{"id":23903,"date":"2022-03-01T11:57:13","date_gmt":"2022-03-01T11:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usernameproperties.com\/blog\/?p=23903"},"modified":"2023-11-02T08:55:35","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T08:55:35","slug":"uncovering-hidden-cost-on-land-what-to-look-out-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/uncovering-hidden-cost-on-land-what-to-look-out-for\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything You Need to Know About Hidden Cost On Land"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Hidden cost on land can be frustrating, but is it only land where there are hidden charges? Hidden fees seem to pop up everywhere these days. Sometimes, you may end up paying for more than your original intention. For most people, these costs come as a surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It can be frustrating, especially when extra costs aren\u2019t disclosed immediately upfront. We rounded up a few common hidden fees on land and how to avoid them as an investor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this blog we will cover;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"i\"><li>Are there hidden fees?<\/li><li>What are hidden fees in real estate?<\/li><li>Is it illegal to charge hidden fees?<\/li><li>What are hidden costs and who pays them?<\/li><li>Why is it important to consider hidden costs?<\/li><li>What are examples of hidden costs?<\/li><li>What are some of the hidden costs to home ownership?<\/li><li>How much is stamp duty for land in Kenya?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"HIDDEN COSTS NO ONE WILL TELL YOU WHEN BUYING LAND\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4WC_tdElKuU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are hidden fees?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Hidden fees are also known as hidden costs or undisclosed costs. Basically, these are any unexpected costs that a buyer incurs when purchasing a product or service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The reason these are referred to as hidden is that the consumer might not have been expecting the charge and, in reviewing their financial statements, they realize they paid&nbsp;additional charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When it comes to hidden fees in real estate, these are the undisclosed costs when buying a house or land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Is it illegal to charge hidden fees?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the questions you will find yourself asking is whether charging hidden fees is illegal. Well, charging hidden fees can amount to a violation of consumer protection laws because everyone is entitled to full information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In some countries, a consumer or a buyer can sue and recover damages if they believe the charges were deceptive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why is it important to consider hidden costs?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It is of utmost importance to consider hidden costs on land because they help you plan better and plan for the required finances in good time<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why is it important to consider hidden costs?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Site improvement Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The first hidden cost on land in site improvement cost. These is also known as site development costs. This cost varies depending on the site, soil type, plans, local charges, and permission costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some of these costs include utilities such as electricity connection, water connection, internet connection, driveways, sewer, excavation among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Loan application fees<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The second hidden cost on land is loan application fees. This is the cost associated with applying for a loan from a lender. Usually, it\u2019s a small percentage of the entire amount deducted from the loan taken<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The loan application fee is an additional amount deducted when submission of loan is done at a financial institution<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In some cases, lenders waive these types of fees under certain circumstances while others don\u2019t. Therefore, you need to put such costs under consideration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Earnest Money<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Earnest money is a small amount of money you make as a down payment but usually not the full amount. This shows serious interest in purchasing that particular property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This amount of money is part of the entire amount and is subtracted on the total purchase price<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Stamp duty<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Stamp duty is&nbsp;the tax governments place on legal documents, usually in the transfer of assets or property. The payment is done at designated banks. It is usually charged between 2- 4%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is payment is done to tax authorities by the land selling company when transferring title deeds from one person to another. Always get to know whether this cost is included in the cost of the land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Legal fees<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the fee paid for legal services during a land transaction. Always budget for this cost just incase the seller has not made provision of this service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, you can always ask the land seller whether the land price has included lawyer and legal fees for the sale agreement, transfer form etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Registration Fees<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Registration fees are paid to the Lands Registry for purposes of making the entry into the registry and title printing costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The registration fees are usually around $5 and attestation $10. This is another cost you need to know whether it&#8217;s included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Rates and Rent<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This mostly applies in leasehold properties where the registered owner of the property at any given time is required to pay rates to the county government where the land is situated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rent is paid in relation to property that is held under a leasehold tenure from the government and is paid to the National Government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For a purchaser, it is important to ensure that the seller gives you the records of rates and rates payment that are up to date, to enable you deal appropriately with any future queries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Consents of transfer<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This is irrevocable written permission of the relevant Authority, Proprietor, Manager, or any other interested person that is required under the laws affecting the registration of land, before any dealing with respect to a specific piece of land can be lawfully registered.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Depending on the tenure of the land certain consents may be required such as Land Control Board Consent or Consent to Transfer from the Lessor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clearances may also be required such as Rates clearance certificates. A fee of&nbsp;$10 is charged for Consent to Transfer from the commissioner of Lands. This is another cost you need to ensure is factored in the price of the land you wish to buy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Valuation Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/usernameproperties.com\/blog\/what-you-need-to-know-about-land-valuation\/\">Land valuation <\/a>is&nbsp;the process of analyzing a property to determine its market value for the purposes of calculating taxes&nbsp;or to enable leasing, sale or acquisition of property. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The costs of valuation vary from one area to another but some real estate companies pay this on behalf of clients. However, Valuation for stamp duty is usually free<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Plot deposit<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In most cases, land selling companies require 10%, 20%, etc. of the buying price as the booking deposit and some no deposit at all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You need to know of these arrangements and whether it is part of the total cost or not so that it doesn\u2019t turn out to be a hidden cost in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Title search<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/usernameproperties.com\/blog\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-title-deed-in-kenya\/\">Title deed <\/a>search is the process of retrieving documents showing events in the history of a piece of property to determine details and regulations concerning it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can either do it <a href=\"https:\/\/eregulations.invest.go.ke\/procedure\/239\/102?l=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">online<\/a> or manually<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Land Viewing fees<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>These is also known as plot viewing fees. The fee is charged when you express interest to go and view a plot of land before purchasing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a cost that you need to be aware of as you scout for the property. However, Username Properties offers free site visits to properties as a way of giving clients and opportunity to see what they are interested in purchasing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In most cases, it is easy when purchasing land to focus on the purchase price and forget about other additional charges that may arise in the course of the transaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Landscaping<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Landscaping is the process of making the land more attractive by altering the existing design, adding ornamental features and planting trees and shrubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This will make the property more appealing. You can also add a fence, driveway etc<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Time as a hidden cost on land<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This is among the biggest cost you will incur as an aspiring landowner. If you have to do it yourself, you will have to dedicate a lot of time towards it which can be equivalent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Emergency costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This is another hidden cost that can come up as you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-admin\/post.php?post=24406&amp;action=edit\">purchase land<\/a>. Prepare your budget for some costs that will come up amidst the transaction and you had not anticipated. Therefore, at the very least, you will be happy to be prepared to cover the expense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Do not make any assumptions about any costs on land because it can be more expensive than you thought<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you have any questions on hidden cost on land? Share them in our comment section<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hidden costs on land can be frustrating, but is it only land where there are hidden charges? Hidden fees seem to pop up everywhere these days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23908,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[231],"tags":[240,237,238,17,239],"class_list":["post-23903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-cost-involved-in-buying-land","tag-cost-of-land","tag-hidden-cost-on-land","tag-real-estate","tag-real-estate-in-kenya"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hidden-Cost-on-Land-scaled.jpg",2560,1321,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hidden-Cost-on-Land-scaled.jpg",2560,1321,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hidden-Cost-on-Land-scaled.jpg",2560,1321,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hidden-Cost-on-Land-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hidden-Cost-on-Land-300x155.jpg",300,155,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hidden-Cost-on-Land-1024x528.jpg",640,330,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hidden-Cost-on-Land-1536x793.jpg",1536,793,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hidden-Cost-on-Land-2048x1057.jpg",2048,1057,true],"bizberg_medium":["https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hidden-Cost-on-Land-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"bizberg_gallery":["https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hidden-Cost-on-Land-500x400.jpg",500,400,true],"bizberg_blog_list":["https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hidden-Cost-on-Land-368x240.jpg",368,240,true],"bizberg_detail_image":["https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hidden-Cost-on-Land-825x400.jpg",825,400,true],"bizberg_detail_image_no_sidebar":["https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hidden-Cost-on-Land-920x400.jpg",920,400,true],"bizberg_portfolio_homepage":["https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hidden-Cost-on-Land-600x400.jpg",600,400,true],"bizberg_blog_list_no_sidebar_1":["https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hidden-Cost-on-Land-220x190.jpg",220,190,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"username","author_link":"https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/author\/username\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/blog\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Blogs<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Hidden costs on land can be frustrating, but is it only land where there are hidden charges? Hidden fees seem to pop up everywhere these days.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usernameproperties.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}