Ann Wangeci, a single mother of three, will celebrate this Christmas in her own house in Kitengela.
Around April, she decided to approach her bank for a mortgage. The bank was excited to advance her a mortgage and they gave her a list of the requirements, including approved designs, stamped bill of quantities (BOQs) and the title deed of her land which was to act as security.
With no idea what a BOQ meant or which architect or engineers to engage, things were getting more complicated for her budget of around Sh250,000 for the designs and approvals. She was almost giving up when one evening she clicked on a company on Facebook called Jirani Homes, offering construction services and provides all designs and assists with the approvals almost free.
She took the risk to engage them. And the rest is history. Kelvin Njuguna and his business partner Kennedy Muriithi, founders of Jirani Homes, got a business idea while working as sales representatives for a real estate firm.
Their experience with clients was not satisfcatory. They took note of various headaches that prospective home owners go through in efforts to have their own residences, and came up with tailor-made solutions.
“We were sales representatives at a local construction firm and noticed that most clients felt short changed because of projects that did not meet their expectations. We saw an opportunity to walk with customers from start to finish,” he said. After the first three happy clients brought in more referrals, the two opened an office, bringing together a consortium of architects, engineers, project managers and quantity surveyors. With all professionals under one roof, their fees to prospective home owners is fair. They assist clients from first step, and to obtain all necessary approvals for construction that are legally needed.
With a business model that embraces capturing digital moments to connect with would-be clients, Kelvin and his business associate design content to capture the needs of those who could be using Google to search for an affordable construction company.
“We maximize on the micro moments, when someone is on the internet googling. We capture them with the right key words and re-marketing techniques driving their interest to our website. We also have a referral programme where we reward people who bring referral with trips and lucrative commissions,” says Kelvin.
So far the company has completed two commercial flats and nine residential houses. For a customer to benefit from the services offered by Jirani, they must have a piece of land where they would like to have the project done.
“We will then engage our in-house design team to capture their design requirements, and have all the working drawings ready. These include architectural drawings, structural drawings and a bill of quantity (BOQ). The documents will then be taken for county approval. After approvals are done, if the client is self-financing the project, we ground break but if the client is getting some financial assistance we ensure all the necessary documents are availed such as NCA certificate, working drawings,” says Kelvin Njuguna, a partner in the company.
To avoid customers who jump ship when the project has begun, Jirani staff allows the client to approve every stage before we proceed to the next stage any corrections are always done at before advancing.
The CEO Jirani Homes, says their experience in real estate is among reasons the company is trusted by their customers. The company is regulated by National Construction Authority, and staff must have relevant certificates in their line of work.
The company allows clients to pay in phases for their projects thus they are able to pay for work that they have inspected and accepted. In the event that a client faces financial challenges, they allow the client to take a break.
Kelvin says this model has enabled their customers commence construction with the funds they have, take breaks, then proceed when funds are available without pressure.
Mobile technological tools like WhatsApp have helped update clients, whether they are abroad or far from the site, hence fully involving them in the design and finish of projects.
The company offers extras for customers, such as installing CCTV cameras, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and door bells at no extra charges.
The company can take up projects anywhere across the country, and has undertaken projects in Kitengela, Ruiru, Rongai, Ngong, Kangundo Road, Ruaka, Nanyuki, Embu and Mombasa.
Jirani Homes believes that every Kenyan can own their dream home with good planning and a trustworthy contractor.
Isaac is another client building a home in Nanyuki. His experience was different from Ann’s since he had saved enough funds. However he did not have reliable constructors to undertake his project since he lives Nairobi, hence losing quite an amount of his savings to fraudulent Fundis, who messed his project design.
When Jirani Homes took over the construction, his project was complete in only 20 weeks.
With Sh2.7 million, one can get a fully finished and fitted three bedroom bungalow. A four bedroom maisonette can cost from Sh4.9 million on your piece of land.
With the project divided into phases, the client only pays a fraction of the amount required for each phase then the balance after inspection of the project, making it quite an open process.
They are now eyeing diaspora clients who would want to build back at home but have fears of being short-changed.