Fine & Country Zimbabwe chief executive officer Karen Nyenga
By Dickson Bandera
HARARE — Fine & Country Zimbabwe on Friday launched an eight-week property programme aimed at helping Zimbabweans at home and abroad better understand the processes, costs and professional services involved in buying, developing and investing in property.
Buying property remains a major aspiration for Zimbabweans at home and in the diaspora, but financial losses, fraud and disputes have also been associated with property transactions, with inadequate information potentially leaving buyers exposed to costly mistakes.
Fine & Country Zimbabwe is seeking to address that information gap through Property Passport – Your Passport to Home, a platform designed to bring prospective buyers together with key players across the property industry so they can access information, professional advice and a clearer understanding of the property transaction before committing their money.
The initiative will take consumers through different stages of the property journey, including land acquisition, construction, financing, investment, legal processes and property management.
It will also bring together businesses and professionals operating across the property ecosystem, including estate agents, developers, financial institutions, legal practitioners, conveyancers, valuers, architects, engineers, builders and suppliers.
The programme will officially go on air on October 10, with audiences set to participate in competitions and stand a chance to win a range of prizes, including residential property stands. The prizes will add an interactive element to the programme while giving participants an opportunity to benefit directly from property-related opportunities featured through the initiative.
Speaking at the launch, Fine & Country Zimbabwe chief executive officer Karen Nyenga said the programme was intended to move beyond conventional property advertising and give consumers a better understanding of the market.
“Property Passport is an ambitious eight-week property experience designed to bring the Zimbabwean property market closer to the people,” Nyenga said.
“Our objective is straightforward: to educate, entertain, engage and inspire Zimbabweans everywhere to participate more confidently in real estate.”
Nyenga said the programme would address questions confronting prospective buyers, particularly Zimbabweans living outside the country.
“How do I know what I am buying? How do I establish whether an opportunity is legitimate? What documentation should I expect?” she said.
“What is the difference between buying land, buying a completed property and buying into a development? What professionals should be involved? What costs should I anticipate beyond the advertised purchase price?”
According to Nyenga, the property market should be viewed as an interconnected ecosystem rather than a collection of separate services.
“The customer does not experience these industries in isolation. The customer experiences one property journey,” she said.
“And Property Passport seeks to make that journey easier to understand.”
The programme will showcase property opportunities and developments while following the journey from land acquisition through design and construction to eventual ownership.
It will cover residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural and hospitality property, bringing the property sector into the wider conversation around investment, development and the creation of places where people live, work, do business and travel.
Nyenga said the programme would cater for both first-time buyers and experienced investors, while making the property conversation more accessible to Zimbabweans in the diaspora.
“For the person who has never bought property before, we want to make the language less intimidating,” she said.
“For the experienced investor, we want to surface opportunities, conversations and market intelligence worth paying attention to.”
The programme will also target people who are not immediately ready to buy but are researching, saving or planning for future investment.
Nyenga said consumers should be encouraged to undertake due diligence rather than approach property transactions casually.
“Ask the difficult questions. Challenge the assumptions. Compare. Investigate. Seek professional advice,” she said.
“Property is too important to be approached casually.”
She said Fine & Country’s role was not simply to present properties to potential buyers, but to help them understand the opportunity and the processes surrounding it.
“Our role is not simply to put a property in front of someone and say, ‘Here it is.’ Our role is to say: Here is the opportunity. Here are the questions. Here are the considerations. Here are the professionals. Here is the process. Now let us help you navigate it.”
Property Passport is expected to run for eight weeks, targeting Zimbabweans buying their first stand, building homes, seeking investment opportunities, exploring rental property, considering development projects or looking to invest in Zimbabwe from the diaspora.
