you are in a good position to manage them.

Flipping House

Buying and selling houses in Nairobi or its outskirts is just one out of the many Kenyan real estate strategies that you can employ to become a millionaire in a snap. Another viable option will be to flip houses. That is; buying houses at prices that are lower than the market rates and then improving them before selling at higher, profitable rates.

Investing In Commercial Real Estate

Another strategy is to invest in a commercial real estate, like mobile home parks, apartment buildings and strip malls, to start earning interest on the capital invested.

Join Kenya Association of Investment Groups (KAIG)

By joining this association, you’ll get the chance of learning the best Kenya real estate practices from more experienced investors within or outside Nairobi. But more importantly, you may meet sellers who are willing to let out their properties with no down payment or who are willing to give you all the support you need in your search.

Now, unless your investment is within Nairobi, it may take you some time before you eventually find someone to buy it immediately or a tenant to rent it as quickly as you had projected. Because of that, it’s always advisable to build your own cash reserve while starting out. This can at least, cover your mortgage for six months as you continue looking for a tenant or buyer to respectively rent or purchase your property.

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Michael Diamond AKA Mike D’s Net Worth, Biography, Career, Awards, Fact and Life Story

Michael Diamond AKA Mike D Net Worth: Michael Diamond is an American musician who has a net worth of $90 million. He earned his net worth as a founding member of hip-hop group the Beastie Boys. Frequently known by his stage name Mike D, he has also worked with Moby and Bjork providing remixes for their songs.Early Life: Michael Louis Diamond was born on November 20, 1965, in New York City. His mother Hester was an interior designer. His father Harold was an art dealer. His family is Jewish. He attended the arts-oriented Saint Ann’s School and New York City’s Walden School.  In 1979, when he was 14-years-old, Diamond co-founded the band The Young Aborigines. In 1981, Adam Yauch, aka MCA, a friend and follower of the band, became their bass player, and on the suggestion of their then-guitar player, John Berry, the band changed their name to the Beastie Boys. By 1983, Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock) joined, Berry left, and their sound began to shift away from hardcore punk to hip hop. Mike D attended Vassar College for a time before dropping out to pursue a career in music.Career: The original four members of the Beastie Boys were Mike D, Adam Yauch (MCA), John Berry, and Kate Schellenbach. Not long after they played their first gig in 1981 Berry and Schellenbach left the band and Adam Horovitz aka Ad-Rock joined. This trio showcased their legendary sense of humor on one of their early tracks, 1984’s Cooky Puss, named after a popular Carvel ice cream novelty cake. This rap single featured crack calls to an ice cream shop. Before long, Mike D and his bandmates met Rick Rubin who served as their DJ for a time. Rubin and Russell Simmons, the cofounders of the Def Jam record label, started working with the trio. In 1985, Mike D and his bandmates went on tour with pop star Madonna, a pairing which proved to be a terrible mismatch with Madonna’s young, largely female fans, who booed the loud and rowdy rappers. The group fared much better the following year with the release of their first album Licensed to Ill. Their first album is notable for being the first rap record to top the Billboard 200 chart. The album was a huge commercial success, and spawned six hit singles.After the success of Licensed to Ill, the Beastie Boys parted ways with Def Jam and signed with Capitol Records.  The group re-entered the studio in 1988, emerging with a more artistically mature second album, Paul’s Boutique, released on July 25, 1989 and peaking at number 14 on the US Album Charts. Of the album’s two singles, one of them, “Hey Ladies”, reached the Top 40, peaking at number 36 on the US Hot 100.  The follow-up album, Check Your Head, was recorded in the band’s own studio in the Atwater Village neighborhood of Los Angeles. Check Your Head was released in 1992 and was certified double Platinum in the US and peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200. The album’s first single, “Pass the Mic,” peaked at number 38 on the Hot Dance Music chart, while the second single, “So What’cha Want” reached number 93 on the Billboard 100 and charted on both the Rap and Modern Rock Chart.Ill Communication, released in 1994, saw the Beastie Boys’ return to the top of the charts when the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and peaked at number two on the R&B/hip hop album chart. The single “Sabotage” became a hit on the modern rock charts and the music video, directed by Spike Jonze, received extensive play on MTV.  “Get It Together” reached Top 10 on the Billboard.Mike D and Beastie Boys released four more albums before disbanding: Hello Nasty (1998), To the 5 Boroughs (2004), The Mix-Up (2007), and Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (2011).The Beastie Boys have sold more than 40 million albums around the world with seven reaching platinum status. Mike D and his band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, only the third rap group to receive the honor. They have been nominated for a handful of Grammy Awards and won three, including Best Pop Instrumental Album in 2008 for The Mix-Up.A year after the death of Yauch in 2012, Mike D told Rolling Stone he was “excited about making new stuff again” and released “Humberto Vs the New Reactionaries (Christine and the Queens Remix)” in July 2013. A remix of Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band’s “Bad Dancer” by Diamond and Adam Horovitz was streamed online in August 2013. The pair is credited with “additional beats, programming, and other curveballs.”  In October 2014, Diamond stated that he had been working in the studio with American rock band Portugal. The Man as a producer. He has also produced English punk outfit Slaves’ second studio album, Take Control, which was released on September 30, 2016. In 2017, Diamond did a remix of Jack Johnson’s song “Big Sur.”In 2020, Diamond appeared as himself in the Spike Jonze documentary Beastie Boys Story.Personal Life:  Mike D married film, television, and music video director Tamra Davis in 1993. They have two sons: Davis and Skyler. The family lived in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn and Tribeca, Manhattan. Mike D and Davis separated in 2018.He is an avid surfer.Real Estate:  In 2005, Diamond bought a house in Malibu situated on a bit more than an acre in Point Dume and gutted it during renovations. The renovated house is a playground for the rapper with a trampoline out back with a basketball hoop hanging above it, a pool house that doubles as a movie theater, an avocado orchard at the northern end of the property and five palm trees to the south.
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