Investment clubs can help you seamlessly own a home
“Sometimes, it is hard to save and buy land as an individual, but it is possible with an investment club.”
Florence Nambooze Bbaale (third from left) helps women to own land. (Courtesy photo)
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Florence Nambooze Bbaale, a seasoned registered land surveyor with more than 15 years' experience specialising in cadastral surveys and real estate surveying, says investment clubs can make home ownership easier by enabling members to pool resources.
Bbaale, who is also a lecturer at Ndejje University and founder of Paragon Investment Club, is a proponent of investment clubs, which bring together like-minded people to achieve a particular goal, such as building homes.
Her investment club has helped 5,000 individuals, especially women and youth, to acquire land and titles. At the Bride and Groom Expo recently, she told the audience that, “Sometimes, it is hard to save and buy land as an individual, but it is possible with an investment club.”
- Sharing the cost of land by buying in bulk.
- Sharing the cost of the technical team, such as surveyors and road construction teams.
- Sharing the cost of utilities installation.
Immaculate Kisakye, a businesswoman in Kampala, wished she had known about investment clubs because she toiled to get her house up. She suffered through every stage and each cost: surveyor's fees, utilities installation and even the initial cost of land acquisition without strong bargaining power.
However, she is wary of the fact that it is hinged on trust. “When dealing with people, it is about trusting them. If members borrow and default, how do you get the money back?”
That said, if we critically look at nature, we learn more than a thing or two. Take, for example, the tenacity of termites, which diligently carry bits of dirt to build an anthill you can see from half a mile away. Their drive is commendable because they do not stop or give up; they can wait out the rain and pick up again after it has stopped.
Not many people are like termites because we choose to approach building our homes as an individual’s project. And for some, it is more like a rite of passage to maturity, success and nuptial responsibility. However, if we borrowed a leaf from ants or termites, we would embrace the strength in numbers and all the perks associated with it.