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malistar2012

Mogadishu Landlords are getting rich ....

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Yasin Ahmed is one of many landlords taking advantage of Mogadishu's booming housing market.

 

After living in Kenya for 14 years, the 45-year-old returned to the increasingly more peaceful Somali capital to renovate his Waberi district house. He plans to charge 10 times the amount that he used to collect on it in rent.

 

"My house has five rooms, two bathrooms and a kitchen. I am carrying out extensive renovations on it because rent for houses is expensive when people feel [the security situation is] peaceful. I hope to rent it for $500 [per month] when I finish fixing it," he told Sabahi.

 

The housing market in Mogadishu has boomed since Somali and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces pushed al-Shabaab out of the city in August 2011. The capital is now much safer on the whole, although al-Shabaab attacks against government buildings and public venues persist.

 

The safer conditions drove up local demand for housing, encouraging property owners to renovate their previously abandoned and dilapidated homes and raise rental rates.

 

To preserve this newfound security, homeowners are vetting prospective renters to ensure that they are not criminals, Ahmed said. "When I rent my house, I want to make sure that the renter has a guarantor and is known to everyone," he said.

 

One of al-Shabaab's strategies has been to operate cells from homes rented by fighters pretending to be students from out of town. Somali security forces and Mogadishu police have launched several initiatives to find and arrest such cells, such as starting a neighbourhood watch in each district. The initiative to provide street lighting in residential areas also aims to disrupt the operations and movement of cells members at night.

 

Aisha Sabriye, 52, owns two houses in Mogadishu's Hodan district that were damaged extensively during the war. She said she was lucky to find two families who were willing to manage renovations of her two homes while living in them. They will pay $600 a month once the homes are completed, she said.

 

This type of agreement has become commonplace for many property owners who do not live in the city and want to protect their dwellings from looters, animals or squatters.

 

"For years, my homes were shelters for stray animals such as dogs and cats. [The area was abandoned] because the Taleh neighbourhood in Hodan district was a base from which al-Shabaab launched most of their attacks. Now it has become a prime place for rentals," said the mother of eight who lives in Elasha Biyaha.

Commercial properties on the upswing

 

Mogadishu's new real estate boom has also impacted properties in commercial areas.

 

"When I saw the amount of money being offered to rent my [three-storey] house, I moved my wife and children to a cheaper house in the city," Waberi district resident Liban Ali, 55, told Sabahi. "I converted the entire house to shops and a warehouse for food since it is in a prime commercial zone. I earn $2,500 a month from it."

 

Meanwhile in Hawlwadag district, resident Faisa Ibrahim said she spent $35,000 to convert her home into a 19-bedroom hotel in April 2013. Her $20 a night room rate is among the cheapest in Mogadishu, a fact that helps the hotel stay at a 100% capacity regularly, the 53-year-old Ibrahim said.

 

"To make more money, I had reached an agreement with two businesspeople who invested in my property because it is in a location that is good for business. Within a year I will re-pay their initial investment and [the share of the] profits we agreed upon," she said.

 

Another homeowner reaping benefits from the boom is Hamar Weyne district resident Mursal Yusuf. In April, he expanded his house from six to eight bedrooms. He now rents it out for $800 a month, compared with the $160 he used to charge.

 

"People like myself who own property in Mogadishu have profited well from the increasing rental rates," the 62-year-old told Sabahi. "People who were living abroad or outside of the city are coming back. One thing is for sure, everyone is loving the increasingly peaceful state of Mogadishu after the many years of insecurity caused by al-Shabaab."

.....

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Another homeowner reaping benefits from the boom is Hamar Weyne district resident Mursal Yusuf. In April, he expanded his house from six to eight bedrooms. He now rents it out for $800 a month, compared with the $160 he used to charge.

 

"People like myself who own property in Mogadishu have profited well from the increasing rental rates," the 62-year-old told Sabahi. "People who were living abroad or outside of the city are coming back. One thing is for sure, everyone is loving the increasingly peaceful state of Mogadishu after the many years of insecurity caused by al-Shabaab."

.....

 

 

Residents of Xamar deserve this after decades of civil war and bloodshed there is a Light at the End of the Tunnel

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GAROODI   

Apophis;966838 wrote:
Looters inc. Renovated and open for business.

You know what the irony is your lot lived off the state. The houses your claiming You owned were purchased with boli qaran and then when cambulos lot came and took it Saxib they were taking back there welfare subsidies lol congrats to the people of mugdisho get rich. But no wealth is maintained on the back of African forces. It has to be internal so I think it's mainly hot air or individual people

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Somalia   

GAROODI;966846 wrote:
You know what the irony is your lot lived off the state. The houses your claiming You owned were purchased with boli qaran and then when cambulos lot came and took it Saxib they were taking back there welfare subsidies lol congrats to the people of mugdisho get rich. But no wealth is maintained on the back of African forces. It has to be internal so I think it's mainly hot air or individual people

That's right, the government subsidized a whole clan to buy land in Mogadishu. :P

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My uncle went back for two houses that we owned both were occupied by HAG families, the first one said we had to pay them money to leave our house! The otherone was religious and said they would leave and that we should give them a bit of time!

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Khadafi   

haye, and what about GURYAHA XOG LAGU HAYSTO?. Let's face it before the civil war 1991 Somalis from all parts of Somalia owned houses in Mogadishu, and now we have someone talking about renting a house?

 

A priority for the government should be to establish a commission that deals with these things.

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kickz   

Khadafi;966858 wrote:
haye, and what about GURYAHA XOG LAGU HAYSTO?. Let's face it before the civil war 1991 Somalis from all parts of Somalia owned houses in Mogadishu, and now we have someone talking about renting a house?

 

A priority for the government should be to establish a commission that deals with these things.

You have to negotiate with money, most of these people will accept if you persuade them with lacag.

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cadnaan1   

Qofkii xamar guri ku leh waa lacag fiican hada guri familkayga leeyahay 2011 waxaa lagu dagnaa 30 dollar hadana waa 250 dollar. Sanadaha soo socdadana way sii kordhayaa.

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Khadafi   

kickz;966864 wrote:
You have to negotiate with money, most of these people will accept if you persuade them with lacag.

 

or some would kill you, kickz, I recognise your optimism but a xaaran ku.naax would kill you if you reminded him that his nice villa is actually not his property. I dont know if you remember an article I posted a couple of months ago. A young somali whose paternal lineage was non-mogadishu but his maternal ones were, He was killed by his own abti trying to retrieve his fathers property.

 

Hopefully when security gets better things will be better.

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ElPunto   

 

Aisha Sabriye, 52, owns two houses in Mogadishu's Hodan district.......They will pay $600 a month once the homes are completed, she said.........the mother of eight who lives in Elasha Biyaha

 

What is wrong with this picture? She lives in a refugee camp and she's collecting 600 a month?

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