Best tips for house-hunting in Nairobi

As the year draws to a close, this is a time when people are rushing to restructure their lives. We're trying to see what we've achieved so far and salvage what we can before 2024, whether it's changing careers, starting a business or even moving to a new home.

For people planning to start over in a new home, house hunting is the next step. It's sometimes exciting to look at beautiful houses and imagine how you'll live there, but much of the process is very stressful.

The last thing you want is to move in and find that your new home sucks. For an easier house-hunting experience, try these helpful tips:

Sometimes when we plan to move, we come up with rough ideas of our ideal location and space and then start the process blindly. Then when we start viewing houses, we get carried away and forget what we had not initially planned for the budget.

This is a big financial move which needs planning so it's better to narrow down to what your realistic options are. This will keep you grounded and prevent you from making bad financial mistakes later on.

Another tip is to start the house-hunting process early while there is still no pressure. When you only have a few days to move, chances are that you won't make a decision you're happy with.

You can start thinking of where you would want to move and maybe even go physically and have a look around. You might find that you will even end up changing your mind by the time you're moving.

When you're viewing houses, it's also important to practice patience. It often happens that we fall in love with the first house we see, then rush to move in when there were probably better options if we had been patient.

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Let go of the pressure that someone will move into a house you've convinced yourself you really want. Look at a couple of houses first then give yourself time to make the final decision so you move into the best house for you.

Remember to always be keen when you view potential homes. This is how you will be able to know details about water availability, security and even how noisy a place is.

For example, if you see that there are many water storage containers on people's balconies, there could be water shortage problems. If there are many college-going tenants in the building, you will experience noisy weekends when most of them throw parties.

Agents don't usually have a good reputation but not every potato in the sack is spoilt. They can help you find the perfect place for you especially when you're moving to a place you're unfamiliar with.

However, it is advisable to work with agents who have been referred by someone you know or an agent with good reviews if you're searching online.