By Harold Ayodo
A section of prospective investors working abroad are frustrated with real estate investements following loss of fortunes to con artists.
Majority of the villains are blood relatives trusted to buy property for their kin in the Diaspora.
Mostly, the prospective investors see online advertisements of homes on sale before sending money to buy through relatives.
Among the common modes used to wire money are Western Union, PostaPay and mobile money transfer.
Others prefer customised card payment systems that offer easy, fast and secure means that have formalised remittances.
Latest official statistics from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) partly explain the fortunes Kenyans abroad have invested at home. For instance, Diaspora remittances in February alone hit a record high of Sh8.65 billion! During the preceding month of January, the remittances totalled Sh7.45 billion.
The CBK attributes the highest remittances in the last six years to increased confidence in the economy by Kenyans abroad. ?????
Economists concur that the increased inflows have played a key role in pushing up property prices, ranking Nairobi and Mombasa as the top two cities with the highest rate of increase in property prices globally.
But it is not all rosy to prospective investors based abroad as money they send is not always used for their purposes.
?Some of the buyers instruct their kin to buy them plots and send money religiously for construction of their desired homes.
Unfortunately, the trusted relatives pocket the money, unbothered that their kin abroad toils for over ten hours a day to save for the property.
