How to Start Saving Towards Homeownership with As Little as Ksh 1,000

Homeownership for most people might seem like a far too big dream to achieve but with the right mindset and financial plan, that dream is achievable.

Most millennials definitely want to be homeowners, but feel it’s impossible for many reasons. One major reason why millennials feel that they just couldn’t afford a home is that they can’t afford to a downpayment.

Home prices in Kenya have been going up and up for the last decade so how can you start the journey towards homeownership when you don’t have the finances required at once?

Cytonn Real Estate says that with Cytonn Affordable Housing Investment Plan (CAHIP), you can build a deposit towards homeownership.

CAHIP aims to provide those saving towards homeownership an attractive investment proposition, compared to those currently available in the market.

CAHIP provides high levels of returns while protecting investor’s capital by partnering with the Cytonn Money Market Fund, which has tax advantages for those saving towards homeownership.

According to Cytonn Investments, to join CAHIP, you only need 1,000 shillings.

The first step towards homeownership with Cytonn Investments is filling a CAHIP form and pay the joining fee of only 1,000 shillings.

From there on, you can make monthly remittances of not less than 1,000 shillings and you can make these by Mpesa, cheque, Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT), Pesa Link or Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS).

The remittances will be to Cytonn Money Market Fund (CMMF) where the client shall also open an account.

The key terms of CAHIP for homeownership include;

• Minimum of 1,000 shillings initial investment and 1,000 shillings per month minimum contribution. One can contribute up to a maximum of Kshs 8,000 per month for the tax relief. Anything over and above this does not qualify for tax relief
• 1,000 shillings account opening fee
• Target Yield: 11 percent per annum
• Withdrawal is to buy a house, construct a house or buy land for construction and evidence needs to be provided
• For withdrawal with no evidence, the tax shall be recovered
• No exit fees
• If you skip any month, you get the tax benefit on amounts you have already contributed against your taxable income

Potential home buyers will benefit from CAHIP in the following ways;

• Access a flexible platform for savings towards a home purchase,
• Tax advantage with a tax exemption on income, to a maximum of Kshs 8,000 per month or Kshs 96,000 per annum
• Relatively high returns compared to the market
• Relatively low minimum initial and monthly investment
• Development of a credit profile
• Promotes a positive saving culture

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