adminPatrick Chitumba Midlands Bureau Chief
GWERU-based land developer, Greynut Investments, is offering title deeds to home seekers even before paying full amount for housing stands to assist them secure mortgages. Greynut is issuing title deeds to customers who would have paid 60 percent of the purchase price. The company is selling more than 1000 residential and commercial stands at Bucks Farm in Gweru.
“We are doing what we call direct dealing. I’m the land owner and I have title deeds of the stands which are readily available. Once we agree on payment terms with a client, he or she gets the title deeds so that he or she can develop the stand. We are dealing with several finance houses who have embraced the project and we are starting with 1049 stands.
“Once they are complete we move to the second phase,” Greynut Investments executive chairman and owner of Bucks Farm Isaiah Mudzengi said. He said his company the company was dealing with employees from parastatals and ordinary members.
“We are aware that the market has been hit by lack of disposable income and therefore the need to offer customer friendly packages like issuing of title deeds in time for the stand owner to engage other finance houses for house construction finance,” said Mr Mudzengi. The topographic survey, planning, pegging of stands, engineering works and surveying have been completed. The company has also obtained relevant permits.
“We are only left with roads construction of which works are in progress while water and sewer are pending,” Greynut Investment chief executive Mrs Teckilar Mudzengi said.
Zimbabwe’s housing demand is estimated at 1,25 million units, well above what is available on the market. Government through Zim-Asset acknowledges that affordable home ownership is an essential characteristic of the concept of Zimbabwean citizenship. There is increasing population density particularly in urban centres; therefore high rise developments including flats, which make maximum usage of the finite resource, land will be encouraged.
As part of efforts to support housing development, Government is encouraging private land developers and community based programmes such as housing trusts and housing cooperatives to partner local authorities in housing development. So far housing cooperatives have managed to construct close to 95 000 housing units between 2010 to 2015, an initiative that has worked to reduce the country’s housing backlog currently at about 1,25 million.
Online Reporter