It is everyone’s dream to one day own a piece of land somewhere and as land prices increase, such dreams slowly die. Well, you can still hold on to your dreams of owning land in Nairobi, better still, at a fraction of the price.

I stumbled on this interesting sectional land ownership plan by a4Architect.com.

Sectional Ownership method entails 2 or 3 people pooling resources together to enable them share 1/8^th acre of land for home ownership or investment purpose.

How the system works:

• Someone identifies land for sale at a4architect.com or any other website or physical location.
• After identifying an ideal piece of land the person then posts a request for sectional ownership or for two other partners at a4architect.com.
• a4architect.com will then ascertain whether the specific local authority where the land is located allows for 2 or 3 separate housing units within the said land. This is because each local authority has set its own by-laws regarding use of land. Karen for instance only permits one family to live within the minimum plot size.
• a4architect.com will then link the person to 1 or 2 other partners depending on preference.
• Arrangements will then be made for interested partners to view the land.
• The 2 or 3 partners will meet and form a company with 2 or 3 shares and choose their portions based on the architectural plan designed by a4architect.com. The architectural plan is to be in accordance with the Local Authority’s by-laws and will serve as the ‘beacon’ demarcating the boundaries and will assist in any boundary disputes, example concerning gate and drive way.
• The new company then buys the land and the plan is submitted to the local authority for approval.
• The 2 or 3 partners can then embark on developing their portions at their respective pace. The partners can even opt to resell their share.

Why 1/8^th acre

The minimum requirement for land title is 1/8^th acre, owning less than this size is not possible through land title systems.

Why register as a company?

It is cheaper buying 1/8^th acre as a group of 2 or 3 but due to legal formalities, you will be required to buy it as a registered company with shareholders having claim over the land.

Advantages

• The Sectional Ownershio of land enables people to invest in land for housing purposes or for future re-sale from denominations of as low as KES 54,000.
• Many plot sizes in South C and Buruburu are less than 1/8^th acre so sub-dividing a 1/8^th acre piece of land would be enough for 2 to 3 families.
• Unlike in owning an apartment where one has zero land, this system allows one to at least build on their portion and still have some space left

So, what's your take on this?