Actualizing the Power of Re-Investment in Real Estate

I recently met up with a friend( let’s call her Jenny) whom I hadn’t seen for several months (actually we last met in November, 2019) due to the stringent measures put in place to slow down the pandemic effects. You should have seen how excited our conversation was. As you already know, I have a great passion for spreading the word on investments and in particular, real estate as an investment option. This tells you what we were talking about.

Years back we had talked with Jenny about investing in rental properties and she took up the challenge by buying some land. Land on the outskirts of Nairobi isn’t that expensive and can give good returns. She then embarked on setting up a single unit. She tells me she was too scared to even talk with the builders since that was her very first construction. She didn’t have the funds to hire a contractor and therefore opted to do with what she could afford.

Lessons Jenny learnt from that construction:

The mind plays a big role in every activity we undertake

Don’t seek advice from naysayers, they may sway your decision. They are the loudest and since they don’t have your vision they can’t help you actualize it. (I know a man who had gone to view some very prime land and had all intentions and funds of purchasing it. He unfortunately went with his drinking friends. After sightseeing, they went to discuss the land viability in the pub. Let’s just say, today he is yet to wake up from that nightmare).
If you decide to start your investment plan, look for information from people who have already invested in the same plan and have succeeded. The mind is so powerful such that if you decide you can succeed in a project, you surely will.

Walk your journey

interior of a beautiful home Jenny didn’t have the full amount for the construction. She would buy the construction materials based on the available money. One day a few bags of cement, next to a lorry of building stones, ballast then sand. Eventually, when she was sure she had a few of these items she would engage the builders. Some days went on without any construction due to lack of materials but that didn’t deter her. Don’t get discouraged when your neighbour starts her construction with all required materials on-site and finishes her magnificent building within the shortest time possible. Move at your pace and actually seek further advice from her. Who knows she may be ready to give you some interest-free loan 🤔😉. She eventually finished the single unit and was taken up as a shop.

Feel the fear, but do it anyway

This too has been my personal Mantra for some years now, after I realised that whatever activity I had the greatest fear of before starting became the best ever. You will meet with people who have never constructed even a 10 feet fence narrate the most horror stories of what it means to construct. Oooh, the builder will not adhere to the contract terms, oooh a building during construction fell apart, oooh the area doesn’t have connection to water and electricity, oooh the place doesn’t have enough population. The excuses are just too many.
Jenny was just too scared to even start but she eventually did and today she has a different story.
Work on your mind, fear can be the greatest impediment to your success.

Network

Make friends with the people you meet in your new area of operation. Be it the hardware salesperson, the security team, your neighbours or the lady who cooks for the construction workers. You will get more than enough insights that will help you overcome some challenges experienced during the construction. Jenny was able to get very reliable suppliers for the construction materials from some of her new networks. Never underestimate the people you meet. Make new friends, they come in handy.

Jenny says the greatest lesson was the power of reinvestment

After she finished and let out the single unit, she used the rent received in addition to her other funds to construct another bigger house in the same land. It was therefore faster and this time she was assured of better workflow. It took longer than usual to finish her 1st ever project but eventually, it was done. The satisfaction of receiving the rental income is second to none. Jenny is now saving up the rental income to enable her to buy another piece of land and put up a high-rise residential property.

Conclusion

It may seem like I have narrated some fairy tale but this is actually how many people have been able to amass their wealth. It can take months or even years to finish up one construction project, but eventually, with determination, consistency and the right mindset, you will become a property owner. This is how people are making it in the real estate.