Living comfortably in own compound is a major milestone an individual can achieve.

Unfortunately, lack of capital has killed many home ownership dreams, given that the entire process is capital intensive.

In this market, the main purchase options include installment payment plans, cash lump sums, and mortgages.

With the highest number of the working population belonging to the middle class, many Kenyans are therefore locked out of the mortgage market due to low-income levels.

However, according to Reuben Kimani, CEO of Username Investments, you don’t need a huge salary to get yourself a house, and anyone with as low as Sh30,000 can easily own one.

“You don’t need to live a life without dignity for you to be able to own a house. What you need is focus, information, and patience. Your plan should be at least 5 years,’’ he said.

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Kimani notes that using the 50:30:20 budget rule is the best way to achieve your goals. The rule states that 50 percent of your income after tax should go to needs, 30 percent to savings and investments, and 20 percent to wants.

Homeownership lies under savings and investment, meaning it will take 30 percent of your monthly income after tax.

With Sh. 30,000, it means you will be setting aside Sh.9,000 monthly for home ownership.

The best place to put this money, according to Kimani, is in financial institutions, especially Saccos, so as to be able to acquire loans.

“A Sacco is one of the best vehicles, and if you save Sh. 9,000 in one year, you will get Sh. 108,000. If you go to most Saccos, they will be able to give you three or five times your savings and about 4-6 years to be able to repay,’’

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He says that one should take a step at a time, and the first loan you take should go to purchasing land. After the land purchase and the loan repayment, you can go ahead to take another loan for home construction.

Another method you can use to own a house is taking a mortgage on already-built property. A property for a home in satellite areas varies from as low as Sh. 400,000  to a few million, depending on the size of the house.

“Assuming a unit cost Sh. 2.5 million, with a deposit of Sh. 250,000 in your hands, you could acquire an affordable mortgage  from various institutions at  an interest rate of about 9 percent per annum over 150 months loan period.’’

“This will cost you less than Sh. 9,000 per month, which you can afford with your current income,’’ said Patrick Wameyo, a financial coach at Financial Academy& Technologies.