UGANDA, Kampala | Real Muloodi News | The owner of Infotrust Property Consultants, Mariam Tarinyeba Tusubira, is one of the few women making headway in Uganda’s predominately male real estate sector.
Tusubira was born in Masaka and remained there until she was 13 years old, at which point she relocated to Kampala to live with her older sister.
“I was very curious and wanted to learn everything. I remember during my Primary Seven vacation, I learnt to weave mats, and I used my Senior Four and Six vacations to study Information Technology from Makerere University,” says Tusubira.
The Beginning
The daring Tusubira received a placement in the Penthouse Hotel in the Moyo District close to the South Sudan border for her internship. She did, however, quickly transition from an IT specialist to a sales executive.
She was so successful at providing excellent customer service that Tusubira had USh9 million in savings by the time her internship was up.
She asked her family for guidance since she didn’t sure what to do with her funds, and they advised her to establish a company. She put USh2 million into a retail store and utilised the remaining sum to purchase a Sonde property parcel of 100 x 100 feet.
“Whenever I made profit in my business, I invested the money into acquiring more land. At first I would ask land brokers about buying certain properties but they would discourage me. Later, on I found out that their advice was based purely on my being female. So, I stopped asking and started buying following my intuition and it paid off,” says Tusubira.
The Real Estate Bubble
She was acquainted with a real estate lawyer who helped her learn more about the industry throughout her venture into buying land.
Tusubira began making considered decisions where she had previously made impulsive ones. She ventured beyond her comfort zone and began investing in mailo land, freehold tenure, and leasehold, all of which she had previously been very apprehensive about.
Her acreage had begun to appreciate; land she had purchased five years prior now virtually doubled in value.
“There is a time when I had lost hope in education in Uganda and had thought of relocating, to Canada so that my children would get a quality education. To finance the relocation, I sold one of my valuable plots of land and bought one acre of mailo land, and two from Kabaka’s land and used the rest to invest in our relocation. The plot I had bought at USh8 million was worth USh280 million seven years later,” says Tusubira.
She decided to pursue real estate full-time after seeing how lucrative it is thanks to this sort of profit.
“I started buying more of mailo land. I would buy a piece at USh30 million put some few developments in place then subdivide it into plots which would make me about USh70 million,” Tusubira says.
Yet, as she kept getting to know more individuals and working with them, she began to see unethical practices in the industry.
“Many developers were too greedy to give clients their rightful sizes of land, even when they would still have made enough profit without cheating,” says the real estate investor.
Launching a Company
Tusubira launched a company to provide individuals with the necessary information on the property because she thought that changes needed to be made in the way business was being conducted in the sector.
Infotrust Property Consultants have over 20 staff working under Tusubira and satisfied clients keep her going with uplifting feedback.
The business assists clients in conducting worldwide research on properties they are interested in.
Tusubira’s expertise in IT made it simple for her to combine technology with real estate to give her clients a better property purchasing experience.
The firm uses trustworthy, legal data to assist clients in making wise business decisions. Infotrust Property Consultants works with international companies to improve the gathering, administration, and comprehension of their market as a worldwide real estate consultancy firm.
“I realised if you want to retire early comfortably, invest in real-estate. And I wanted to do that for everyone by eliminating the fear and mystery that surrounds real estate. I am glad to say that I have been successful in doing this by availing the right information for clients,” says Tusubira.
The company not only provides information, but also buys and sells properties, develops properties for customers, conducts surveys, processes letters of administration and land transfers, and assists clients in recovering their land titles or obtaining special titles for those who have lost theirs.
All Wasn’t Rosy
Despite her clear skill in real estate, Tusubira claims she still struggles to convince customers to trust her with their money since she is a woman in a man’s field.
“But I am now making inroads into the industry by giving every client the best possible experience so that they end up becoming our ambassadors,” she notes.
Obtaining genuine land is difficult, and there are many con artists ready to take advantage of naive customers. However, the real estate investor said she can now detect which land is hazardous and avoid it, no matter how appealing the bargain appears.
“Although I was able to and the family was willing, there is a piece of land I had to leave because I could tell that was all they had for survival and they were selling out of desperation. I believe that making a profit should not blind someone to other people’s suffering,” she says.
Professional Guidance to Real Estate Dealers
Real estate professionals should research the land they aim to purchase to ensure their clients are at peace. This will alleviate the dread of purchasing land from the people.
Make the right decision. Give individuals a good value for their money by giving them the appropriate quantity of land.
On a 50X100 plot of land, a six-bedroom house with a modest garden should be possible.
When you have a pleased client, you will acquire more profit as well as a good reputation.
Keep an eye on your employees since there will be a lot going on behind the scenes. Check in with your clients to verify whether they were handled well. Create time to check on them.
“I’ve designated a day where I check in with my clients to see how well they’ve been served,” says Tusubira.
Professional Guidance to Clients
No matter how small your piece of land is, demarcate it. Know what you want to do with your land so you can choose locations with the appropriate amenities.
You have the absolute right to be well-informed about your property. Making an informed selection about the land you intend to purchase is also crucial.
Get various perspectives on your titles from your company, the government, or even a private lawyer. Have faith that you may invest in real estate with the support of reliable firms.
Future Prospects
As one of the best real estate dealers in Uganda, Tusabira aims to have settled several people in the various estates she has invested in by the end of the next two years.
She hopes to hire more individuals or assist them in starting their businesses after training several people in what she does.
She has a daughter whose passion for charitable work inspired her to purchase land to fulfil the daughter’s wish to construct homes for low-income single mothers as they establish themselves.
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