MaurineTheuri
Member
Often, Kenyans in the USA typically invest their earnings back home. However, there is a new trend where a growing number of Kenyans investing in USA real estate market. While investing back home may be easy to achieve because of familiarity, investing in the USA may be complicated and quite expensive.
The USA real estate market may not be as easy to navigate as the Kenyan one. Processes could be cumbersome, time consuming and extensive. The paperwork may be extensive, and maintenance and other costs after acquiring the property may be too expensive. There are ways to sidestep this though, such as by using estate agents who understand the processes better.
According to Ken Malmborg of Realty Capital, an American real estate company that held an expo in Nairobi to popularize investing in real estate in the USA, Americans face similar problems when they invest in real estate in their country. The system is cumbersome, and it may take a lot of time to get the property. But such concerns should not be a reason not to invest in real estate in the USA. The Bottom line is, investing in the US real estate market is a lucrative way Kenyans are making money either back home or while already in the USA.
Kenyans Now Hold Dual Citizenship
Realty Capital showed up in Kenya after the country got a New Constitution, allowing Kenyans to hold dual citizenship. Kenyans who became American citizens do not have to forfeit their Kenyan citizenship. But that the Kenyans can be US citizens while they invest there does not add much as a person does not require to be a US citizen to own real estate.
A Kenyan landowner in the USA says that his reason for buying is that he wants to have something to leave behind for his child, who is unfamiliar with Kenya and may remain a US citizen all his life. A Kenyan lady who is also a landowner sees her investment as a lucrative business. She was yet to decide between letting the land lie fallow and appreciate and putting up some developments.
A manager at White Bluff, a real estate company in Atlanta, was quoted online saying that easy access to credit is why a rising number of Kenyans are investing in real estate in the USA. Fair laws, reasonable returns, consumer protection, have also been contributing factors.
White Bluff sells property to Kenyans in the USA and has a referral program that incentivizes Kenyans to bring in their colleagues to invest in property. White Bluff helps Kenyans bypass the complexity involved in buying and owning property in the USA.
Realty Capital Inc. helps Kenyans invest in the USA real estate market and have offices in America and Nairobi. Phillipinos and the Chinese are other nationalities that Realty Capital helps make real estate investments in the USA.
Best Way For Kenyans Investing in USA Real Estate
Kenyans have also caught up with the new trend to invest in the US property market without leaving their home country or owning the physical property themselves. Whichever way the Kenyans choose to invest in America, they have ways to earn handsomely from their earnings.
Here are a few ways Kenyans are investing in the USA’s real estate market and reaping big.
Buying REITS
They buy Real Estate Investments Trusts (REITs), which allow them to invest in real estate in the USA without owning anything physically. REITs are USA-based, and these trusts own commercial rental properties such as apartments, hotels, office buildings, and rental spaces.
The Facts: Investing in REITs is an excellent investment but laden with some risks. First-time investors are best advised to trade in REITs that are publicly quoted and sold in stocks as these are easy to value and sell-off. The other REIT types are not traded publicly and are a lot riskier as they could be challenging to buy or sell-off.
Flipping investment property
For Kenyans who have already relocated to the USA, flipping investment is a lucrative way to make money. This strategy involves buying an underpriced home that requires repair and renovating it at the lowest cost possible. The renovated property is then put back in the market and sold for some profit.
The Facts: House flipping is not easy as seen on TV and requires an experienced partner to carry it out accurately. The difficulty comes in estimating expenses so that after the renovations’ costs, the investor still makes a profit. Another risk in making money flipping houses is that the longer you hold on to the property, the less profit you will make, as, during this time, you will be paying a mortgage which is an added expense. Living in the house as you do the repairs might an excellent strategy to cut costs.
Renting out a room
Renting out a room in your home is an easy way to make money from real estate while in the USA. A Kenyan looking to make money this way finds potential clients through sites like Airbnb or by taking in fellow Kenyans newly arriving in the USA.
So long as the homeowner can keep their offer attractive, this is a relatively easy way to make good money. To earn from renting out a room in one’s home, a homeowner does not have to take on a long-term tenant. This option is not laden with risks as potential renters either have gone through a thorough screening from Airbnb or are known to the tenant from contacts back home.
Getting their real estate license
One of the fastest ways for Kenyans to gain wealth is through becoming a real estate agent. The process can take a few months but we have interviewed many real estate agents from Kenya who have been able to make $100,000 per year or more after a short learning curve and finding a quality real estate education provider. Chris McGuire, of Real Estate Exam Ninja has helped 100s of Kenyans for free through his website, Real Estate Exam Ninja and his Youtube channel.
Conclusion
For most Kenyans investing in real estate in the USA, the investment of choice is the one they find most accessible and suitable for particular reasons. Some factors that inform the Kenyan’s investment decisions include time availability, location at the time they invest, capital to invest, resources you are willing to employ, and other factors.
For a Kenyan traveling to the USA or looking to make some good side cash while back home, the USA real estate market has turned out to be a good option.