Gloria Zimba has been living in the UK for 15 years with her husband and two sons. They have actively been investing in property back home and what fascinated me about Gloria is that she has such a positive story! Usually, Zambians in the diaspora have terrible stories about how they’ve been swindled when trying to buy property back home. But Gloria’s story jumped out at me because she’s never lost money buying property back home or building. In this two part series she tells you how she did it. I hope it gives you the courage to go for it too!
If you’d like to watch the full interview then you can view it below:
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- Do your own research
Take the time to do your own research and don’t rely on relatives.
- Every time you go home to Zambia, look for a property opportunity.
- Go on the ground and visit the properties you’re interest in – you’ll be able to see whether something is genuine or not.
- When you go on site, check that what the developer or seller has promised is actually on site. This helps build credibility straight away.
- Have a good network
Keep in touch with friends back home who can help you with property related matters. However, don’t expect them to do property related tasks, such as building your house, for free. Give them an incentive to help you.
- If you do use a friend to help you build, use a friend who has experience in the construction or property sector. Avoid using someone who has no experience at all.
- Don’t get sucked into negative discussions with other Zambians about buying property back home in the country where you live. Cultivate a network who have successfully managed to buy property back home and learn from their experience.
- Use professionals
Friends can be helpful but ultimately, the best thing is to pay that little bit extra and have a professional to do a proper job for you. When using professionals, its vitally important to find architects, builders, project managers etc who are registered. There are many associations that have registered members who have to comply with industry standards.
- Cheap is expensive! Be wary of making huge cost savings on materials as replacing them when they don’t work out can be very expensive. A good professional can guide you on getting the best value for your money.
