House hunting on the internet is very convenient. With online listings, you can cut out the tedious walking that comes with house hunting. It is easier to filter and only view the properties that carry your requirements. Looking at these listings is also a good way to create a list of rental requirements if you happen to be new at the whole Nairobi renting thing. You will as well find out about baseline rent rates from surfing these sites. There will be slight differences but simply pick the most prudent figure and go with it. You should not commit to one website. Instead go through several to ensure that you have a vast range of choices.
You must however beware of internet cons. It is possible that there are more cons than legitimate listings on the Kenyan websites. To avoid getting scammed ask a lot of questions before you even show up to the meet. Make sure to use legitimate websites. Sites for established real estate companies are better to use than the random listing sites out there. Below are some examples.
Hass Consult
This is a real estate company that has been in the market for more than 20 years. You can rest assured that the listings you pick off this site. The company offers a wide array of listings. You can find commercial properties, furnished apartments among others. However, you may realize that many of the listings are particularly high end with luxury amenities. If this is your kind of thing then Hass Consult is a good place to start.
Property 24
It merely acts as a bridge between renters and real estate agents and companies. Due to the global reputation of the website, you should also be assured of relative safety. Finding cons on this site is not easy. This is one of the most diverse websites out there. You will find a 5 bedroom house in Runda going for 350,000 a month with a bedsitter in Rongai going for 7,500 a month right below. It will be up to you to survey the features on the site and filter for your own requirements like number of rooms and amount of rent as well as location. Be careful about veering from your intention though. People have been known to wander off around the site to dream.
Buyrent Kenya
This is perhaps the most commonly used website on this list. This is similar to Property 24. You can engage the filter so you can only view the ones with your requirements. Buyrent Kenya has a vast pool of listings with a very diverse range of features from studio apartments to bedsitters and even houses. At the time of writing this, the site had more than 1900 listings in Nairobi alone. Most of the properties listed on the site are under reputable real estate agents and companies. There are also individual listings. While con people tend to penetrate into all realms of Nairobi life, getting conned off this site will not be impossible either but it will be difficult.
Jumia
This is yet another popular real estate listing site. At the time of writings this the site had over 16000 apartment listings. This makes the pool of choices quite deep and wide. Jumia is more of an online market place. That means that there is a higher chance of engaging a con on this site than it would be with the above choices. However, you have a higher chance of finding something within your range if your budget is more on the lower side. Simply be vigilant and cautious with your dealings so you do not get scammed or even hurt.
PigiaMe
This is an online classifieds site with a very big section dedicated to real estate. At the time of this write up, there were more than 1200 listings for rental houses. It seems like the hub of good deals. Some of these listings you would not be able to find on your own if you went around knocking on gates. For example there was a two bedroom house with its own compound in Langata going for 25,000 shillings. You would never know to look for such an option. There were also ads for DSQs and other forms of house extensions for rent at good prices.
Star Classifieds
This is a sub-section of the Star Newspaper. It carries more than a hundred different listings for rental options on a single day. It has a wide range of options from bedsitters to the fancy VIP residences around Nairobi and even in some cases, Airbnb options. Some of the listings link to Jumia. The terrible thing about it is that this site is kind of notorious for cons. However, there are many legitimate cases. With such a wide variety of listings you are bound to find exactly what you need.
Social Media
Social media is also a good place to try and find a house. There are groups especially on Facebook like ‘Rent Under 15k’ where you will be able to find something within your budget. You can also ask questions and make enquiries. The members in the groups usually help direct each other with good leads for affordable housing. Such groups will save you the expense of an agent. Unless of course you engage an agent on the group.
There are basically three internet resources fro [property listings: real estate company websites, online market places and social media. The real estate companies will be more reliable with less chance of encountering cons. In some cases you will encounter one property on all three platforms. This is a pretty good chance that it is a legitimate listing. It could also be a con man casting a wider net for their prey. You really never know with Nairobi. Happy surfing!
