Just depends on you:

Building for yourself is cheap, but you have to deal with the headaches of managing fundis who want to steal from your at every opportunity... and then the laborers go on strike demanding higher pay after mixing the concrete! Finally, the hidden cost of supplying utilities to the house...which is probably 3km from the nearest transformer, tarmac road, water main and.... nearest neighbour, so you have to employ three watchmen at night and four in the daytime!

Buying is just simply more expensive... can be as high as three times more depending on your timing. Minus the joy of customising the house to your wife's taste [a mistake many men make is to build their "dream home" forgetting that their wives spend three time more time there than them!]; of keeping yourself busy after work [paying out fundis] instead of drinking yourself silly pretending to be having fan "with the boys".

Hi,

I think buying a house is better then building. Building process can save your money but it will not give you peace of mind and you also have to wait a lot of time for it. If I were at your situation, I will prefer buying the house.

How about getting a construction company (small or otherwise) to do the job for you?

*Ideally* agree on the budget, housing plan, schedule of payments etc then a contract. Anyone done this before? This is the route I'm intending to take at some point.

@tuvok your take on this commendable.I agree with you. Putting some professional input.Has anyone tried this out?.@mukiha some economical minds there ROI.The site is propetyzote.com lots of guys have had it twisted nevertheless, the idea was give it local sawhili term "zote" yani property zote in East Africa.@chaka for your situation you would have considered investing in a big sewer system that is emptied occasionally. What was your plan a home or commercial property.?

my colleugue almost landed into a hospital with high BP because of the same conmen you are baptising construction companies.

These are people who want to maximize and get huge profits when they use substandard materials for your house.
You should be very cautious especially when the said companies quote less to win the job.

Buying a house is also not ideal,first its exaggerated price and also substandard materials dominate your house....who saw a woman crying on TV sometimes back coz of a flat/apartment she bot at ksh 9million in parkland leaking from above floor in 6months.

To avoid this,go to the site and build it yourself,even if the fundis steal from you,it will be small compared to buying.Furthermore,a business yenye haibiwi does not make returns.