Why you should avoid building a home near idle State land.
Good Amenities
make an area more appealing to developers and potential
tenants.
While some of these may be beneficial to
the area’s property value, others may be a nuisance or unfavourable to certain
clients.
A church located just a few meters from a
home, for example, may be nice on Sundays but a bother to some on weekdays if
attendees elect to keep a loud night vigil.
A morgue on your doorstep, for example,
could be disappointing if you had to give way to mourners collecting or
delivering the body of a loved one every time you leave or return home.
Estate associations have complained about
loud music coming from churches or clubs located within or near residential
buildings.
So, as a developer, how can you make sure
that the only amenities that make your project stand out are the ones that are
allowed? What can you do if you’ve already listed a house or apartment block
for sale or rent and some odd amenity sets up base next door?
According to Mr. Reuben Kimani, CEO of
Username Investment Ltd, a real estate firm, amenities should provide ease and
comfort to a tenant or investor who has purchased land and plans to develop it.
“However, one person’s desire for
amenities differs from another,” he notes.
Mr Kimani urges investors and individuals
to avoid purchasing property adjacent to government-owned land that is
unoccupied. “Government land can be utilized for whatever purpose is
necessary, and the land may be used for a purpose you don’t like at some
point,” he continues.
According to him, developers should choose
the correct target market for their initiatives so that they don’t wind up with
a list of people who have competing interests.
However, he points out that other
developers are choosing for mixed-use developments that include retail stores,
homes, and parks. “However, if a developer wishes to execute mixed-use
developments, the client should always be informed,” he argues.
Commercial, residential, and agricultural
properties are divided into three categories, each with its own set of
facilities to make the owners or tenants’ lives easier.
A commercial property near a roadway, for
example, may not be suitable for a residential home.
Mr Mburu, on the other hand, believes that
most developers are deceitful, and that they will go to a location knowing
exactly what developments are planned.
He claims that development plans are public
documents that should be made public whether a mortuary, coffin shop, or school
is proposed in a particular area.
“However, you find certain developers
who arrive to an area, know exactly what is going on, but believe that at some
point they will be large number and contest,” he says.
He uses the Athi River and Syokimau areas
as an example, which have long been regarded as industrial hubs.
However, developers have purchased
properties in such locations.
“Then, when the rubber meets the
road,” he continues, they believe they can be heard more than the other
(investors).” “Most of the developers are a little mischievous at
times. Most of this information is already known in most cases.”
Every land development, according to Mr
Mburu, is based on a plan prepared with input from stakeholders. “You will
find that one development came before the other in such a case,” he
explains.
He says that development planning takes
place at a macro level, with the plan being created by the local authority, in
this case the county government.
It is what local stakeholders – such as the
estate association – propose. Local plans, on the other hand, are
plot-specific.
Nairobi, for example, has a land area that
is too huge for county planning, making zoning more appropriate.
Mixed-use, low-density residential areas
(like Karen) and high-density residential regions are classified by
stakeholders (like Kasarani). Such a densely populated location may be
classified as mixed-use, with offices, businesses, and residents sharing an
apartment building.
“If a mixed-use area was zoned and
some development requirements were established, then we get lower-level plans
(local plans) that will at least capture the specifics and can go to plot specific,”
he explains.
The detail of the plan is usually what
determines whether a commercial sector adjacent to a main road is set aside,
and perhaps the third or fourth row is residential.
As a result, even if a mortuary application
is presented to the authority (county), it will be evaluated in the context of
the development plan.
The application will be compared to the
physical plan, which will evaluate requirements such as land size and
environmental factors.