Buying a property in Uganda is a significant investment, but it can also be a rewarding one. With the right planning and execution, you can find the perfect property for your needs and budget.
This 10-step guide will walk you through the entire process, from finding the right property to closing the deal. We’ll cover everything you need to know, from understanding the different types of land ownership in Uganda to negotiating the best price on your property.
Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer or a seasoned investor, this guide will help you make the most of your property purchase in Uganda.
1. Decide Which Features Are Must Haves
It’s the rare lucky person who finds the perfect property within their budget, so before you go property hunting, brainstorm a list of what you absolutely must find in a property and which features are simply nice extras. Examples of must haves might include the number of size property, proximity to work and other places you frequent, and access to your preferred school districts. You might also have a strong preference on the amount of outdoor space, and whether it’s move-in ready.
2. Determine What You Can Truly Afford
Well, if you are a first step in the property buying process is to determine your budget, just as you’d likely do for any other major financial decision.
3. Identify your prospective Property through a Real Estate Agent
When you are ready to acquire the property after identifying must haves and looking through how deep your pocket is, you can start looking for the property that you desire, either you do it yourself, through a friend who recently acquired a property or a real estate agent like Graphite Real Estates Agents
Real Estates Agents are the better option if you wish to get a property that you desire very fast and have a variety to select from. However, you might be very vulnerable to being manipulated if you use unregistered brokers. Choose your Real Agents Wisely, ask for identification if you can
Authentic Real Estate Agents make your property search easy and enjoyable because they usually have properties for sale or rent in their databases or can easily identify a property in you preferred area using their professional networks. When a property is confirmed available then you can proceed to verify and check the property, which is our next step
4. Make an appointment to Visit the Property and visit the Same
Having got basic information about the property you intend to purchase, go ahead and make an appointment with a real estate agent so that you can see physically the property you intend to buy. Reconcile your schedule with either the real Estates Agent or the person who helped you locate the property. The ideal time for property tours is usually evening hours, weekends and anytime you are free from work. You might have to check a couple of properties before you get the property the meets your needs and pocket
It advisable to meet the owner of the property at this time if possible as it saves you time of making another appointment with the owner
5. Ask to meet the Property Owner to discuss more detail including the price
Having liked the property based on your MUST HAVE LIST ad probably price range, ask your real estate agent to fix an appointment and you meet the owner of the property. It may be the owner himself, the lawyer in charge of it, a property manager or anyone delegated to sell or oversee it. During your meeting, you will request for more property details and ask more questions or confirm some answers that the agent might have given you during the property tour. You also discuss the sale or rental prices. Upon a verbal agreement regarding the price, the property owner will give you a photocopy of the property title deed for you to verify the authenticity of the property.
The property details in this case should show the property Block Number, Plot Number, the Volume/Folio, District and Sub County, the property owner’s names, the property size, encumbrance status and the previous owners if any from whom it was transferred to the current title holder among others. Usually it’s advisable that you give such property detail to your trusted lawyer who helps you in the verification process
However, you may ask for the property title details for verification before meeting the property owner to agree on the price. Either way, it works
6. Verify the property title
The buyer should verify the authenticity of the property, check whether the seller has a right over the property or if the property is not caveat. Take the first step to check the title deed of the property and approved plans if it is a structure which you are going to buy
This can be done through obtaining a property search report from the land district offices. You can then use the search report to confirm whether the land is in the name of the seller and that he or she has the full right to sell the land. It is always better to get the original deed examined by a reputable lawyer and also to ensure the property is of the right size on ground it is important to engage your own surveyor who will help you establish whether the land you want to buy is exactly located on the site the agency is showing you and valid
7. Property Due Diligence
Due diligence is a should be a continuous process, right from then point you see the property meets your needs. This is because properties are big investments thus you will want to really understand what your money is going into, you will want to know the area, the potential for capital growth if your target is for commercial use, safety, access, future plans for the area by government if possible,
The bottom line is that you want to do adequate due diligence since you don’t want to make mistakes that could have been avoided if you had done your research
Some things to consider when doing a property due diligence include: – Price versus value, Understanding the local Area, Safety, accessibility, demand of Rentals in the area for residential properties among others.
8. Make an Offer and Negotiate
If you have liked the property, the seller could have already told you a price, you can then make a counteroffer. Most of the times, sellers put in starting high prices expecting to negotiate with you
Its highly advised to that you don’t pay the first offer by the seller, you can negotiate with the seller ably when you have done adequate due diligence as you can mention some of the weakness of the property as your leverage for a lower price.
However, you don’t want to low ball your offer or insult the seller, but you also don’t want to pay more than is necessary. Thus, negotiate well.
9. Review the purchase agreement
Once seller accepts your offer and prior to signing the agreement, you should make sure to review the agreement thoroughly and understand every single clause. Its highly recommended to review it together with your reputable Lawyer.
Review all closing costs—the ones you’ve hopefully saved which might add up to 3% of the total property fees. The fees might include an attorney’s fee, title search and partial property taxes.
10. Sign the Papers
Before signing the papers, you’re entitled to a walk-through to confirm that nothing has changed since the inspection.
After inspection, make sure you have all the money required based on the agreement for the closing wired into the correct account or handed to the right person.
Its highly advised to send money to bank account whenever possible as there is bank transaction trail in case of any concerns. However, if that is not possible, you can pay cash but with adequate documentation