Buying Property in Kenya from Abroad: Checks Before You Send Money
Remote buyers: check title, seller authority, contract, funds and completion evidence before buying property in Kenya from abroad.
Diaspora & Foreign Investors
How Can a Chinese Company Set Up Business in Kenya? Branch or Subsidiary?
Compare a Kenyan subsidiary and a registered foreign-company branch, then check the permits, tax, staff and contracts to plan before starting business in Kenya.
Mediating Diaspora Property Disputes Without Travelling Home
A boundary dispute, a deposit stuck with a seller, a disagreement over inherited land, and you are ten thousand kilometres away. Property disputes in Kenya can usually be advanced without a flight home. Can a Kenyan property dispute be resolved without travelling? In many cases, yes. An advocate instructed by you can appear, correspond and … Read more
Agent Fraud and Agency Agreements: A Guide for Diaspora Buyers
‘Send the money, I will handle everything’, and six months later there is nothing to show. Diaspora clients rarely lose property to strangers; losses come through informal agency arrangements with people they knew. Why do diaspora buyers lose money to agents? Because the arrangement was never written down. Money goes to personal accounts, authority to … Read more
Succession Planning for Diaspora Property Owners in Kenya
You bought the plots, finished the rentals and the family is settled abroad. The unfinished question is what happens to those assets if you are not there to manage them. Succession planning answers it in advance. What happens to Kenyan property when an owner abroad dies? Kenyan assets pass under the Law of Succession Act … Read more
Freehold vs Leasehold in Kenya: What Diaspora Buyers Should Know
Diaspora buyers encounter the terms freehold and leasehold in every listing and rarely receive a full explanation of the difference, yet tenure determines what you own, for how long, and what you owe each year. For buyers abroad, the distinction carries an extra layer: what tenure a non-citizen may hold at all. What is the … Read more
Diaspora Mortgages in Kenya: How Financing from Abroad Works
You earn in dollars or pounds, but the house you want is in Nairobi or Nakuru. Diaspora mortgages exist for exactly this situation, and the paperwork rewards preparation. How do diaspora mortgages work in Kenya? Kenyan banks and mortgage finance companies lend to non-resident Kenyans against property in Kenya, with terms set by each lender. … Read more
Repatriating Investment Proceeds from Kenya: Tax and Banking Considerations
Profits earned in Kenya are meant to leave Kenya eventually, that is the point of investing. Moving money out works smoothly when the tax and banking steps are done in the right order, and awkwardly when they are not. Can investment proceeds be sent out of Kenya? Yes, subject to tax compliance and the documentation … Read more
Selling Kenyan Property While Living Abroad: Process and Tax
Diaspora sellers are less discussed than diaspora buyers, but the question arises constantly: a change of plans, a better opportunity, or an inheritance to be converted, can the sale be completed properly while you are abroad? It can, and the difference between a smooth closing and a costly one is preparation. This article sets out … Read more
Joint Ventures with Kenyan Partners: Structuring Basics
A Kenyan partner knows the market; you bring capital, equipment or technology. A joint venture can combine the two, provided the structure is written down before the first shilling moves. How should a joint venture with a Kenyan partner be structured? The two usual forms are a contractual joint venture, an agreement without a new … Read more