If you check our website, especially the testimonial page, you will quickly realize how excited and ambitious people are to acquire new homes and other properties. No doubt, the demand for homeownership has been on a steady rise, which is part of the reason why several property developers have emerged to meet the need. More recently, homebuyers have shown a healthy interest in housing development properties, and all indications are that this trend will remain on the upward trajectory.
As is the case with all property investments, the quest to choose between a development property and an existing one is wrought with pros and cons.
Please read on to see what to expect.
What are the advantages of buying in a development property?
- Financial incentives
This comes mainly through savings accrued by the absence of transfer duty on the property, which is otherwise charged on buying a complete housing unit.
When buying in a development property, you can ride on the developer’s goodwill, where transactional expenses are taken care of. Using the developer’s expertise and experience means that some expenses would be reduced significantly.
- Low maintenance
It is common for a newly constructed house to go for a long period without the money and time-consuming expenses associated with old-age ware and tear from the electrical systems, gutters, bent walls, leaky roofs, etc.
- Personalized specifications
Most of the customers who choose to buy in a development project have the advantage of leveraging their personal choices regarding the property’s design, size, and finishing fixtures, thus indulging one’s taste for interior décor.
- Trendy choices
New developments will always maximize modernity and trendy architectural designs, including state-of-the-art access equipment, security features, internet connectivity, sound-proofing, Green technology infrastructure, and energy efficiency.
- Structural defects warranty
The legal requirement for new development entails at least a 5-year structural guarantee, and in some instances, a one-year roof-leak service level contract. This ensures a much-deserved peace of mind for a property buyer after digging deep in their pockets.
Disadvantages
- Original drawing plans may differ with the finished Building.
The main disadvantage associated with buying to a development project is the tendency by some housing development firms to alter original drawing plans, thus affecting the end-product
This mainly affects off-plan development projects, where the buyer is shown an artist/architect’s impression of the building at the onset, only to be altered at the end depending on the developer’s convenience.
- Developers Track record
Recent trends in the Kenyan Real Estate industry have exposed some unreliable developers who offer their clientele a very attractive development concept, only for it to stall halfway before completion.
Many unsuspecting property buyers have lost millions worth of investment in such unfortunate situations. However, you can never go wrong putting your money with a developer, like Willstonehomes , whose track record of finished projects is in the public domain.
Read also: A projection into Kenya’s real estate situation 2021
