Hello All!
First off,I would like to thank all the members of this forum,as you have provided great information. Im an African American who has been living in Kenya several months and have fell in love with the country and my family and I intend to settle here for a while. I work in the NGO sector,and recently traveled to the coast and really felt at home in this area. I am considering buying a small plot on the coast (Diani Beach) and have seen several plot randing from 500,000 shillings to 1 million.

I would like to build a small guesthouse for my family and maybe use it as a tourist destination as well - my question:

Does Kenyan banks provide construction loans for ex-pats/non citizens (i have the cash for the plot) and what is the general consensus on the investment climate on the coast?

Thanks in advance

Hi JahB,
I'll choose to comment on general investment climate at the Coast.

First of all land ownership issues at the coast often stir unending debates. You'd be utterly surprised to discover that most 'landlords' don't possess Title deeds and even if they do,they more often than not pay some form of levy to the historical 'land-owners'.

Things are gradually changing. Aim to get yourself a valid Title deed and free yourself from the unreasonable ownership chain and you are set to fly.

Secondly,businesss is a bit low-life down there. If you ain't into hospitality or basic service provisioning,your other options will require some stroke of Genius to set up and run; not impossible though. The propensity to spend among the local residents is somewhat wanting,give them some low weight in your estimates. You'd better count more on real tourists as you envision.

Thirdly,South Coast suffers heavily from lack of desirable business supporting infrastructure,your capital and running costs will need some tinkering.

Lastly,with deplorable poverty levels at South Coast,I would highly recommend that you take security seriuosly; not that something nasty is bound to happen (on the contrary,the Coastal folks have legendary hospitality),but just for the peace of mind.

PS: Any bias in my statements above may stem from the realisation that I grew up at the Coast.

I came,I saw and was overcharged.

JahB,

The prices you quoted definately do not reflect any sort of 'prime beach property'. Those prices are however fine for 'non-prime non-beach' pieces of land that come complete with legal title deeds.
In short, land at the south-coast remains fairly priced. Land at the North-coast skyrockets by the year. There is rumour of an influx of land-hungry investors (read business minds with links to Somali Pirates' ransom sums).
My personal preference would be anything from Mtwapa through Kilifi to Malindi. Good research should easily get you some Gem.

I came,I saw and was overcharged.