President William Ruto has announced plans to exempt first-time home buyers from paying stamp duty to all in a bid to ease house ownership costs among workers battling the rising cost of living amid largely stagnant pay. Dr Ruto said his administration would seek to strike a revenue balance by removing stamp duty for first-time homeowners and raising compliance for other property-related levies like land rates and rent. Currently, the exemption from stamp duty applies to first-time homebuyers of approved affordable housing units following changes to the law made by the previous administration. “We have said as a government that if you are buying a house for the first time, we can’t tax you. We’ll remove stamp duty. But when we remove stamp duty [for the first-time homebuyers], you should pay land rates because if you don’t where will we get funds for water supply, road construction, electricity connection and garbage collection?” posed Dr Ruto. The stamp duty is charged on the market value of the property at the rate of four percent in towns and two per cent in rural areas, and should be paid to the taxman within 30 days of contract execution to avoid penalties.

If you own a home that you no longer want to live in, you have a choice: sell or rent it out. To decide on the right path for you, you’ll want to consider the housing market as well as your appetite for becoming a landlord—a job that comes with many responsibilities. Renting your house: Pros and cons There are several advantages and disadvantages when you make the decision to rent. The most important thing is to be sure you’re up for the commitment. Pros 1. Safer for a buyer’s market. Selling in a buyer’s market puts you at a disadvantage. High supply and low demand typically drive down prices, meaning you may lose money on the sale. If you’re facing a buyer’s market, renting is a way to earn income while you wait for the market to improve. 2. Passive income. If you can command rent that surpasses your monthly mortgage bill, you’ll have a steady stream of passive income. 3. Continue building equity. If you’ve only owned the house for a short period of time, renting will allow you to hold onto your home and build more equity, especially if property values in your area increase significantly. If…

The following are some of the traits of good investments. An investment does not need to have all these traits, but there should be an acceptable reason for the absence of any one of them. For example, an investment does not need to provide income, if it is expected to grow in value. If it does neither, there is no point owning it. 1. Fairly valued If you overpay for an investment, you are putting yourself at a disadvantage. Good investments are usually bought at a good price. With equity investing, valuation relative to future growth is key. Market timing may have its limits, but stock valuation plays a big part in determining future returns. Buying at a fair price is not necessarily the same as value investing, but the price should always be reasonable and based on reasonable growth assumptions. The same applies to other asset classes too. Real estate investments should be based on yield and not just on the assumption that the price will increase. Cyclical assets like commodities should be purchased after a down cycle when fundamentals begin to improve. 2. Underlying value will increase over time The best investments are more often than not assets…

Homeowners in Kirinyaga County whose children have left the nest are turning the empty rooms into money-making ventures as they capitalise on a shift in travellers’ accommodation preferences. “From our market research, we realised that many travellers now prefer to stay in small units instead of hotels,” says Peter Irungu, one such homeowner who has invested in the business. However, unlike elsewhere in the country where homestay investors employ individual strategies, in Kirinyaga they have partnered with the tourism players to ensure that high customer standards are met. “During the past devolution conference (2019), one thing was evident: there was an acute shortage of bed capacity to accommodate the over 35,000 guests we had received from the 47 counties,” says Lee Daniel, the Mt Kenya Tourism Association coordinator. The homeowners saw the low bed capacity as an opportunity to earn passive income and ran away with it. “We saw a gap in the market in terms of providing a homely environment where people could come in, unwind, relax, and sleep while on transit,” adds Mr Irungu who owns Mambo Sagana Comfort. Bob Waiganjo, the CEO and founder of Majibu Getaway says, “we embraced the homestay concept after realising that we…

There are many benefits to owning land. First, owning land can produce excellent returns. Generally, the land is considered a long-term asset that is tangible, usable, and of limited supply. Because of land being in limited supply, long-term trends have shown that land will continue to appreciate over time. Location is important, but the price is more important. Land is the most underestimated real estate investment option and sometimes even considered pointless. Unlike other investments such as stocks and commodities, there is always a demand for land. Some of the advantages of land ownership include cash returns on sale, lease income, and added assets, and potentially increased borrowing power. The rule of thumb to make the land a valuable purchase is purchasing the right piece of land at the right price. Vacant Land Requires Minimum Work As a landowner, you need not worry about maintenance and repairs. Why have to worry about things like leaking roofs, painting, HVAC, or other normal costs associated with other real estate. With virtually no maintenance costs and generally very low taxes, you can hold for the property indefinitely as an asset. Profits with a Buy and Hold Strategy In today’s electronic environment it is…

If you’re thinking about investing in real estate, you’re about to embark on one of the best investment journeys of your lifetime. Residential rentals offer benefits you won’t find with other types of investments. These benefits include: Cash Flow Unlike other investment vehicles, real estate investing enables you to generate cash flow every month by your tenants paying rent. You can then use this money to pay off your mortgage, if you used financing to purchase your investment. Once the mortgage is paid off, the full cash amount goes directly into your pocket. If you used cash to buy your investment outright, you can use the monthly cash produced by your investment right away to fulfill your financial goals, create another stream of revenue, or re-invest it to build a powerful portfolio of multiple income-generating properties. Wealth Accumulation When you use leverage to purchase an investment property, you are essentially using “other people’s money” to build your wealth. Additionally, you don’t need to have a large initial investment than if you pay in full cash, only around 20% for the down payment in comparison to the full price of the home if you pay in full cash. As the home…

Understanding the basics of negotiating, dealing with problematic situations, and finding an appropriate solution for everyone involved is the best way to keep problems at bay. Below are some simple steps for dealing with landlord-tenant confrontation that both you and your property manager can use. Listen to Understand, Not Just Respond De-Escalate with Purpose Go in With a Resolution in Mind Acknowledge Mistakes Follow Through Listen to Understand, Not Just Respond Typically, conflict occurs due to one party having unmet expectations or the feeling of not being heard. Therefore, leading to frustration and anger, especially when it involves their rental home. For instance, perhaps a tenant feels their maintenance concern fell on deaf ears; maybe there is a discrepancy over billing or even a disagreement over who is responsible for a broken appliance. That said, helping a tenant or fixing the situation requires a complete understanding of what their complaint truly is. So, remain calm and hear them out. Remember to ask questions if you need clarity but never interrupt or devalue the tenant’s feelings. De-Escalate with Purpose Regardless of what the situation is, meeting anger with anger serves no one. Instead, remain calm and listen to what the person…