Prime
Byereeta living her real estate dream
Susan Byereeta’s apartments in Seguku Lubowa, Entebbe Road.Photo/Isaac Kasamani.
What you need to know:
- The imposing multi-storey guest house located in Seguku Lubowa, off Entebbe- Nfufu Road, is not just a great piece of real estate but a dream come true for proprietor Susan Byereeta.
As a young girl, Susan Byereeta fell in love with a piece of land. Decades later, she was able to buy it and turn it into a multi-billion property. Known as NL-Josephine’s Apartments the multi-storey guest house is located in Seguku Lubowa, off Entebbe- Nfufu Road. The apartments offer a serene environment, modern amenities and spacious rooms.
For years, Byereeta’s family rented the piece of land where they practised subsistence farming.
But as she grew older, she started dreaming of owning it and transforming it into a luxurious getaway for the discerning guest.
“I liked the fact that it was not too far from the city, the airport and yet far enough from the noise and traffic of the city. It is also still surrounded by the old homesteads giving it a homey feel,” she says.
Turning dream to reality
Byereeta could not believe when the property’s owner put it up for sale. After her law school and four years into gainful employment, Byereeta felt close to owning her dream property. Although she did not have the asking price, Byereeta decided to express her interest.
“I told my father that I was interested in the land and he offered to handle the transaction since they had a cordial relationship stretching from the 1990s. Although he agreed to negotiations about the price, I still did not have enough to pay for the land. Fortunately, he agreed to let me pay it off in three installments stretched over a three-month period,” says Byereeta. She paid the deposit of Shs45m as she organised for the remaining balance.
“In 2016, I got a promotion which also doubled my income which enabled me to pay off the balance in the agreed time without resorting to loans,” she says. After securing the land, Byereeta started consolidating funds to develop the property. Byereeta says she wanted to model her property after a guest house she had visited and fallen in love with while abroad.
“In 2010, I had an opportunity to live in a certain guest house somewhere in the UK while furthering my studies. I was inspired by the setup and the way guest house owner ran the business so I wanted to replicate here in Uganda,” she says.
Construction
It took Byereeta five years from inception to completing construction of the guesthouse. She started off by getting an architect to put to paper the dream she had in her mind which took one year to produce the perfect blueprint.
The next hurdle was finding time to supervise the project because her legal work kept her busy and out of the city. This was solved by her mother who took up this responsibility.
“My mother took up the project with enthusiasm, from personally going to hardware shops to purchase construction materials to supervising workers and even mediating wrangles with neighbours she was tireless and committed,” she shares.
Byereeta rewarded all her mother’s hard work by naming the plush establishment after her; Josephine Natural Living.
Challenges
Supervising construction is not an easy task as every day comes with its unique challenges. It takes resolve and great interpersonal skills to pull it off. She had to learn to be in all places at once in order to keep a close eye on the construction materials ensuring that there was no wastage or mishandling.
The most formidable challenge for her was making sure that everything was kept within budget. Cost control is something that sounds possible only in an ideal world, but it is almost impossible during a construction project because it is not just one or two things that could result in additional cost.
“Even with my mother’s keen supervision, we overshot our budget and the project shut down several times for months. I had to rely on a salary loan to fund the project to completion. But I know I could not have done it without my mother’s encouragement, pragmatism and patience,” Byereeta shares.
“Do not be afraid to ask your parents for help if possible; they can help you negotiate as my father did for me, make better decisions or even act as a guarantor on loan. But most importantly, commit to the project and do all that is required to make the dream come true,” Byereeta advises.
Advice
Byereeta says she is grateful to God whom she credits for making her dream true quoting Jeremiah 17:7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.”
She notes that there are several hurdles to overcome when acquiring your first property. One of the greatest challenges is saving enough money for a deposit.
Once you have the dream of owning a property start making a few temporary sacrifices that will help save you money which will put you in a better financial position when you finally find that dream property.
