I am a mother of two. I have been saving some money and have raised Shs30m. However, I do not have land, but I need to own a 3 bedroomed dream house. How best can I utilize the Shs30m? NM
Answer
Hello NM, the money you mention is not enough to buy a plot of land and building a decent three-bedroom house in my view.
However, it is enough to buy two 50*100 feet plot in some parts of greater Kampala.
I advised you to buy a minimum of two plots and forget about building for a while. This is because if you start building with very little money which wont enable you to at least roof the house you will be dumping that money.
When you leave the site after building the foundation. you lose poles and other tools in most cases which u may have used during the next phase.
To buy land and once that is done, start buying material every time you have as little as 150000shs because it can get a trip of sand and deliver it whenever.
If you protect the sand from stormwater, it will be there, people wont steal it. You can do the same with aggregates and bricks. Once you have bought enough that then start depositing money with a trusted hardware shop for cement, iron bars, and other materials.
You can do the same with makers and suppliers of roofing materials. Here, you may lose some little money because such companies supply you materials at the prevailing rates when you are ready to pick them but then it ensures you dont have money on you to spoil around aimlessly.
Shs60m can build a 3 bedroomed house, a look at the cost breakdown
Once you have money on you that is not solving an immediate need, there will always be something that requires you to spend on it. e.g. your children may want a big birthday cake or a trip to KFC and others, and you may be tempted to spend on that instead of buying chicken and frying it at home.
Depositing on such materials before u start building is important as it prepares u to start on the construction.
This is because unless you are trading where you can buy merchandise in the morning and sell them in the afternoon at big margins, whatever you use to build isnt immediately paid back (if at all ever paid back eventually).
So, most people who start building without saving money or buying materials in advance end up very broke or abandoning the site.
Uganda builders are very good at under quoting (if they r not cheaters). if u ask them how many bricks they need, they will say 5000 well knowing that they need 30000.
They further argue that once you start building, you will look for money by hook or crook to continue with the project, this might be true because the building is addictive and it is fulfilling to see your project coming up.
However, that may bring unnecessary pressure and making wrong decisions.
I was told of somebody who borrowed money based on quotations of such builders and as the lenders were knocking on the door, the builders were also demanding more materials. The person died of high blood pressure before even the house was complete.
Now, what will you do with the second plot you bought?
Well, by the time you have finished depositing money on all these materials, and the house is probably roofed, the other plot would have gained a lot of value.you can now sell it and finish the house so that you enter a complete house instead of one that is partly done.
However, if this model has worked for you, you can now use the same model again to build on the other plot or simply make a bigger compound.
Eng Abdul Mwanjje is the CEO of First Village Construction Company. The company deals in construction projects
The post How to get your dream three-bedroomed-house with Shs30m appeared first on Nile Post.