UGANDA, Kampala | Real Muloodi News | Have you ever considered building up? Maximising the space above your house is a great solution for property owners where the cost of land is at a premium, allowing you to extend your property vertically while on a small footprint.
With increased cost of land in Kampala and its surrounding areas, many people are forced to buy land far away away from the city where it is more affordable to build residential houses and even commercial structures.
But what if you could build a storeyed building with a foundation strong enough to enable other people to build on top? This is exactly what Brian Namubiru did for his siblings.
Brian, 33, the eldest son of the Namubiru family, had set out to build a home not too far from Kampala. However, he felt a sense of responsibility towards his three siblings. He knew their long commute to work each day was taking a toll on them, but they could not afford to purchase land closer to the city.
He came up with the idea of building his home with a foundation strong enough to support a multi-storeyed property so that each sibling could have their own residence above his. He shared his idea with them, and they were excited about it. So, they all agreed to pool their resources together and make Brian’s dream a reality.
Each family member contributed their savings to the project and even took on additional work to raise the necessary funds. Brian had already found the perfect plot of land not too far from the city, and they started planning their condominium complex.
He hired an architect and civil and structural engineers to help them plan and design a solid foundation for their building. The architects and engineers worked closely with the Namubiru siblings to understand their needs and desires. The siblings wanted four separate condominiums, and discussed the layout of each one, and the overall design of the building.
Together, they came up with a plan that met the Namubiru family’s expectations. They obtained all the necessary approvals from the city authorities, including building permits.
The civil and structural engineers were tasked with ensuring that the foundation of the building was solid enough to withstand the weight of a multi-storeyed structure. They conducted soil tests, analysed the soil conditions, and designed a foundation that would provide maximum stability.
After all the planning and approvals were completed, the construction of the building began. However, it was not an easy task. The Namubiru siblings had to build in stages due to budget limitations.
Brian was the first to move in on the ground floor once his home was completed, but it was over three years before the entire structure was complete. Brian’s brother moved in with him, and they both diverted the funds that they were previously paying in rent to help their other siblings complete the construction of the upper condominiums.
In the end, the Mirembe family’s hard work and dedication paid off. They had a beautiful multi-storeyed property that provided each sibling with their own residence, and had created a legacy for their family.
The Condominium Law and Its Applications
The Condominium Law allows for multiple ownership of structures on the same piece of land. The most common application of the Condominium Law is the construction of apartments or condos where units are sold to different people.
However, this can also be applied to a home that can allow you to build for yourself, but then sell the space above you to somebody else.
The Condominium approach allows for multiple people to divide the cost to acquire land and all that is required, while each of the owners get their own condominium certificate of title.
Building up is a great strategy for groups of friends and/or families who are willing to come together to build such a structure. Each floor of the structure built increases the value of the property, while lowering the individuals’ cost of maintaining the building since such costs are shared by the owners or tenants.
It even allows individual owners who invest in a foundation and building plan that can support a multi-storeyed structure, to later sell the space above them to others who don’t necessarily have the resources to buy an empty plot.
It can even accommodate one’s children to build on top of the family home in the future as they grow and start their own families.
Therefore, when planning your house, consider the option of build up, enabling you to use or even sell the space above you.
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Part 1: How a Young 26 yr old Average Income Earner Built a USh64m 3-Bedroomed House
