The Folly of Buying an Apartment in a Highrise Building

"
Look how these njamaas and njamalettes are crying big time in apartments
In an apartment you have almost zero control of your life once you exit your door!
To repair water woes, you have to involve the whole estate, to cry over water pressure…same same. Everything is just a mess. Service charge defaulters ndio hao hao. No wonder the cartels move in to exploit the chaos! a Maisonette owner on the other hand ametulia raha mustarehe tuliiii. You will never hear them complaining ati cartels have conspired not to pump water into my tank. " - Stolen from another forum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlDrRu4Gfpo

Sijawahi elewa concept ya service charge!..

Mimi hulipa service charge and it makes sense juu ya lighting of common areas na watchman kwa gate. Watu wa apartments lazima pia walipe service charge juu ya lifts and other amenities in the estate. Shida ya ku-own apartment hukuwa ati kukitokea issue lazima muinvolve the whole estate kui-solve. Kama hao hapo juu cartels read into the chaos and exploit it. Watu wa gated estate kwa maisonettes mtu akijiskia anaweza leta tank kubwa aweke kwake if he owns the house. No questions asked. Hii ni Kenya. We are light years away from having working systems which protect buyers from exploitation. Hawa middle class wa Nyayo Estate sasa watatii. The smart ones (tenants) will just move out.

Kuna apartments zengine service charge ni in excess of 30k… Read somewhere in countries like Uko Kinoo huwezi hata instal satellite dish lazima ikue na approvals kibao

:smiley:

Buying an apartment in Kenya is an extreme sport. There are a million loopholes za kukuliwa starting from the construction process, buying process, and ownership. Ukiwa fala utalipa offplan pesa ikunywe maji. Isipokunywa maji ulimwe service charge too steep that it appears as if you are a tenant. Usipolimwa service charge na ukinunua, bado utasumbuana na tenants wengine for trivial issues such as loud music, wengine kutolipa service charge etc. Huwezi ishi maisha yako in peace. You own the apartment but live under the mercy of your neighbors and the estate management company. A total shitshow. Kuishi apartment ni poa, but make sure you rent, not buy. Kama hawa wa Nyayo Estate, people who were smart and rented instead of buying will just move to another estate. Problem solved. Lakini wenye walinunua (na bado wanalipia loans), sasa ndio watatii.

Nothing and I mean NOTHING beats kujishikia ka 1/8 huku outskirts na kujinyoroshea pigsty! You are the king of your feudal land! Mvua? No prob, nyorosha gutter and several external tanks, maji nashoro for weeks, watu wa kusambaza borehole water via pipes and thereafter kanjo water in that order of reliability. KPLC upuss? Tiny 3kW gen ya ngata for serious short loads and a small solar system for lights, TV, fridge, communications. Septic ya sewage, emptied ata once a year. Small kitchen garden for my certified organic, sewage free greens/kales/dahnia/chillies. A few hens for my kienyeji fertilised v-power eggs. I can even sunbask ndethe if I so wish. Freedom! Sio kuona sura mbaya neighbours with loud boom-twafs in the next room separated by narrow 6" based non-structural walls. I am the chief executive and the ministry of works all in one, don’t need nobody to do nuffin

The freedom!

Siku moja nilienda greatwall apartments nikaona watu wanaishi kwa 3 bedroom HOSTELS na vijana hapo kwa gate wanachekelea residents wakiingia eti wanajua nani ametomba bibi ya nani.

Usisahau wizi na udaku ya apartments. Zero or very limited privacy. Even owning a cheki maneno is a serious issue ukiishi 7th floor of a highrise. I am of the opinion that the ideal approach to home ownership ni kutafuta half acre in a highly regulated zone/estate uweke pigsty ama ununue ujiongezee madoido yako - that is if you feel that you must own the house.

Nyayo estate started out so nice in the mid 2000s I used to visit acquaintances but kweli ndo nikajua grass apana greener on the other side. That place had serious bureaucracies to keep bonobos in check. Nikaambiwa wakidai kurusha bash wanaandika barua sijui weeks in advance to management mpaka with estimated number of guests, time bash itaisha etc :smiley: wtf?!
This BS may appeal to a minority of Kenyans but for the generally unruly and savage majority of bonobos issano. As said above, the smart move here is to be renting until the place outlived it’s usefulness. If still servicing the loan ni kulilia kwa choo tu

High rise apartments are only good for generating rental income. They’re not so ideal for raising a family.

Yes. If you own the entire block not an apartment in the block.

In my consultancy side hustle, there are clients that I work for around Valley Arcade, the main investor has turned a two bedroom apartment into their offices. He tells me he would be renting it out for 80-100k per month. The bedrooms are small and don’t even have wardrobes. Juzi we were discussing why the service charge arrears had hit 130k…I used to envy that Kilimani area until now, the only upside is the clout that comes with it(If that is your thing)…The flats have lifts but they are dingy and the corridors are poorly lit, the place feels stuffy, it feels like a Russian ghetto. The quality of life in a place like Utawala is better than that place, ukifika bei better build your pigsty elsewhere, the value for money is way way better

Anyone selling water from Nairobi River to any residence should be hanged to his death.

Flat owners have the power to change their service providers but it involves a lot of politics. Paying service charge of over 10k is being stupid.
A good flat design has to allow the morning sun and evening sun inside. Also the air should be able to pass through the building. A good design should have at least two private and sizable balconies and a clear unobstructed view outside from both sides. A narrow and tall building with one row of flats per floor is the most desirable. Flats have better 24 hrs security.
In a city, accessibility should be key. If you live in Kilimani you’re near all major economic zones and amenities. In fact you enjoy life more than guys living in Karen, muthaiga etc who have to contend with long commutes.

Seems like the market is shifting to townhouses. I’m yet to verify but if we see more of them being built then the apartment era will be over… For a while… But it seems like middle class wamechoka na apartments.
Read about the townhouse trend online today.

If you check keenly, you realize that a basic 2 bedroom apartment in Lavington or Kili costs the same as a 3 or 4 bedroom townhouse with DSQ in gated estates kwa outskirts in places like Ngong, Ruiru, Mombasa Rd etc. I have always been of the opinion that apartments in areas like Kili and Lavington don’t offer value for money i.e they are overpriced. Wenye wamenunua give reasons like location i.e closeness to amenities etc. But we are no longer in the 1990s. Sitakosa kuenda B-Club nikitaka ati juu iko Kilimani area, as long as I have a car, I can access anything I want in Kili without having to live there. This is a big thing that many people ignore. Why live in a kennel usemange tu unaishi Kilimani when you can live a better life in the outskirts and drive to Kilimani whenever you have shughuli huko. Apartments in those areas are good, no doubt. What’s wrong about them is the pricing e,g I wouldn’t contemplate paying 15 million for a 2 bedroom in Lavington kwenye hata you can’t raise kids. Developers wanakulia sana kuuzia middle class apartments hizo areas. Hao middle class hawajui in 10 years the area will not be considered posh anymore.

:confused:

The only reason I would buy an apartment near amenities ie near workplace is to be near the workplace and see the tois early.huko Mombasa road or ngong is good but with traffic you leave before the kids sleep and after they sleep.For me spending time with kids at a good hour eg getting home by 5 pm.so that I can give them a shower bond etc is so.important.For example the traffic in ngong means that if one leaves the office at 5pm.they get home at 8pm…quality time with kids is eaten up.by the long travel.home

This is probably when it makes more sense to rent a house you don’t own for yourself in an upscale neighbourhood and rent out the house you own in the satellite towns.