Location is key in real estate
Solomon Katongole (insert) is a real estate developer and he says if you want your property especially houses to be on demand, you need to invest in them in terms of beauty. PHOTOS BY EDGAR R BATTE.
What you need to know:
- The real estate business is one of the most lucrative yet difficult businesses to do. As the standard of living in Uganda moves into middle income status, more and more people are venturing into the real estate business. Solomon Katongole, an artist and real estate entrepreneur give us his experience in the business.
Where did you get the idea?
My entry into the real estate market was more incidental than intentional. My Fiancée and I had bought a beautiful piece of property which we intended to use to build our home.
However, we had a change of plan when an investment opportunity presented itself.
We decided to sell off that property and were surprised at the returns we made after only six months of having owned it.
We realised then that real estate was a viable investment opportunity.
How did you start and with how much?
We started with an initial investment of Shs36m for that property and from the proceeds of the sale we were able to acquire an additional property. We have since continued increasing our investment into the business from each sale we make.
Any challenges?
The biggest challenge in the real estate market is the high capital required to start up.
However, the advantage is that one is sure of returns on investment with real estate because the market for land and housing continues to grow. Shelter is a basic human need and people will always need a home.
The other challenge is that most of the real estate brokers in the market are not well educated and some are not professional in the way they do their work.
They do not keep appointments and others inflate the value of property to make their own cut off the payments.
This puts off buyers and leaves properties on the market for too long which also affects the sellers.
Any lessons?
The biggest lesson I have learned is to take time when selecting a property to buy. Investing in the right property will give you a good return in a fairly short amount of time, but investing in the wrong property can cost you a lot and reduce your profit. I have also learned to pay attention to detail during the verification process and not be rushed to make a decision to buy or sale. The details are usually what help you to detect forgeries and shoddy deals.
Clientele and pricing
We focus on people interested in land for family homes and investment purposes. Some of these are usually young people like ourselves interested in buying land to build their first home or young families. We also sell properties for people interested in buying prime land for quick resale to get a return on their investments. The price for real estate depends on the location and size of the property. With regard to land, some places are fairly cheaper while others are really expensive so it depends. But in the market as it is now, prices for a 50 by 100 plot start at Shs15m which is approximately Shs1.5m per decimal.
