What Diaspora Buyers Should Verify Before Buying Property in Kenya

Who verifies what

The Diaspora Trust Guide shows, for a specific published listing, exactly which of these we currently hold.

Ownership and title verification

This is the check that cannot be skipped and cannot be delegated to the seller's side. Your advocate should establish who legally owns the property, whether the interest being sold is what the seller says it is, whether anything is registered against it, and whether there is any dispute or caution affecting it.

Two practical points for remote buyers. First, a copy of a document sent by email is not verification; the check is the search your advocate conducts, not the paper you were shown. Second, the name on the title and the name on the sale agreement and the name on the bank account should be the same party, and where they are not, there should be a documented and satisfactory explanation.

Seller and developer identity

Establish who you are actually contracting with. For an individual, that means identity documents and confirmation that they are the registered owner or hold authority to sell. Where someone acts under a power of attorney, that instrument needs scrutiny by your advocate.

For a company or developer, confirm the registered entity, its directors, and its history. A developer's completion record is the most useful indicator you have: what they have finished, whether it was delivered on time, and what buyers in those earlier schemes experienced.

Development approvals

For a new or under-construction development, ask what approvals exist and have your advocate confirm they are in order for the scheme as it is being built and sold. Unapproved variations — extra floors, changed use, altered layouts — create problems that surface long after handover and are expensive to unwind.

Property documentation

Build a complete file and keep it. Ask for everything relevant and note what is missing; gaps are information too.

• Title documentation and any related instruments
• Approved plans and, for apartments, the relevant development documentation
• The lease or management documentation for the scheme
• Service-charge accounts or statements where available
• Rates and outgoings position
• The draft sale agreement
• Any warranties, defect-liability terms or handover documentation
• For a let unit, the existing tenancy agreement and payment history

Service charge and management

In an apartment or gated scheme, the management company shapes your experience of ownership more than almost anything else. Ask what the current charge is, what it covers, how it has moved over the last few years, what the collection rate is among owners, and whether there is a reserve for major works.

A low charge is not automatically good news; it may mean the building is being under-maintained, and the shortfall will arrive later as a levy. Ask whether any major works are anticipated.

Physical condition

Video cannot show you damp behind a wardrobe, water pressure on the top floor, the state of a roof, or how the generator behaves when power goes. Before committing, arrange a physical inspection — by travelling, or through a surveyor or valuer instructed to report in writing.

Give the inspector a written list. Structure and finishes, water supply and pressure, drainage, electrics, backup power, damp and leaks, windows and doors, common areas, lifts, security arrangements, parking, and the state of neighbouring units and construction nearby. There is more on the limits of remote assessment in the virtual viewings guide.

Outstanding obligations

Liabilities attached to a property do not disappear at sale unless they are dealt with. Have your advocate establish the position on land rates, land rent where applicable, service-charge arrears, utility accounts, and any charge or mortgage registered against the property, together with how each will be discharged before or at completion.

The sale agreement

The agreement is where verbal comfort becomes enforceable, or fails to. Everything material that has been promised should appear in it: price, payment schedule, completion date, what is included, the condition of handover, defect provisions, and what happens if either side fails to perform.

Do not sign a document you have not had reviewed by your own advocate, and do not accept the framing that a standard form cannot be amended. If you are signing from abroad, agree the execution mechanics in advance so that the process is not rushed at the end.

Appoint your own advocate

The single most important protection available to a remote buyer is an advocate acting for them alone. The seller's advocate acts for the seller. A shared advocate has a conflict where your interests diverge, which is precisely when you need advice.

Instruct them early, before a deposit is discussed, and ask for their advice in writing. Fees at this stage are small relative to the sum you are about to transfer.

Independent valuation

Where price has been set by the seller and you have no reliable comparables, an independent valuation tells you whether you are paying a market figure. It is routine where financing is involved and worth considering even where it is not, particularly for a remote buyer who cannot read the local market by observation.

Payment instructions and fraud prevention

Fraud against remote buyers most often takes the form of intercepted or spoofed correspondence carrying altered bank details, arriving at the moment everyone expects a payment. The email looks right because it usually is right in every respect except the account number.

• Confirm bank details by voice with a known contact on a number you already had, never one supplied in the same message
• Treat any late change of account details as suspect until confirmed twice by different channels
• Check that the account name matches the party named in the agreement
• Make payments through your advocate's arrangements where that is the advised route
• Never transfer to an individual's personal account for a corporate sale without a documented explanation your advocate accepts
• Resist urgency: a genuine transaction survives a twenty-four-hour verification pause
• Keep written confirmation and receipts for every payment

Before you send a deposit

• Your own advocate is appointed and has advised you in writing
• Ownership and encumbrance checks are complete
• The seller's identity and authority to sell are confirmed
• A physical inspection has been carried out or consciously waived
• The sale agreement has been reviewed and the deposit terms are understood
• You know whether the deposit is refundable and in what circumstances
• Payment details have been verified by voice

Why marketing material is not verification

Brochures, renders and listing copy are prepared to sell. They may be accurate and still be incomplete: a render shows a landscaped courtyard that is not yet built, a floor plan shows an area measured on a convention you were not told about, a projection shows a rent nobody in the building currently achieves.

Use marketing material to shortlist and to form questions. Use documents, searches and professional reports to decide. If a claim matters to your decision, ask for the source; if the source is not available, treat the claim as unverified and price your confidence accordingly.