Before you buy a finished house, consider the following

Aug 28, 2020

Experts say buying a finished house is good, but it is important that one pays attention to a few factors before paying for it.

HOMES & CONSTRUCTION 

Denis Opago, a resident of Bukasa, bought a three-bedroom house at sh120m because he didn't want to go through the stress of building one.

All he cared to know was if the house had a land title and once he ascertained that it did, he purchased it and moved in.

However, after a few months of living in it, Opago began to be stressed.

For starters, the house cost sh120m, but after paying for it, he noticed that the initial house plan didn't match the way the house was built.

Also, the walls were peeling off and the ceiling was developing a crack. Opago got worried and when he looked at how much he had paid for the house and what he got, he felt cheated.

Opago says while negotiating for the house price, he had dealt with brokers who pretended to be the real owners of the house.

"They inflated its cost and yet they knew that the house was not in a good state." He adds that he tried to report them to the Police thinking they would be arrested so that they refund part of the money, but  his efforts didn't yield anything.

Today, he is trying to renovate the house, which means that he is going to spend more on it.

All this happened because he didn't pay attention to certain things when he was paying for the house in the first place.

Experts say buying a finished house is good, but it is important that one pays attention to a few factors before paying for it.

Look at the house plan

Martin Kiwanuka, an engineer, says before a house is built, a plan must be designed to show exactly how it is going to look like. This guides the engineer on what to do.

Kiwanuka notes that houses that are built without plans don't last long.

He cautions all those planning to build or buy finished houses to ensure that they look at the plan of the house to be sure the construction plan matches the house's final finish.

Avoid dealing with brokers

Kiwanuka notes that land and property brokers are everywhere so whoever plans to buy property should be careful not to be conned. They inflate the cost and sometimes sell the property to more than one person.

"Try to deal with real property owners. You can do a search and find out who the real property owner is. 

This helps you know who to report to in case you have issues with the property," he advises.

Check out the neighbourhood

Bob Ssengoba, a property master and businessman says it is very easy for someone to choose his friends, but one cannot choose their neighbours.

Therefore, before you pay up for a finished house, check out the neighbourhood and find out what kind of surrounding it is.

The house could be next to a shrine, church or factory which could turn out to be noisy all night, causing you to fail to sleep at night.

"Doing a neighbourhood check will also help you know if there are land wrangles on the plot where the house was built or not. This will help you decide whether to pay up for the property or not," Ssengoba says.

 
Ask for the road that leads to the house

"Any home must have a road that leads to it. In case there is no physical road, check the land title to see where the road demarcations are and lobby for a road from the local authorities.

In case that fails, don't pay up for such property because it is not worth the investment,"Ssengoba says.

Also, paying attention to the land title and ensuring that the house wasn't built in a road reserve is important to ascertain.

Check out the history, security of the house

"It is important to determine the security of the area before you settle for a finished house," says Frank Mayanja a property investor.

According to him, it is important for one to get a bit of the history of the area in terms of security and how things have changed over time.

Is the electric wiring professionally done? Is there a perimeter wall? All such security measures are important to consider before one pays for a finished house.

Mayanja says many times houses that are built for sell are built with poor materials.

The best way to cross check this is to ask experts to help you find out if the house you hope to buy was built at the required standards.

Also find out how long the house has stayed since it was first constructed. Such information will help you make a purchasing decision from an informed point of view.





(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});