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Mi Vida Creates a Loyalty Program for Customers


Actis-backed property developer, Mi Vida, has unveiled the Mi Club, a loyalty program designed to reward its clients and encourage referrals.

The Company, launched in 2019 to address the shortage of affordable and middle-income housing, said benefits will include discounts on home purchases, fuel and shopping vouchers, and holiday packages, among others.

Mi Vida Homes Chief Executive Officer, Samuel Kariuki said one will be able to earn points which will be tracked through an App for every purchase or referral.

“To keep track of one’s earned benefits, individuals will need to subscribe to the Mi Club App. The higher the value of a client’s purchases or business referral, the higher the accumulated points and hence benefits.”, Kariuki explained.

Kariuki said Mi Club will create an exclusive community of investors, homeowners, and business partners who will derive mutual benefits from their partnership with Mi Vida.

The launch of Mi Club comes on the back of Mi Vida’s four landmark projects, one of which is complete. Mi Vida Garden City mid-market homes are complete while Amaiya, 237 Garden City, and KEZA are at the groundbreaking stage.

The developments are part of the property developer firm’s drive to deliver a minimum of 3,000 affordable and middle-income housing units over the next five years, riding on innovative design, modern engineering, trusted construction, and on-time delivery.

Originally posted on sokodirectory.com

KEZA Open Day


Mi Vida Homes recently had an open day for our new project KEZA located in Riruta.

Here are the activities that happened in pictorial format.

Mi Vida Family Day


Mi vida homes held a family fun day for all buyers.
It was a great social event, lots of food and fun for everybody.
In pictures, see what happened
Also here are the images for the event

Corporate Golf Masters Tournament at Muthaiga


Last week, our team took part in the 34th Kenya Homes Expo held at the KICC.

The event brought together real estate stakeholders and potential home owners under one roof with the objective of gaining industry insights as well as exploring real estate deals.

All our projects namely Mi Vida Phase 1, KEZA, Amaiya and 237 Garden City were showcased, much to the delight of the attendees.

To cool off after a busy week, the team then attended the Corporate Golf Masters tournament held at Muthaiga.

Again, we were able to showcase our recent projects namely Mi Vida Phase 1, KEZA, Amaiya and 237 Garden City.

At Mi Vida Homes, we remain committed to our goal of transforming lives.

Let the pictures do the talking:

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Process Of Buying A House At Mivida Homes If You Are In Diaspora


Imagine owning property in Kenya while you are in the diaspora. It’s a dream of many Kenyans living abroad.

According to the Central Bank of Kenya, a total of USD 363, 581 million was remitted back home in 2021, more than 10% went to real estate investment.

But stories of losses to relatives and con artists in real estate prevent many Kenyans living abroad from buying properties. Many of these losses occur due to a lack of proper due diligence or a designated property purchase process.

If you want to purchase a property while abroad, you must follow a particular process.

This post walks you through the process of buying the Mi Vida Homes and apartments for sale in Nairobi’s Garden city while living in the diaspora.

First, What is your Investment Goal?

Before you take this big step of buying a property, you need to consider certain things.

One of the key considerations is your investment goals.

Are you looking to buy a home where you’ll settle when you come back from the diaspora, a home to resell or rent out as a passive revenue stream, or a mix of the two?

Mi Vida Garden City homes offer mixed-use apartments that can benefit your investment goals.

Steps to Buy A House At Mivida Homes If You Are In Diaspora

If you wish to buy the Mi Vida Garden City Houses, follow these steps:

Hire a lawyer

Since you won’t be present in the negotiations, you need someone to represent you. A lawyer is your best bet to represent you and help you understand the legal procedures. The lawyers will also be pivotal in conducting due diligence and property negotiation.

Conduct a thorough search

It’s important to conduct a thorough search, which encompasses :

Company search

You should do the company search using government regulatory agencies such as GoK’s Business Registration services (BRS), Estate Agents Registration Board (EARB), or county council registrations.

A company search will help you identify: i) its proprietors, ii) its location, iii) the properties it deals with, iv) online reviews, and v) customer experiences.

You can also search Mi Vida Homes on its website, social media, blogs, and different platforms to see what they offer and if that is similar to what they say.

Property Enquiry

Contact the company directly to inquire about their properties.

For example, if you saw the Mi Vida apartments for sale in Garden City, you can inquire about them through a call, email, or social media and have the company explain them to you. This is also an opportunity to confirm if the information indicated on the company’s website is true.

Investment catalog and project map

You’ll talk with the company about your investment goals during the inquiry. The sales representative will then share with you the best investment fit through an investment catalog, including the types of properties available, their prices, benefits, amenities, financing, and other information.

In the investment catalog, you’ll also have a project map from which you can choose your preferred house or apartment.

Property valuation and appraisal

Valuation and appraisal are an important part of the due diligence process to estimate or opinion of the property’s market value and worth. With this information, you’ll know what to pay for its ownership. You’ll need a licensed appraiser and valuer to conduct the appraisal and valuation.

Property or title search

Your lawyer  or surveyor will conduct a title search to confirm the property’s identity, owner, and location as in the national registry index map. You’ll also investigate the title and confirm it’s in the real estate company’s name.

Property search also includes a physical visit to confirm that the property exists and is in the said location.  This is also a great opportunity to examine the property’s physical structures and understand whether it’s complete if it was under construction.

You can have your friends or relatives accompany the lawyer to the site during a physical visit. But don’t engage them in any financial transaction.

During the physical visit, check to make sure that the property sits on legal land and won’t have potential issues in the future, such as riparian, flood zone, or renovation issues.

Financing and Payment Process

After the due diligence process, you will discuss the terms of payment you’re comfortable with, depending on your budget.

Mi Vida Home has different payment methods, including cash buying and mortgage arrangements. If you choose mortgage financing, the company has partnerships with different local and international banks to finance your property.

Offer letter

If everything is agreeable to the financing, the company will send you an offer letter with the property’s price, details, and financing agreement.

Your lawyer will help you go through the offer letter. If you agree with the terms, you can accept the offer. Otherwise, you can decline.

Sale agreement

If you agree with the company’s offer or renegotiate it, the company will again send you a sales agreement and transfer of ownership forms. You and your lawyer will verify that all the information is available and accurate, cross-check the details and title, confirm that everything is right, and then sign the sales agreement.

You’ll then send the signed agreement back to the company and keep a copy. Your lawyer can keep a copy.

Transfer of property title and ownership

Voila, the property is now yours! Mi Vida Homes will transfer the property to your name, including the title, registration, and documents at the land registry. You may wait for some time as the transfer is completed in the government registry database.

Title deed issuing

Once the title deed transfer is complete, the company will send you a copy through your lawyer. You (through your lawyer) will collect the original title deed at the company’s office premises. Your lawyer can then send it to you abroad via international courier services or keep it until you return.

In Conclusion

Investing in real estate is a smart move with much potential.

If you’re in the diaspora, investing in real estate can help enhance your wealth portfolio, give you a home, or diversify your income stream. But you must only engage a trusted company and do proper due diligence to avoid cons and scams.

Kenyans living abroad and looking to invest in real estate can do so through Mi Vida Homes and experience the Mi Vida Lifestyle.

Enquire now.

Mi Vida home builders achieve 1 million man-hours, incident free


Residential developer Mi Vida homes has achieved a major safety milestone after surpassing more than a million work hours without a reportable accident. This hallmark achievement has been attributed to the developer’s strong focus on health and safety by instilling strict values and targets within the wider network of workers on its construction sites. This has been quite commendable especially in a country that experiences high rate of accidents and loss of life among workers.

In 2017, a report by the Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) recorded 237 construction-related accidents in four years, with about 115 men aged 21 to 40 being seriously injured, some of them sustaining lifetime disabilities. The accidents include electrocution, falls from roofs, injuries caused by falling debris, explosions, and fire-related accidents, among others.

Mi Vida project Director Mayur Sancheti said controlling accidents in large construction sites is a challenge but they can be preventable if the right safety measures are implemented. “This milestone is a credit to the diligence of the Mi Vida construction team, Eco-Hub Services Ltd and Esteel Construction team, where a strong field leadership and excellent craft workers engage safety measures on each project on a daily basis”, Sancheti added.

Mi Vida was created through a joint venture between Actis, a leading growth markets investor who have been active in the region for over 70 years and Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate (SPRE), the real estate arm of one of India’s largest conglomerates aims to complete the first phase by the second quarter of 2022. The company currently offers 1, 2 and 3-bedroom apartments from KES 8.8m next to Garden City, off exit 7 Thika Superhighway.

Housing projects at Garden City define the future of green homes in Kenya


By Ciru Okobi – Commercial Director, Garden City
Email: cokobi@gardencity-nairobi.com

By the year 2050, the global population will likely reach nine billion people. Due to household demand and population growth, the world needs to build more than two billion new homes over the next 80 years, according to global research.

Nations across the globe are becoming increasingly concerned about the effects of climate change and people growing environmentally conscious and, therefore, project builders have implemented sustainable development practices in their real estate properties to promote energy efficiency, minimize the impacts of global warming, and protect natural resources.

Due to advances in technology, green homes are gradually growing in popularity, and this is a step in the right direction. If project builders do not adapt to the challenge of building sustainable homes, the pressure on natural resources will be detrimental. Some of the resulting negative impacts include loss of biodiversity and increased greenhouse gases.

Today, the need for more sustainable homes has also been expedited by contemporary homebuyers’ preferences. People want – and will pay more for – sustainable features such as energy-efficient appliances, windows, and fittings alongside other features that improve their health and quality of life. It is also worth noting that, as younger generations are expected to enter the home buying market, they are looking out for built-in eco-friendly and sustainable features.

A good example of how green buildings are taking the construction world by storm is the buzz that developed around the construction of the Garden City Residences, Mall, and Business Park here at home in Nairobi. Declared by the global Construction & Civil Engineering magazine as the best green building in sub-Saharan Africa, this development brought to the fore the need for buildings to be eco-friendly, self-sufficient and to use natural resources such as light, wind and earth.

Among Garden City’s green features that developers can borrow a leaf from as they plan to go green in their construction is the use of robust water harvesting and recycling systems aimed at reducing wastage and significantly reducing potable water consumption. This is a system that can help combat the problem of water wastage that is leading to scarcity.

One of the main benefits of going green in construction is cost reduction. The antithesis that installing green infrastructure is costly has been debunked by developments like the Garden City Mall which incorporates a massive solar carport that provides 1.2M kWh of clean electricity to serve the mall’s shops, grocery stores, and movie theatre each year.

In addition to cutting costs, green instalments have lower maintenance requirements leading to more savings. For example, Mi Vida homes development within Garden City is IFC “Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies” (EDGE) certified. EDGE helps to determine the most cost-effective options for designing green developments within a local climate context. Mi Vida homes adhere to the EDGE standard of 20 percent less energy use, 20 percent less water use, and 20 percent less embodied energy in materials when compared to a base case building.

As we look into the future, sustainability has become one of the key indices under which businesses get both local and global certification. Seeing that the UN has deliberately set aside resources to ensure SDG goals are attained, it is not far-fetched to say that green certification might be a key element in deciding the ease with which a company gets business in future.

For instance, by being the first project in East Africa to achieve a Gold rating in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system developed by the US. Green Building Council, Garden City Mall is at an advantage should a business venture requiring environmental certification emerge. In other words, environmental certification will be the ISO-certification of the future for construction.

The environmental benefits of green building in our contemporary society cannot be underestimated as it enhances and protects biodiversity while improving the quality of water and air that we consume. Going green will, in the long run, reduce waste streams while conserving and restoring our natural resources.

Absa Bank to offer mortgage customers an extended repayment period of up to 25 years


Absa has partnered with property developer Mi Vida to provide preferential mortgage benefits to prospective and existing customers, with an aim of making it easy for middle income families to buy quality homes.

  • 25-year tenor is the longest repayment period in the market

Absa Bank Kenya has introduced a 25-year mortgage facility targeting middle income families seeking affordable homes within Nairobi.

The proposition seeks to increase mortgage uptake by prospective homeowners, offering options towards home ownership such as construction loans and home loans for self-employed individuals (SMEs) with a dedicated team of experts who will walk customers throughout every step of buying or constructing their dream home.

Absa customers will also benefit from established partnerships with players in the home ownership value chain such as property developers, furnishing partners and home appliance partners, who will offer homeowners a wide range of benefits including great discounts.

This was announced as the bank signed a financing partnership with Mi Vida Homes where customers will enjoy a discounted rate of 12.5% p.a. with up to 90% financing.

Speaking during the signing of the Absa-Mi Vida partnership, Peter Mutua, Absa Bank Customer Network Director, urged both existing and prospective customers to invest in the lengthened payment period and low interest rates of the Absa – Mi Vida mortgage proposition to own their dream homes.

Antony Kambiriri-Finance Director Garden City Development signing an agreement with Peter Mutua -Customer and Network Director ABSA PLC
“As a truly African bank, we understand that home is where the heart is. This is why we have availed the Absa – Mi Vida mortgage facility to employed and self-employed customers, presenting a lifetime chance to own ready-to-move-in homes. As a bank, we believe in developing sustainable financing models for our customers, we are offering up to 90% financing within market rates, over a period of 25 years to service their loans.” says Mr. Mutua.

The proposition is one of the bank’s contributions towards the government’s housing pillar under the Big 4 Agenda and aims to provide quality family homes with sociable amenities and green spaces that enhance quality of living spaces to potential homeowners.

“We have a team of dedicated experts that will walk the journey with customers using our financial and non-financial expertise to provide credible information, services and solutions throughout every step of acquiring their dream home.” adds Mr. Mutua.

Speaking during the signing ceremony, Mr. Antony Kambiriri, Chief Financial Officer Mi Vida, said, “We are delighted to partner with Absa Bank Kenya as it brings us closer to our goal of addressing the shortage of middle-income housing in Kenya. There is a huge demand for affordable and middle-income homes and through this partnership, we will bridge the gap in this market to exceed customers’ expectations.”

Mi Vida’s project at Garden City, is a first of its kind with the development centred on green space and family living. Phase 1 at Garden City offers 1. 2- and 3-Bedroom Apartments. Launched in 2019, under construction and on course to be complete by March of 2022.

Besides the Mi Vida proposition, Absa’s mortgage flexible offers different options towards home ownership such as financing land purchases and disbursing construction loans as well as home loans for self-employed individuals.

For more information, write to communications.ke@absa.africa

About Absa Bank Kenya

Absa Bank Kenya PLC is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and is one of Kenya’s leading financial institutions. Established in 1916, Absa, formerly Barclays, has been a major player in Kenya’s financial landscape, engaged in personal and corporate banking, enterprise, credit cards and bancassurance.

The bank offers end-to-end financial solutions to retail, enterprise and corporate customers while its regional and global footprint enables it to offer cutting-edge financial solutions to its clients. The bank is a leader in the credit card space and has also been associated with a number of market firsts such as the launch of the first ATM, Sharia-compliant banking and unsecured lending among others.

Absa Bank Kenya has presence in 38 counties with 86 branches, 212 ATMs and robust internet and mobile banking platforms. The bank’s purpose is to bring possibilities to life.