Factors that devalue property

The forum, according to Mr Fred Nankuyu, the director of planning and development of Zombo City Council in Malawi, will help authorities to learn from each other. File Photo

What you need to know:

When buying property, there are certain things you need to consider before you make any payments if you want to profit from your investment as Zuurah Karungi write.

Now that the new year is here, many people have made different resolutions. One of these is to set up a business among other resolutions.
Today, a number of people have chosen to invest in rentals probably because they consider them a retirement package or side income.
However, despite real estate being lucrative, it is also easy to invest all your money and fetch nothing considering a number of factors you never envisioned.
Here are things you need to look out for if you want your property to fetch its value;

LOCATION

Alaisa Baiga Mohammed, director at Dynamic Land Survey, says the location of your property matters a lot.
“You need to look at its proximity to social amenities. If the house is near services such as hospitals, schools and effective transportation, chances are people will want to live in such a house,” she says.

She adds that one of the services that people consider are schools in the area. This means, neighbourhoods with good schools can benefit from being in close proximity to the cream of the crop. In Mukono, for example, property near Namilyango College and Uganda Christian University among others, gets buyers or tenants quickly. However, if you are in the neighbourhood of schools renowned for their failure rates or bad mannered students, you may not command as much prices as those in the neighbourhood of good schools.
Baiga adds that people want a house that is in a place which gives room for development because nowadays, people are after development.

NEIGHBOURHOOD AND CRIME

Abdul Hakim Kalinaki, a land surveyor at Uganda National Roads Authority, says a noisy place might as well devalue your house because most people do not like noisy places and congestion that comes with living near night clubs, pubs, roads, industries and restaurants.
He adds that it is important to note that neighbours have an influence on whether there will be peace in your home or not.
“Should your neighbours play loud music throughout the night, hold parties every weekend, or dispose trash that clutters your surroundings, you will keep losing tenants who want peace of mind.”

Besides the rowdy neighbours, there are noisy neighbourhoods. It could be a video hall, a bar or a church where people pray all night. These scare off home buyers or potential tenants.
The behaviour of people in your surroundings has a lot to do with the happiness of your tenants, and therefore, their appreciation of your property.
Scan for those threats and find a solution early enough if you have already built in such an area or avoid them when looking for land for property development.

Kalinaki adds that a neighbourhood with high crime rates and unkempt houses may as well devalue your house because most people love staying in clean and crime-free environments.
It is for this reason that some people would think twice before considering renting in areas with a high crime rate, even if it is near the city. Kalinaki says, “The reputation of the neighbourhood can bring its rent price dipping and you can do nothing about it.” Imagine, buying a plot in the middle of Katanga or Bwaise and expect to get premium tenants! Therefore, pass by the police, and check crime rates of the area you are hoping to buy or develop.

MATERIAL USED AND LAND TITLE

Alaisa Baiga Mohammed, a director at Dynamic Land Survey, says a home with a poor structure will require lots of repairs in case you are planning to sell it. In the end, you might get less than what you deserve from it.
“Most people look at the size of the house, number of rooms, their size and the ability to use rooms for different purposes, nature of the floor and the finishing of the general house before either renting or buying it. So, if you want to increase the value of your house, you need to think highly of these issues,” Baiga says.

Kalinaki further explains that when building a house, look at the material used. “It is better to invest in a house with quality materials which are durable and classy because this will increase its cost.”
Additionally, the exterior of the property used, windows and doors as well as other outside features, if selected without any consideration, may devalue your house since buyers and valuers will discount the price in order to demolish, remove and then replace your poorly designed structures.

Land title
Kalinaki says your house can be devalued if it has no land title
“You need to have a land title in order to get much from your house because the valuers will put a discount on the money to acquire a land title” he says.

SURROUNDING
Have you ever gone house-hunting and the first thing your eyes see around the house that meets your needs are a number of trenches? If you have young children, their safety is a priority; meaning you cannot take chances on such a house. Irrespective of its price, many people will avoid a house with open trenches around it. Therefore, when building, make sure you properly landscape your land and cover ditches and trenches that can cause accidents.
Baiga therefore cautions that when buying land for rentals, look at the general appearance of the land scape, how the garden is set, trees, flowers, the size of the compound, the structure and organisation of the compound. All these can as well devalue your house if it’s in a poor structure.

Kalinaki also adds, “The topography of the area also matters because it will determine how the rain water is drained. Therefore, keep away from land in swampy areas because such areas get flooded during the rainy season.”
The other thing that can easily devalue your property is a smelly neighbourhood. We are living in the city and towns where municipal authorities have challenges with collecting garbage. However, they also have a problem of maintaining their dumping sites. Smelly places are always a no go area when you are investing in land for property development because no premium tenant will want to live in a place with a stench.

GRAVEYARD
No one wants to live near a limbo. A grave is simply an eyesore.
“I rented a home not knowing there was a grave in the vicinity. When I discovered it, I started fearing returning home late in the night. I was even forced to relocate the moment my rent run out,” says Ms Sarah Nyombi, a resident of Bweyogere.
Therefore, unless you want a property for yourself, remove any thing like a grave near your house and bury the dead where they can enjoy eternal peace.

BILLBOARDS
Uganda is a billboard country. An American tourist visiting Kampala for the first time said he had never seen so many billboards on everything like in Uganda. In our country, you can find billboards on houses, fences, trees and along the streets advertising all sorts of things – from love concoctions to telecom companies.
If you are in a place anyone can place posters on properties advertising music concerts on one’s wall, doors, or gates, you better watch out.

Such things eat into developers’ or home occupier’s renovation budget and therefore compromise your bargaining power.
Therefore, as you look around for land to develop either into rentals or property for sale, take your time and study the vicinity so that you can achieve your target at the end of the day rather than building houses that might never bring you enough money.

GRAVEYARD
No one wants to live near a limbo. A grave is simply an eyesore.
“I rented a home not knowing there was a grave in the vicinity. When I discovered it, I started fearing returning home late in the night. I was even forced to relocate the moment my rent run out,” says Ms Sarah Nyombi, a resident of Bweyogere.
Therefore, unless you want a property for yourself, remove any thing like a grave near your house and bury the dead where they can enjoy eternal peace.