Hundreds of handovers turning buyers into homeowners in Fumba Town

By Ali Thabit Katunda

More than 250 homes have already been handed over in Fumba Town in Zanzibar, the fastest growing real estate development in Tanzania. We peeped through the keyhole to witness the magic day in the sunshine estate.

Some come alone, some escorted by their entire family. Some carry a measurement tape in  their hands, others a bottle of champagne. Mrs Kabuku, an accountant from Dar es Salaam brought not one but three girlfriends along on the joyful day. A professor from Zanzibar wore his kanzu. 

With Fumba Town, the new satellite town near Zanzibar City, growing by the day, the handing over of new homes has become a frequent exercise in Zanzibar. “Surely it’s always one of our happiest and much anticipated moments”, reflects Tatjana Wenzl, the head of client care department at CPS, the developer behind Fumba Town. 

A handover is the logical end to a period of construction and discussion, of sometimes nerve-racking delays (see box on this page), of instalments paid on time or not, in short, of hopes and doubts on both sides. But it has also become a much-loved ritual in Fumba Town. “Different traditional ceremonies celebrate the addition of a new member into their community”, says Salim Malik, an employee of the client care department. “We also
 celebrate. It is the very
 moment when customers 
become a part of Fumba
Town”, his colleague 
Rizika Mahita adds, “whether they want to reside here or rent out.” 

Taking in the sun, trees and life surrounding them, the new owners usually arrive on the seaside property brimming with enthusiasm. “But only when I was handed the title deed, when I heard the ring of my own doorbell for the first time it dawned on me that from one minute to the other I had become a property owner in Zanzibar – with all the responsibilities coming with it”, said an investor from Switzerland. 

A green city for 20,000 

The Fumba Town project, a green eco city south of the capital, was launched in 2015. By now around 700 houses and apartments from about $20,000 to $300,000 have been sold off-plan and are being built. Eventually 20,000 people will live here. In 2018, the former president of Zanzibar, Dr. Ali Mohamed Shein, handed over the first town house in Fumba to a couple from UK. Meanwhile, buyers and tenants come from Zanzibar, Tanzania and 50 more nations, many from the diaspora, from Oman to America. 90% of owners rent out their houses. Currently the occupancy rate at the new satellite town is higher than ever. The development has prospered into a breathing, living town, with a clinic, a school and a first restaurant. Everybody, including foreigners, can acquire property with a 99-year lease title in Fumba Town. The leisure complex “The Soul” with holiday apartments at the east coast in Paje is another project by CPS developers. 

Every handover is different. During the pandemic, virtual welcomes were started. “Although it was not the real thing, we were very happy with it”, expressed a couple from South Africa who purchased a three-bedroom in Fumba for retirement – and took it over online last August.“They showed us every corner of the house in a recorded tour, even how to operate the window shutters.” The CPS client care department inspects every nook and cranny. The point of the tour is not to find flaws, but to ensure the new home is in the best quality possible. “If we detect any problem, it’s going to be resolved”, says Malik: “We are the client’s eyes.” 

Both sides have obligations: Depending on the type of house, construction has to be completed in agreed time; the buyer, on the other hand, is to complete his payment in five instalments over the same period. The guarantee on houses is two to five years upon handover. But even if things are not yet 100% perfect that very day - one new owner returned at night with a mattress insisting “even if it’s empty I have to sleep in my new house.” Every handover has its special tone and atmosphere. For one lady in mourning, the whole Fumba Town team gathered to make her feel comforted. At another handover a superman birthday cake was given to a new homeowner’s son. And at times, even the music plays. Honouring Zanzibar’s culture and tradition, taarab musicians are called in to perform at Fumba Town. Then a simple front porch becomes the most beautiful stage - for the next act of life.