Additions such as gardens increase the value of real estate

By Oyet Okwera

THERESA, a resident of Nansana, along Hoima Road was disappointed when a property valuer earmarked her property at sh230m. “That cannot be, look at the elegance of this house. It is also very near the road and very accesible,” she told the valuer.

Initially, Theresa had estimated her property at sh400m. Her valuation was based on the amount of effort and money she had put into the project.

Just like Theresa, other people value their property wrongly. They think that just renovating the house and a few room extensions is enough to increase the value of their property.

But what do valuers consider before coming up with the overall value of a property? Moses Wanyama of East African Consulting Surveyors and Valuers says the location of the property is the ultimate factor in consideration.

He says the more proximate a property is to the highway or urban centre, the higher it is valued. However, Wanyama says a house can be near the road in a remote area so the location does not play a big role in appreciating its value.

“We also consider general structure of the house in terms of architecture, materials used to build and the land on which the house is located,” he says.

Wanyama says different materials are sold at different prices, so valuers carefully scrutinise the building materials and value them.

He says the history of the house, how long the property has been in existence also counts. Just like any other material, houses also depreciate so the level of depreciation can also drop the value.

According to Wanyama, land has different value. He says land around the shrine at Namugongo differs from that at Seeta trading centre owing to the various disparity in business.

According to Jamillah Nakakande, an exterior décor specialist in Ntinda, a Kampala suburb, planting vegetation around the environs of the property heightens its value.

Wanyama agrees that beautification of the property automatically increases its value. “Even increase in development of other property within the neighbourhood impacts positively on the value of property,” he says.

Wanyama says the presence of land title confirms ownership of the property and if one wants to disposes of a property, he should have genuine land title to sell it off faster at a high price.