Take time to visit your personal financial institution (or any other KMRC participating financial institution) to not only get appraised but to also establish how much you can afford/qualify for. The bank/Sacco/MFB will also give you guidance on other details including interest rates, repayment plan as well as a breakdown of financial terms that you do not understand. Note that the financial institution will easily assess your income and determine what is within your reach in the real estate market.

• Establish how much you can afford to pay back on monthly basis. This will also help you to determine how much you can comfortably spend (monthly) on your new home.

• The monthly payment should not be more than 40% of your total net monthly income. Understanding your limits will help you focus your home search on properties within the correct price range, even before you apply for a home loan. Affordable home loans cost as low as Kshs. 4,000 per month per million borrowed. You can start off at a figure of Kshs. 500,000 and can go as high as you can afford, depending on your monthly income. The financial institutions have credit advisors who will work with you and provide the guidance you need to determine your comfortable repayment.

• Please also refer to the loan amortization schedule provided that will guide you on how much you will pay for different loan amounts

Below are some of the costs associated with property purchase and borrowing:

The loan repayment a borrower can afford and comfortably repay within (maximum) 25 years or until normal retirement age of 60 (65 where self-employed)

Price of the property

Term of the proposed loan