Alumni Business Month Series Part 3: Smart Property Investment

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Part 3 of the Alumni Business month Series focused on “Smart Property Investment “offering in-depth insights into strategic property acquisition, risk mitigation, and financial preparedness. This session brought 184 alumni from various campuses as well as different schools including those internationally. Dr. Mwenda Makathimo who was our key note speaker is a distinguished land economist and governance expert with over 25 years of experience in land economics, environmental and land management, policy development, land governance, assets and property valuation, real estate management and mapping. Dr. Mwenda set the tone for the webinar with a powerful keynote on the importance of due diligence in property investment, especially in the current dynamic market.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Ensure the property is legally permissible -due diligence is not optional it is a necessity to avoid legal, financial, and structural risks.
  2. Environmental sustainability- check and confirm that the environment is conducive for the project you are investing in Economic feasibility- check if the investment gives you the return that you need Investors must verify land titles, zoning laws, valuation reports, and developer credibility.
  3. Physical possibility -check if the land is suitable for the right purpose that you need, Emphasized the growing opportunities in satellite towns and digital land
  4. records as future tools for safe investments.

We also had a Panel discussion that brought together industry professionals with diverse experiences in development, real estate marketing, and financial advisory. They included:

Joe Alando who is the General Manager of Optiven Global Office, where he leads a commercial team dedicated to settling Kenyans locally and in the diaspora on value-added properties across the country. His key points to the alumni were:

  1. Need for any company selling land to provide you with clear documentation.
  2. Transparent pricing models and history of the agents selling property to you.
  3. Optivens’ approach to value-added plots, turning land ownership into lifestyle solutions.
  4. Carry out due diligence in the area you consider by physically visiting and talking to the individuals/ community members on the ground

Ms. Vanessa Wakaba who is a seasoned banking professional specializing in home loans at Absa Bank Kenya highlighted the pivotal role she is involved in on guiding clients through the mortgage process, ensuring they are well-informed and financially prepared.

Her expertise lies in tailoring financial solutions to meet individual needs, emphasizing the importance of credit scoring, financial planning, and loan pre-approval processes. She also outlined that the bank helps in carrying out due diligence checks before issuing mortgage loans and encouraged participants to check ABSA Bank for good rates of mortgage financing. Sheila Mghoi who is the Head of Marketing at Kings Developers Kenya and a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media Studies MKU Alumni added these thoughts.

  1. The importance of buying from licensed and credible developers.
  2. Urged potential buyers to physically visit sites, ask the right questions, and insist on transparency.
  3. Shared practical insights on how Kings Developers ensures buyer confidence through brand trust and after-sales service.

We ended the sessions with a powerful Q & A session which addressed various concerns alumni had. More conversations between the alumni directorate and the partners will be sought for subsized rates of the goods and services offered by the partners to MKU Alumni.

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