Building from abroad
Guides for Somali families, investors and professionals abroad who buy, build or manage property in Somaliland. Each guide names its public sources and says what to confirm locally before money moves.
What should you ask before you send money?
Most problems on a build abroad start before the first payment. Five questions are worth answering in writing first:
- Who holds the title to the plot, and can they show the document and the record behind it?
- Which public body issues the building permit, and has the permit been granted for this plot and this design?
- What does the contract say about payment stages, and what evidence of progress releases each payment?
- Who will inspect the work for you, independently of the contractor, and how will they report?
- Which records will you hold at the end: receipts, test results, drawings and the permit?
The guides below take each of these in turn. They are general information, not legal, financial or engineering advice: confirm the details for your own plot with a qualified person in Somaliland. How articles are prepared, and how to report a mistake, is set out in the editorial policy.
Where does the site hold records you can use?
- Building codes and standards, for what a design and a site should meet.
- The Data Hub, for material prices that say how many quotations stand behind them.
- Tenders and jobs and the jobs board, for notices from public bodies and donors.
- Hargeisa and the other town pages, for what the archive holds on each place.
- The concrete calculator, to check a quantity before you accept a quotation.