Kenyans have been warned to exercise caution when purchasing property especially land in the country due to infiltration of fraudsters.
The statement comes in the wake of increased land grabbing and demolition incidents recorded in the recent past with both the government and private developers struggling to repossess their grabbed pieces of land.
Speaking during the awarding of land title deeds to new land owners at a Malindi hotel, Ms Esther Mutii Mumo, a real estate stakeholder said that many people were falling victim to fraudsters who disappear with their money after promising to sell them property.
“One thing I want to tell those who want to invest in land is that they should do due diligence by ensuring the real estate firm they are dealing with is legally registered and also a member of the Association of Real Estate. We provide our clients with title deeds in one month,” she said.
She also added that raised service fee and taxes was also becoming a challenge and the delay in processing title deeds in the country.
“We used to conduct a search for Sh. 500 but now we are spending Sh. 1,000 and also the delay in processing titles which sometimes takes more than one month to process hence raising anxiety,” she added.
Her sentiments mirrored those of the Cabinet Secretary for lands Alice Wahome who advised Kenyans to observe due diligence and avoid shortcuts in acquiring property since the fraudsters normally exploit the anxiety of investors.
“You must ensure that you do a search before you give out that money since fraudsters are many including in our office corridors. Approach government officers including chiefs so that you can identify the property you are buying so that you don’t get duped,” she said.
Cases of innocent Kenyans especially those who work outside the country being duped of their hard- earned money have been on the increase with the majority of the victims being female.
Ali Matano Ali from Mombasa said that he conducted a thorough search of real estate agents and settled on Malindi Shamba Solutions which he said provided him a title deed within a month after he had paid the firm for land at Baolala area in Malindi Sub County.
“Working with legit companies is the simplest way of acquiring land title deeds because when you enter a contract with them, they will do the other things for you but you must first ensure that you understand the companies you are dealing with so that you don’t end up losing money,” he said.
He urged Kenyans to be extra careful and also do site visits of the property they were purchasing so that they don’t end up buying property that has been sold to multiple buyers.
Mrs Shamain Robert a resident of Malindi but whose origin is Bahamas said that she first came to Kenya on a spiritual journey seven years ago and fell in love with it hence she decided to buy land to settle.
“It was an amazing day in terms of what a company can do to their clients in one year, promising their clients title deeds and delivering them as opposed to many such companies,” she said.
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