Estate For Sale In Uganda
What Is Estate?
An estate, in common law, is the net worth of a person at any point in time, alive or dead. It is the sum of a person’s assets legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind less all liabilities at that time.
The estate includes a person’s belongings, physical and intangible assets, land and real estate, investments, collectibles, and furnishings. Estate planning refers to the management of how assets will be transferred to beneficiaries when an individual passes away.
Pick A Specific Real Estate Niche In Uganda
First, choose your real estate business niche. This is a vast sector where plenty of businesses are active. You just cannot work in all of the niches as that is not viable and practical initially.
Here Is The List Of Main Real Estate Business Niches In Uganda
Residential real estate
Resort and vacation homes
Income properties, the ones that real estate investors buy to have income through leasing or rental.
Condos
Commercially zoned real estate properties
Property management
Rental Property
Your startup cannot do business in all of these niches. So, to work efficiently, pick one or at best two specific niches of your interest. The best way to choose is to prefer the field that you have worked in previously.
Adopt a narrow-down approach to zero into the niche of your liking. You may have experience buying and selling condos, the pick condos. Or, if you specialize in short sales, then choose rental property management.
Even when you think about how to start a real estate business with no money, a niche is essential to start about. You simply cannot excel in this business without focusing on a distinctive niche.
Choose A Legal Business Structure In Uganda
When pondering on how to start a real estate business, pick the right legal business structure. By deciding on the structure, you will be able to meet all of your legal requirements to run your company.
While many types of legal structures are available, not all of them fit your type of business.
There are mainly four types of legal business structures: Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Limited Liability Company (LLC), or A Corporation.
Sole Proprietorship – A sole proprietorship means that you are the sole owner of your real estate business. You are responsible for the profits, losses, and debts while running your company.
Partnership – Partnership means you will have one or more partners conducting the business. All the partners will be responsible for holding liability.
Limited Liability Company – Limited Liability Company [ LLC] implies that business owners can limit personal liability and still the tax and other benefits will be included in it.
Corporation – A corporation business structure allows the corporation to own property, pay taxes, and have contract deals. So, a corporation is legally separate from its owners.
So, if you want to operate your real estate business single-handedly, you should choose a sole proprietorship business structure. Most independent real estate agents operate under this structure.
You can also go for this structure if opening a real estate brokerage on your own. Also, if you do not choose the LLC structure option, then you are a sole proprietor by default.
Sole proprietorship real estate business structure is also the easiest to set up. Just as you start offering your services, you are automatically considered to have this structure without formally declaring it.
Choose a corporation and company structure only if you intend to set it up to gain some distinct financial benefits.
We advise that you should keep your real estate business goals in mind while picking the right business structure.
Have A Business Plan In Uganda
A business plan gives you a detailed outline of how you will proceed to achieve your business goals. You have a financial outline that helps you define your real estate business objectives.
There is no need for you to prepare a long plan. Instead, it can be concise in a few pages only. But it must focus on the key details of your business. Many one-page business plan templates are accessible online for use.
Note that you may take your business plan to your investors. So, it should include all the details that an investor possibly needs to look at.
An Ideal Real Estate Agency Business Plan Includes These Key Details
- Executive Summary – It is called so because an executive can read to have a summary of what your plan is all about. So, it should be precise and have all the main points of the plan.
- Your Industry Overview – Tell something useful about the type of industry. Precisely mention where your business niche stands in the broader industry section. You should also give details about the key competitors, sales, and trends in the industry.
- Research And Analysis Details – Give an inside-out view of your market using the research and analysis you did. Talk about different market segments and their locations. Your real estate agent’s business plan should tell you about those people whom you take as your target customers.
- Your Competitors – Give some details about who are your direct and indirect competitors. But tell also how you will stand out from them in your niche real estate business.
- Marketing Strategy – Mention an outline of how you would be marketing your products or services. Just give the essence of it to the reader who may also be an investor. You may also opt for a detailed description of how you would promote your business.
- Management – Your business plan should also have a section describing how you will manage your business at the initial and later stages. Here, you can tell more about your advisory board.
- Operating Aspect – Do not forget to mention the location of your business and the facilities, equipment, and employees it will have. You can also name our potential suppliers. Give your manufacturing process as well.
- Finances – Tell about your estimated startup cost, cash flow, balance sheet, and any non-traditional business model you wish to follow. This aspect is important for investors to take a look at how you will deal with financial issues.
Build A Sales Plan
Make sure that you have thought of how you will sell your real estate business services. Know that real estate is a sector where success depends mostly on the personal equations you have with your clients.
While you can generate leads from various sources, you still need to have a hands-on approach to seal the deals.
That means you must personally meet your potential clients. Working online and talking to people virtually is not going to work.
You need to quickly find out if you can serve the client or not, to save your time. This is part of your sales plan.
In case you can serve the client with the real estate services you have, meet the client in person for a consultation. The purpose here is to have an outline of what are their expectations from the deal.
At this stage, you will make the client commit to buying real estate from your services. So, consider this in your real estate agent business plan.
Once you have finally sold a real estate product or service to the client, use the deal to generate word-of-mouth publicity for your business.
That is a crucial part of your sales plan. The satisfied homeowners have a great experience negotiating the deal with you. They will surely like to speak a favorable word for your services.
Such a sales experience with your client will help you win referrals generated through word-of-mouth.
Have Your Real Estate Business License In Uganda
You simply cannot run your real estate business without having a license to work as a realtor.
After getting the licenses, you are legally allowed to sell residential and commercial real estate.
Follow These Basic Steps To Have Your Real Estate License:
Apply For A Pre-License Course – You are required to take a pre-licensing real estate course and pass a real estate exam of your state. So, during the course, you will study property ownership types, selling a probate property, fair housing laws, deeds, titles, contracts, etc real estate laws. You will learn about both your state’s and federal laws in this regard.
Clear The Exam – Make sure that you pass the real estate pre-license exam with good marks, which is 70% to 75% of questions answered correctly. That will require you to study the state and federal laws a bit deeper. The examination duration ranges from 1.5 hours to 3.5 hours depending on the state.
Make An Application For The License – After passing the exam, you need to apply for the real estate business license. The state authorities will check your background before granting you the license.
Get A Real Estate Broker – Now, you should associate your real estate business license with a licensed real estate brokerage. It is essential to do your business as an agent. You can choose to work with a franchise brokerage or a boutique brokerage.
Set Up An Accounting System In Uganda
Your real estate business, even if it is a sole proprietorship, will be filled for tax purposes. It will also need to track your cash flow. Therefore, you must have a bookkeeping and accounting system.
Accounting is all about keeping a record of your organization and financial information. Bookkeeping records and categorize your financial details.
Your new real estate business can start by hiring a bookkeeper on an hourly basis. The bookkeeper will be responsible for keeping your bank accounts and financial records. You can also hire the services of an outside bookkeeper to pay your bills and manage invoices.
Note that your business will need the services of bookkeepers and accountants to review your finances and tax strategies. You should be doing your accounting the professional way.
Therefore, hire a bookkeeper and accountant who is well versed in the real estate industry and tax preparations. The professional should also be able to formulate an effective accounting strategy for your business.
Hire A Business Lawyer In Uganda
The job of a business lawyer is to make sure that the deal between you and your client is genuine and as per law. You need a business lawyer to set your business structure right. The lawyer will play a vital role in splitting ownership interest in case you have co-founders.
So, when everything is legally in place, your business can move forward smoothly. An experienced lawyer is a great help in overcoming obstacles that usually come in when thinking about how to start in real estate.
But avoid hiring a less experienced lawyer who may do more harm than good to your prospects of finalizing a deal. Such overzealous lawyers can even kill a potential deal due to their inexperience.
Therefore, do not let a lawyer’s costly fee impede conducting your real estate business successfully.
It would be good if you can build some relationships with an experienced lawyer who specializes in the real estate sector. Such a professional should be able to negotiate with brokers or agents.
Have Your Business Insured Within Uganda
An insured business is well-protected from any potential damages in the future. If for any reason you suffered losses to your office furniture and other property, insurance will compensate. So, keep your real estate business secure and safe by purchasing insurance before you start.
Starting a real estate business with business insurance will cover any potential losses to your property and any theft. The insurance will also cover damages caused due to intellectual property lawsuits.
For small real estate businesses, such losses matter a lot. Do not forget that even a small business in real estate involves a large amount of money, which is the price of commercial and residential properties.
You should get your liability insurance to give you protection from any possible claim. An unhappy client can sue you if something goes wrong due to negligence or any other factor.
Similarly, buy workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance as well. That will cover your employees.
Build A Consistent Marketing Plan In Uganda
In the beginning, it was all about passing your licensing exam, selecting your best-fit brokerage, and building up your database without coming across as “salesy” to the friends and family in your Sphere of Influence (SOI).
But kicking back and coasting as soon as the referrals start rolling in is one of the biggest mistakes growing agents make. Whether your dream is to become the next Facebook ads guru or a master of Zillow conversions, the only thing you really need to know about marketing is that it’s the one part of your business that never sleeps.
Train your brain how to think strategically about what’s happening in your market and be ready to offer something of value to your leads, no matter where they come from.
Questions to consider:
What does your unique approach and personality bring to the table for your prospects?
What can you offer that no one else can?
What are the latest buying, selling, and pricing trends in your market?
What are some creative ways to discuss these trends (including the numbers) with prospects?
First, nail down your unique value proposition. This will drive all your future marketing.
Where can I buy Estate In Uganda?
Knight Frank Uganda Ltd
Plot 21 Yusuf Lule Rd, Kampala, Uganda
+256 752 741391
GENUINE ESTATES UGANDA LTD
Kampala, Uganda
+256 704 009683
Real Estate Database (RED)
Office #8, Plot 24, Sir Apollo Kaggwa Road, Bifro House, Kampala, Uganda
+256 705 162000
Moon Light Properties Ltd
Kampala, Uganda
+256 701 779645
Aderok Real Estates
Bifro House, Sir Apollo Kaggwa Rd, Kampala, Uganda
+256 782 031079
Pam Golding Properties Uganda
Cementers Plaza, Pam Golding Properties Uganda, 59 Luthuli Ave, Kampala, Uganda
+256 709 041196
Property Ventures Uganda
Kampala, Uganda
+256 706 898178
Walisa Property Agency
Rofra House, Kampala, Uganda
+256 701 966945
Zande Properties Ltd
Kampala, Uganda
+256 772 504751