I think the decision will depend on the risk apetite one has and the circumtance one is in because while it may be desirous for a young couple to 1st invest,they may not have the luxury of choice if there are kids in the equation.

Opinion is free,truth is sacred.

thing is everyone's story is different... start by living in umoja.... then buru... then langata... karen...renting out the former as you move

This is a dilemma that has worried me for a while. I decided to start with building flats to rent out in Eastlands,with the hope that by the time i return to Kenya in 3 yrs or so,they'll be fetching me a nice income to provide for my famo. The temptation to build a personal house instead of the flats,is greater than u can imagine as I would hate to rent a hao when i return......but as tempting as it is,I'm going to finish with the rental flats first...because i reason that that would be mzuri income forever.

I'm also considering borrowing from S & L and building a modest house in a 2nd rate neighborhood that I can settle into upon my return,...then hopefully later on i can put together enuff chumes to build the house of my dreams in the neighborhood of my dreams.

The great thing about building rentals first is that in future,u can use the income from that property to build ur house. And even after building the house,the income will continue coming in. I think building a personal house before u invest,is kinda like eating the golden egg instead of letting it hatch into a bunch of chickens that will lay many eggs. In the future,u can then eat an egg or two,and still have many kukus laying eggs daily. Just my opinion.

'All they see is my glory...they don't know my pain. Nothing good comes easy in life.' - Multibillionaire Nelson Muguku Njoroge

Interesting supposition.I think these two are mutually exclusive in that while one is a purely investment decision the other is social of course with an investment potential. Allow me to expound.Property development is an investment like any other and its viability should be evaluated as such devoid of sentimentalities. Whether one 'schemes off' proceeds from such investments to build/buy themselves a dream house is a whole different matter altogether. The business of buying/building a house comes with such considerations as family needs/conveniences and requirements,boyhood fantasies et al.Not to embellish the point too much...I guess what I'm trying to say is that few economic factors go into some of these decisions. Thats why we hear of people buying homes at some ridiculous sums of cash.

Anyways,if one wishes to take the route of real estate to reach their financial goals,the one thing they ought to consider is that it is an investment like any other fraught with its set of challenges but they are not insurmountable. Peni mbili papo hapo.

Patience Pays in Guaranteed Checks

I bet my money on rental property first and even acquired land in eastlands for the same. Not wanting to 'bury my money' i decided to invest else where first . In the meant time the social pressures of family come to bear and i had to acquire land in a decent neighbourhood where i plan to build THE house later on. I dont regret this as the recent land rally would have clearly locked me out of the place.

I have now gone back to the rentals which i am building one stone at a time....


Me first,U next

@mainat- well said. jenga rental hata kama ni mabati nusu. Kaa ndani. Hama,jenga yako hata kama ni dhahabu. While at it. Remember the kids will grow and leave ya. Kwa hivyo kumbuka size kazuri kaseo!!!

For i am the master and the captain of my fate !

From the posts below,the approach should differ from person to person,since our social,career and economic settings / issues are all different. But the key point that came up is that one can approach the issue either way and achieve the same results within the same timeframe.

However,it appears those who do rentals first are more confident of achieving results faster than those pressing for the other way?

One thing I feel is that once you do your own house,you may tend to become too comfortable and complacent and may not pursue investments vigorously like your other friend who is renting and doing rentals.

My take? If you start with your own home,you need to apply genius or so to achieve the same results as your other friend who started with rentals. What do others think?


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Welcome back @BAAK! I hear you when u say starting with a home wud make some1 too comfortable. Apart from that,the earlier u focus bizwise the beta. So I advise that u start with rentals while u r a tenant urself. U need that tenancy experience! Circumstances cud also dictate that u've ur own hau even in a place that is not ur choice. I had to construct a house v fast at my dad's shamba inorder to get owner occupier house allowance.

Crocodile tears: If you can't assist me when I'm alive en you attend my funeral.

Any ideas?