For Kenyans in the diaspora
From land title verification to construction oversight and asset performance monitoring — we manage the entire property lifecycle for Kenyans in the diaspora. No fraud. No surprises. No guesswork.
The Fraud Landscape
The Ministry of Lands estimates that over 10% of title deeds in circulation carry irregularities. In 2024, more than 10,000 land fraud cases were under active investigation, with losses running into billions of shillings — and the United States Trade Representative has formally identified fake and double-issued title deeds as a barrier to investment in Kenya.
This is not abstract risk. In November 2025, the DCI arrested 14 people — including two land registrars and a Ministry of Lands clerk — over the KES 1.19 billion Loresho land scam, where duplicate title deeds were issued across a single high-value residential area of Nairobi. In April 2025, the High Court in Sehmi v Tarabana confirmed that a title deed can be cancelled even in the hands of an innocent subsequent buyer if the root of title was tainted.
Diaspora Kenyans are the most targeted demographic. The scam is built for distance: an impersonator poses as the legitimate owner of an absentee's land, or one plot is sold to three buyers simultaneously — each receiving convincing documents. The fraud only surfaces when you arrive to develop the land, months or years later. You don't need to fly home every three months. You need a professional, accountable team that verifies everything before money moves.
Fake stamps, registry numbers and impersonated owners. In the KES 1.19 billion Loresho scam, duplicate titles were issued across one high-value Nairobi estate — two land registrars were among the 14 arrested. A US engineer in Juja lost his entire KES 2.8M to a fabricated title.
Without on-site verification, materials are substituted, work is rushed, and budgets balloon — projects routinely run 14–30% over when the client can't verify work quality between visits.
Unmonitored properties lose 8–12% of their value every year through deferred maintenance and tenant damage. Minor issues become major failures while you're 10,000 miles away.
Every scheme below has a documented detection method. Our job is to run all of them — before your money moves.
| Scheme | How it works | What catches it |
|---|---|---|
| Forged Title Deeds | Fake stamps, signatures and registry numbers. Some have passed manual registry checks via insider collusion. | Ardhisasa digital search + physical survey plan cross-check |
| Double Selling | The same plot sold to 2–3+ buyers simultaneously, each receiving convincing documents. Fraud surfaces when buyers arrive to develop. | Official search reveals only one registered owner. Beacon verification. |
| Impersonation of Absent Owners | A fraudster fabricates identity documents of a deceased or absentee owner — targeting diaspora buyers specifically. | National ID cross-check + death certificate search + in-person meeting requirement |
| Ghost Land / Non-Existent Plots | Fabricated survey sketches for land in government reserves, or land that was never legally allocated. | Registry Index Map (RIM) cross-check + physical boundary verification |
| Boundary Fraud | The land shown to the buyer differs from the land on the title deed — common in rapidly subdivided peri-urban areas. | Licensed surveyor with GPS + RIM overlay |
| Off-Plan Ghost Developments | A developer collects deposits for units that will never be built, or delivers substandard units years late. | Verify the title is in the developer's name. Check financier charges. Insist on liability clauses. |
In February 2026, the State Department announced the nationwide rollout of the National Stamp Duty Module, processing transactions digitally through Ardhisasa to eliminate manual processes. By September 2026, Ardhisasa was live in Nairobi, Murang'a, Mombasa and Isiolo, with digitisation continuing nationwide.
What this means for you: the digital platform reduces — but does not eliminate — fraud risk. A title that appears clean on Ardhisasa can still carry a court order restricting transfer, unpaid land rent, a prior sale where the buyer hasn't received the title yet, or a government reservation making the land undevelopable. Our verification goes beyond the digital search.
Our Services
Each pillar follows a written process with named checkpoints and independent verification. You approve every major step from your dashboard — nothing moves without your nod.
Pillar 1We Verify Before You Pay. Always.
Our land acquisition service is built around a single principle: no payment until the title is independently confirmed. We handle the full due-diligence chain remotely on your behalf — official Ardhisasa searches, licensed surveyor boundary verification, seller identity checks, and an independent advocate for the sale agreement and transfer.
Ardhisasa search → boundary survey → advocate review → escrow purchase
Explore Buy Land
Pillar 2We Build It. You Watch It. Every Milestone.
You approve the design. You fund the build. We execute, monitor, and report — with a BORAQS-registered architect and NCA-registered contractor, critical-stage engineer sign-offs on every structural pour, and GPS-tagged photo evidence of progress each week.
BoQ & permits → staged escrow draws → 3×/week inspections → snag-free handover
Explore Build a Home
Pillar 3Your Property. Managed. Optimized.
Whether it's a single apartment in Kilimani or a portfolio of units, we manage the full rental lifecycle — tenant vetting, lease agreements through an independent advocate, monthly rent collection, 24–48 hour reactive maintenance, and monthly financial statements with your withholding tax filed for you.
Tenant vetting → lease via advocate → monthly rent remittance → quarterly inspection
Explore Rent & Manage
Pillar 4Predict Failures Before They Happen.
Owning property from 5,000 miles away means you can't hear the water pipe cracking. Our monitoring system can — structural crack gauges, thermal imaging on electrical systems, drone roof inspections and meter anomaly analysis catch failures months before they become emergencies.
Document vault → quarterly inspections → traffic-light alerts → annual audit
Explore Asset IntelligenceThe Client Journey
The same sequence for every client, whether you're buying a plot in Kitengela or building in Nakuru. You see the evidence at the end of each step.
We understand your goals: buy, build, rent, or all three. Budget, location preferences, timeline.
1 call · 30 min
Scope defined. Fees agreed in writing. Power of Attorney set up if needed. A dedicated account manager is assigned to you.
3–5 days
Land search and due diligence, construction, or rental setup — delivered per your chosen service, with verification at every stage.
Varies by service
Weekly and monthly reports, live dashboard access, and scheduled video calls. You're never in the dark.
Ongoing
You approve key decisions remotely: design changes, payment releases, tenant approvals.
As needed
Property delivered with a full documentation pack. Transition to ongoing asset management if you wish.
At completion
Remote Monitoring Toolkit
Not a WhatsApp message from a cousin — a live dashboard with GPS-tagged photo evidence, budget position and milestone status. Every tool below is included on every engagement.
Live Site Camera
360° remotely accessible camera for continuous or scheduled visual monitoring
Client Dashboard
Real-time stage, budget used, evidence files and milestone status
Weekly Video Walk-Through
Live or recorded call where our project manager walks you through the site
GPS-Tagged Photo Log
Every photo carries date, time and GPS metadata — no doctored images
Budget Tracker
Funds allocated, spent and remaining against each BoQ line item
Foundation & slab
Completed — engineer sign-off 12 Jan
Walling & roofing
On track — 78% complete
Plumbing & wiring
Supplier delay — escalated to you
GPS-tagged photos from the site this week — date, time and location metadata on every image.
Here is a working snapshot of what one of our build clients sees this week:
2026 Cost Reference
Diaspora clients are quoted wildly different figures because nobody shows their working. These are current Kenya market ranges from the IQSK Construction Cost Handbook 2025/2026 — the same ones our quantity surveyors price against.
Cost per sqm
KES 45,000 – 52,000
Typical 3-bed bungalow
KES 5.4M – 6.2M
Functional finishes on a disciplined budget — rental units and starter homes.
Sources: IQSK Construction Cost Handbook 2025/2026 (Part C) and the KNBS Construction Input Price Index, which rose 5.73% in Q2 2026. Integrum (Nairobi) reports a standard detached house at KES 59,350/m² as of October 2026, including professional fees and contingency. Figures are for a typical 120 sqm, 3-bedroom bungalow, excluding land. Budgets priced in early 2026 need rechecking.
| Cost item | Typical range |
|---|---|
| County building permit | KES 50,000 – 300,000 (varies by county and size) |
| NEMA environmental report (where applicable) | KES 15,000 – 50,000 |
| NCA project registration (OPRS) | KES 10,000 – 30,000 |
| Planning searches, caveats, consent letters | KES 20,000 – 60,000 |
| Professional fees (architect + structural engineer + quantity surveyor) | 10–15% of project value (BORAQS minimum 6% for architect, EBK 3.5% for engineer) |
| Construction levy (projects above KES 5M) | 0.5% of contract value |
| Utility connections (water, electricity, sewer) | KES 50,000 – 200,000 |
| Contingency (mandatory per IQSK guidance) | 10% of project cost |
Fees & Pricing
All fees are agreed in writing before work begins. No success fees. No hidden charges. You see every invoice.
2–3% of property value
Title search, licensed surveyor, independent advocate, stamp duty processing, title transfer
8–12% of total build cost
Project management, Clerk of Works, quality control, weekly reporting
10% of monthly rent
Tenant management, rent collection, maintenance coordination, reporting
KES 15,000–50,000 / month
Monitoring depth scaled to property size and risk profile
KES 5,000–10,000 / month
KRA registration under Section 6B, monthly filings and remittance by the 20th
Custom quote · typically 10–14% of project value
End-to-end management of the entire property lifecycle
Fees agreed in writing before work begins. You see every invoice — including what we pay on your behalf.
Why Al-Mas
We work for you, not the seller, contractor, or developer. Our advocate is separate from the transaction.
Every engineer, architect, surveyor, and contractor we deploy is verified: BORAQS, NCA, Survey of Kenya, Law Society of Kenya.
You get a dashboard, not a WhatsApp message from a cousin. GPS-tagged photos, video walk-throughs, and structured reports.
Your money never touches a personal account. All disbursements go through verified professional channels.
We don't wait for the roof to leak. We monitor, predict, and act before failures become expensive.
We understand time zones, remittance channels, Power of Attorney requirements, and the emotional weight of building back home.
Case Studies
“I bought a 2-bed apartment in Kileleshwa for KES 10M while working in London. They ran the Ardhisasa search, verified the title, handled the advocate — and I never left my desk.”
“After a friend lost KES 2.8M to a title fraud in Juja, I insisted on full due diligence. They sent a surveyor, verified the beacons, confirmed the RIM, and only then did I pay. The build took 14 months, ran 8% over budget — within the 15% contingency they recommended — and I got a weekly video call every Friday.”
“Their construction team caught a rebar issue on the slab pour that would have compromised the entire structure. The structural engineer flagged it and we re-poured. That single intervention saved us an estimated KES 3M in future repairs.”
Straight Answers
Start Here
Whether you're buying your first plot in Kiambu or managing a rental portfolio in Nairobi — we're your team on the ground. Book a free 30-minute discovery call from any time zone.
