MPIGI, Uganda — When Habibah and her husband decided to buy a 50-by-100-foot plot in Mpigi District six years ago, they were looking for an affordable escape from the high costs of Kampala city life.
Today, they are the owners of a four-bedroom family home, but the journey revealed that building on a budget requires more than just financial saving — it requires constant physical presence.
Habibah, a food vlogger who shares her experiences spoke with real estate channel UG Connect about the challenges of managing a construction project while balancing a career and a long-distance partnership.
The rising cost of land
Located 26 kilometers from Kampala, Bujuuko Town Council area has seen a rapid transformation. Habibah purchased her land for 15 million shillings, roughly $4,000, at a time when the neighborhood was still sparsely populated.
The value has since skyrocketed. With infrastructure improving and more residents moving out of the city, similar plots in the area now fetch between 25 million and 30 million shillings. Habibah noted that the arrival of neighbors and new construction has shifted the area from a quiet village to a developing suburb.
The high price of trust
The most significant setback Habibah faced was not financial, but architectural. Because she was not on-site to supervise the initial foundation process, her engineer ignored her specific instructions regarding the placement of the house.
She had envisioned a large front compound with space for future rental units to provide retirement income. Instead, the builders pushed the house to the edge of the property, leaving it uncomfortably close to the road.
The engineer did that mistake of pushing the house close to the road, Habibah said. I was up and down, and by the time they began the foundation, I was not around. I trusted him, but unfortunately, it is not what I got.
The error has left the family with drainage issues during the rainy season and limited space for the small business units they had planned to build.
Breakdown of construction expenses
The structure has cost approximately 70 million shillings, or $18,000, to date. Habibah and her husband waited three years after buying the land to begin construction, allowing them to save and buy materials like sand and bricks in bulk.
She broke down the primary costs and risks associated with the different phases of building:
- Materials: At the start of their project, trucks of bricks cost 200,000 shillings each. Prices have since fluctuated, making early procurement a key strategy for budget builders.
- The Roofing Hurdle: Habibah identified roofing as the most expensive phase. The couple used more than 100 iron sheets, with each sheet costing approximately 77,000 shillings.
- Labor Management: She warned that builders often inflate material lists, specifically cement. While plastering is one of the cheaper parts of the process, Habibah said workers often claim they need more bags than the surface area requires.
A shared financial burden
The home was made possible through a strict division of responsibility. While Habibah manages the day-to-day operations and her YouTube channel in Uganda, her husband works abroad to provide the bulk of the construction capital.
The transition to their new home has brought new financial pressures. Habibah now spends roughly 12,000 shillings daily on transport to and from Kampala, amounting to nearly 300,000 shillings a month. However, she says the trade-off is worth it to avoid the cycle of monthly rent.
For those looking to follow her path, Habibah emphasizes that a plan on paper is not enough.
The better thing is inspection, she said. You cannot just give someone measurements and say ‘build for me.’ You need to be there the very day they are measuring.
