ONCE UPON A FIFTH TIME..

A week has passed since i last went house hunting. It is hard to find a good house that is worth going to look at. I have been trying to find apartments for sale online. Seeing how Kenya has become westernized and technology is a part of our day to day routine, it only makes sense to assume that most Real estate agencies have put up their own websites and have started advertising online for new and upcoming projects. This however has not been the case. Most of the agencies have their websites up but no-one seems to be updating them so most of the information on is out of date. I.e. Most of these sites still have the introductory prices up instead of the present market price, they do not inform you if the apartments you are looking at are sold out, if not, how many are still up for sale etc.

Nowhere near finding the perfect home, the journey continues.

DAY 4:

My spirit: High but a bit dampened.

Name: EdenVille

Price: 14.5 M (introductory price)

Location: Kiambu road just past Runda Estate

Bedrooms: 3 Bedrooms Master Ensuite (With a Bathtub)

Type: Villa

Additional Information: An upcoming gated community which will compromise of 345 villas (2, 3 and 4 bedroomed) on a 70acre of land in phase 1 which is complete. Each villa has a front and a back yard, a servant’s quarter Ensuite, Electric fence, 24 hour security, a fire place, a garden, a car park for 2, a shopping mall and a gym.

Phase 1 is complete and phase 2 just began and should be complete in 18months. Of all the sites I have visited, this was by far the most disorganized. There is no-one to meet you at the gate, there was no-one at the offices, no-one to show us around (imagine walking through a 70 acre of land with all those villas looking for the Show homes.) The guard directed us the where one of the show houses was located. We went there and it was locked and had to wait for almost 20min before a worker saw us and went to get the key. There are different types of villas; the Camellia Villa which is what we were interested in (3bedrooms), the Olive Villa (4bedrooms), and the Ivy Villa (4 bedrooms+ an upper family room).

These homes are built to perfection. The showrooms do not have any furniture in them thus allowing you to see all the details of the Villa finishing’s. I.e. The Brass curtain rod, the hardwood timber trends and the steel balustrades on the staircase, the polished cabinets and wardrobes, full height tiled walls in the bathrooms,  the firebricks that decorate the fireplace to the main door made of solid hardwood and the mahogany flush for the interior doors.

The first thought that came to my mind was that Edenville looks like ‘WISTERIA LANE in Desperate Housewives’ and funny enough, there are villas called Wisteria Villas under construction in Phase 2.Let me paint the picture for you, all villas stand on their own 1/8 of an acre with lawns and picket fences giving one privacy

I think we have finally found “THE ONE”! The perfect home! The perfect living room with its huge fireplace, so inviting and homely, the perfect huge and spacious kitchen that welcomes you to use it, the bedrooms with their huge windows that open up to the perfectly manicured lawns with gardens and when residents have settled in, there will be screams from kids riding their bikes, laughter from the women on the streets to gossip, car screeching from men coming from work and aroma’s from food being prepared will fill the place.

I can already envision my small brother riding his bicycle on the streets when he comes to visit, a fireplace where we can all gather when having a sister’s night in or meat sizzling from the barbeque at the back lawn when having a family gathering, a servants quarter which means i don’t have to give up my bed when the relatives gets too drunk to drive, a garden (we’ll have to hire a gardener for that once in a while since i’m too lazy for garden work), that cute boy from across the street that I will stalk and befriend since I have a crush on him (we are never too old to have a crush), to the couple that argues every night and gives the women something to gossip about the next day, to the loving couple that we all gossip about but secretly envy.

Now, the next step is to sell the place to my sister.

Valentine’s Day and I have found my first love. Perfect timing!

Till next time.NJ

THE SEARCH CONTINUES

Day number four and no luck yet. No house that has caught my full attention yet. No house has made it on my ‘consideration’ list. I plan to get three (3) or four (4) perfect homes then let my sister make the final decision. If i were in her shoes, I’d like to have as many options as possible before dropping that kind of money.

The search continues.

DAY 4:

MY SPIRITS: Dampening a bit but still high.

NAME: Easy Prestige.

PRICE: 7.5 M.

LOCATION: Along Mombasa Road opposite KAPA past Sawada Estate.

BEDROOMS: 3 Bedrooms.

TYPE: Apartment.

ADDITIONAL INFORMTION: Imported sanitary ware, tiles and English fittings, Electric fencing, borehole, Kindergarten, Children’s playground, Swimming poll, 24hour security, Driveways and parking.

The construction for Phase 2 is underway which comprises of 72 apartments set on in an exclusive and serene area along Mombasa road.

The SHOWHOUSE was beautiful but not really decorated to suit my style so I was able to concentrate more on the house itself without any distractions.

These apartments are beautiful and very homely with landscape gardens. They have a spacious living room, separate dining area, a spacious kitchen and pantry opening out to the yard. All the bedrooms have inbuilt wardrobes, huge windows that allow a lot of light to flow into the rooms. Huge white tiles in the living room and the dining area, Magnificent brown/red tiles on every entry way giving you a royal welcoming into any room., white painted cabinets giving a beautiful contrast with the dark colored doors.

These homes are very convenient for anyone who travels a lot as they are a few minutes from JKIA (Jomo Kenyatta International Airport),12kms from the city center and is situated a few meters from the super highway

The house was beautiful but not really what I was looking for. Once finished it will be an amazing place to live but just not for us.

On with the search. There better be a huge commission waiting for me after all this. 

Till next time…NJ