How to Compare Kilimani Developments: The 12-Point Buyer’s Checklist
The short answer: Compare Kilimani developments on four layers — developer, building, unit, paperwork — with three checks each. Price per square foot only becomes meaningful after all twelve; before that, the cheaper unit is just the one whose problems you haven’t priced yet.
Layer 1: The developer (checks 1–3)
1. Delivered buildings you can walk. Finishes at year three tell the truth brochures can’t. 2. Completion history vs promises. Months late is normal; years late is a pattern. 3. After-sales behaviour. Ask owners in their last project about snagging and warranty response — five minutes of WhatsApp due diligence worth more than any showroom.
Layer 2: The building (checks 4–6)
4. Differentiation that tenants mention. Pool, gym, co-working, views — something beyond "lift and borehole," because sameness is what oversupply punishes. 5. Service charge budget in writing. The number and what it funds; an underfunded budget is deferred decay. 6. Management arrangement. Professional management from handover, or a future owners’ committee learning on your asset?
Layer 3: The unit (checks 7–9)
7. Real square footage. Measure plinth vs marketing area; price the usable space. 8. Position in the stack. Light, view direction, distance from lift core and garbage chute — identical floor plans diverge KES thousands monthly on position alone. 9. Tenant-fit. Who exactly rents this — and is the building already saturated with that exact unit?
Layer 4: The paperwork (checks 10–12)
10. Title and approvals via your own advocate — mother title, county approvals, NEMA. 11. Sale agreement teeth — completion penalties, specification schedule, escrow protection on stage payments (the heart of our off-plan guide). 12. The exit paper — sectional title issuance record from the developer’s previous projects; years-late titles freeze your resale.
Putting it together
Score candidates across all twelve, then compare price per square foot within the survivors. A KES 7M unit at Golden Apple, Amethyst Springs or Royal Harmony is three different propositions — the checklist is how you see which.
FAQ
Most-failed check? Number 5 — almost nobody asks for the service-charge budget, and it’s where year-one returns die quietly.
Can I outsource this? It’s literally our job — the twelve checks are Block’s internal screen before anything reaches a client or our developments shortlist.
Run the checklist with us on any Kilimani listing — send Block the project name and we’ll return the scorecard, including the checks it fails.
