3 Bedroom Executive Hempstead Villa in Lavington, Nairobi, Kenya

Kenyan Real Estate

Kenyan Commercial Property Definitions

Commercial real estate is distinctly different from residential real estate. The terminology is very different and here is a list of new terms from A to M.

Commercial Terms

According to Value: The value of the property when computing property taxes.

Build to Suit: A customized design and build approach for a single tenant space usually resulting in a single occupant building which is then leased or sold to the tenant.

Certificate of Occupancy: Issued by a city building department and is a necessary requirement prior to moving into the space.

Common Area Maintenance: Typically an annual charge assessed to tenants based on their percentage of occupancy to pay for maintenance of parking lots, bathrooms and open areas.

Demising Wall: A wall between two separate suites in a building with multiple tenants. In many states, the demising wall must meet specific fire safety standards.

Flex Space: A building providing mixed-use space such as an area combining an office and warehouse.

Gross Square Feet: Usually refers to gross footage of a building. GSF is typically arrived at by calculating the footage from the outside of exterior walls multiplied by the vertical footage.

HVAC: Refers to the climate control systems for a building including heating and air conditioning.

Mechanic's Lien: A legal claim typically filed by a subcontractor to obtain payment for services rendered. The claim arises under state law and is dependent on each states particular law.

Unlike residential real estate, commercial real estate is primarily considered a business transaction. Learn the terms and you're well on your way to moving smoothly through the process. 

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Kenyan Commercial Property Definitions

Commercial real estate is distinctly different from residential real estate. The terminology is very different and here is a list of new terms from O to Z.

Commercial Terms

Operating Expenses: Just as it sounds, operating expenses are those costs associated with operating a commercial property. Contract and state law typically govern the exact nature of the operating expenses.

Partition Wall: A wall built in the internal area of a suite to divide the general space. For instance, offices built during a tenant improvement project with have partition walls separating them.

Punch List: A punch list runs part and parcel with a walk through of completed construction work. The construction company and client will walk through the area and complete a punch list of items that need to be fixed or modified. 

Shell Space: The interior of a commercial building that has been completed, but does not yet have any tenant build outs. The shell space generally refers to this gross square footage regardless of whether tenant improvements have occurred or not.

Substantial Completion: Notice given by a contractor to the client indicating the property has been completed to the point where a walk through and punch list review are appropriate.

Usable Square Feet: The square feet in a building, suite, warehouse and so on that can actually be used by tenants. Due to building regulations and design issues, certain amounts of a space in a tenant suite may not be usable and such footage is excluded from this calculation.

Unlike residential real estate, commercial real estate is primarily considered a business transaction. Learn the terms and you're well on your way to moving smoothly through the process. 

Feel free to visit www.Kenyan-real-estate.com for more hints on Kenyan real estate sector.

Curb Appeal Matters When Selling Kenya Real Estate

First impressions matter most. This is one concept that many homeowners trying to sell their homes and first time property investors trying to sell or rent property fail to understand. Curb appeal is the first impression when it comes to a house. This is the place that you as an investor or seller want those driving buy to think of as home. For this reason you should pay careful attention and spend some degree of time and effort making the outside of the home inviting and appealing to potential buyers or renters.

One of the first things that people will notice is crumbling paint and bland or tired and faded colors on the exterior. Vinyl siding is often inviting because it is easily cleaned and reinvigorated. It also happens to be fairly low maintenance, which often appeals to buyers and renters alike. There are those however who will argue that siding detracts from the potential personality of a home. To each his or her own in this as it is a personal decision on behalf of the buyer and the seller. Regardless a clean and crisp paint job or siding makes a much better impression than an apparent state of disrepair. 

Remember those first impressions are important. If the outside of the home is rather unimpressive potential buyers are quite likely to discover the diamond that is the inside of your home. Another thing you can do to add curb appeal is to plant low maintenance flowers and plants around the exterior of your home. You do not want to invest in plants that require constant care nor do you want to seriously invest in plants that are going to grow out of control and look unwieldy. At least you do not want to plant these around the exterior of your home that is facing the road. Bushes and climbing vines do well in many cases along fences that surround the property however or as a dividing privacy line between your property and neighboring properties.

If you live in an area that isn't conducive to green grass you may want to consider some sort of hybrid that can thrive with less water or choose some form of landscaping that doesn't rely on large open patches of grass in order to be beautiful such as xeriscaping then that is quite probably a wise idea. The point is to make the house as attractive on the outside as you hope those viewing the property will find the inside. 

Another thing to keep in mind when making the upgrades is to clean the sidewalks and driveway if it is concrete. It is amazing what a high power pressure washer can do to your sidewalks, driveway, and/or front porch. Don't stop there however; take the time to make sure your doors and windows are clean as well. These little things often make the biggest impression. If you care properly for the exterior of your home and keep it nice and shiny chances are (in the buyer's mind) that you will have taken the same care of the inside of the home that they are quite possibly now considering.

Taking the extra time to insure that the outside of your home is attractive to buyers can translate into higher and quicker offers than neglecting the essential real estate between the front door and the curb. Do not overlook this powerful piece of advice and you should enjoy a little more success in your efforts to sell your home or investment property. 

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Investing in Kenyan Property - New Hotel phenomenon set to sweep the Kisumu

Interest in the Kisumu hotels sector has increased significantly in the past two years following many years of intermittent development and association with other shared ownership vehicles, says one of the realtors in Kisumu county in her recent report: ' Hotels-The Kisumu Latest Hotel Phenomenon'

 A complex hotel is a hotel operating unit which is sold to individual equity investors, where each owner acquires a room, suite or studio whilst the whole enterprise is managed as a hotel operation under a single brand.

Buyers own their units the same as regular apartments. There is no time limit to ownership. All apartments come with either freehold or lease hold title deeds. These hotels model are similar to the serviced apartment or apart hotel sector and is suitable for an investor who wants to test the water in hotel investment.

We are seeing more and more sophisticated customers coming to the market and a change in demand patterns; the traditional timeshare products seem past their prime. This, plus an increase in investment appetite for the hospitality sector, suggests that the condominium market looks set to grow. Many international hotel brands have also declared that the Kisumu hotel landscape is ready for cooperative hotel developments, either in conjunction with self-contained hotel operations, as fully self-contained apartment’s plans or as a part of a mixed-use development plan such as the Nairobi Brand.

Cooperative hotels are significantly less developed in the Kisumu than in the capital of Kenya, in part owing to a low cost residential focused market as well as the lack of development in the hotel sector since the colonial period.

Alternative hotel ownership are featuring more and more in the hotels sector, with the rise of cooperative hotels and a shift in investor strategy, thus creating a new investor profile. At the moment, the Kisumu apartments market is being targeted and driven by private retail purchasers, typically reasonably net worth individuals attracted by a city center or a resort investment foothold although we are now seeing more and more first time property buyers moving into the Cooperative Hotel marketplace.

Mamboleo and Riat are particular favorites as an investment destination. There is room for a wider pool of institutional and real estate investors to invest in a portfolio of apartment units or the establishment of an investor-developer partnership.

A lot of this interest is being driven by the relatively cheap market prices in the Kisumu compared to Nairobi, especially Kenya Housing prices, and the easy payment options available for our Hotel Developments, but there are other factors, too. Offshore Property Investors, Foreign baby boomers as well as coast side Mombasa, are looking for ways to maximize their return on investments as they approach retirement, and so are purchasing second homes, particularly Hotel Investments where they can use the apartment for vacations and rent it out through our In-House Hotel Management when they are not using the unit thereby gaining rental incomes that on today’s purchase prices, give a projected on their investments of some 12-16% depending upon the mode of payment for the unit. 

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Investing in Kenyan Property: Commercial Real Estate Savings

For small companies, an office is an overhead that many feel they can do without, at least when starting up, but as a business grows and takes on staff, an office becomes an essential.

Even before that, there are many arguments in favor of a physical presence; an office can add credibility, and suggests permanence, that the company is going to be around in the future, perhaps particularly important for new companies.

But how much space should you rent or buy? Obviously this will depend on the employees that you expect to be working there, but you will need to factor in growth plans, whether you require an open plan working environment (allow 75-100 sq. ft. for each person) or individual offices (about 175 sq.ft) and meeting areas (215 sq.ft will accommodate a table and chairs for about six to eight people).

An alternative, particularly if your growth is uncertain is a serviced office, where you rent space by the number of workstations you require and by the month. This may not only help with cash flow, but also allows a company to grow or contract in a fairly flexible manner. There are no capital outlay costs for furniture or telephone equipment, all of which are provided and if you need meeting space, you pay for it by the hour.

Additional services, such as secretarial assistance are also available as required and the telephone is answered by a dedicated receptionist and in your company’s name.

On a price per sq.ft basis, serviced offices are more expensive, but this additional cost is often outweighed by the fact you are paying for just the space your business needs. 

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