Of course this is a no-brainer, I was in fact very tempted to go this route because
1. Returns are higher
2. Need for parking and other costly amenities is next to zero
3. Cost of building is cheaper because you can go for the cheapest of the cheap finishings and may not even need to plaster your machine cut walls
4. Economies of scale given low fixed costs compared to returns.
5. Extra income from running businesses at the ground floor

But the reasons why I rejected this route

1. Slummification of entire neighbourhoods (and cities) starts with these buildings. Look at Umoja. Note exactly a great place to raise kids and live a decent life. Some of those apartments are like modern day tombs! Kenyans deserve better. This is why I laud Uhuru's low cost housing agenda. Quality subsidised homes for all.
2. Headaches to the landlord galore. general security issues, Tenant to tenant crime may be rife, eviction problems, blocked drains due to tenants pouring all sorts of plastics and things into the drains, vandalism and constant repairs are no joke. It is as management intensive as it gets and my life is too short to spend all my hours managing all these problems.
3. Cap gains are much lower per annum for these types of structures. What you gain in cash flows you lose big time in cap gains compared to say a guy who buys a 1/4 acre in a leafy area and builds a huge maisonette on it.

Bottom line, I would take decent 2br and 3 br flats, as well as 4+ br maisonettes any day over 1br blocks of flats despite the cash flows. Kenyans, seriously ask yourselves, do we want the whole country to look like this (below). If we are not careful, bila planning, that is the direction we are headed in.

Photos will be shared here of besitters in New York and Beijing! Smaller living spaces are the trend going into the future. Execution of the project is what matters. Umoja failed because of lack of coordination by GoK which could easily happen to the Big Four housing agenda.. Look at Marish, Ungem, Ofafa, Baha..

Employees to take a hard knock on the payslip. The government has come back for the funds to cater for its big four dream https://www.businessdail...66296-98nwoo/index.html