House Hunting

Some of our first priorities after arriving to Burkina Faso have been to find a home and learn to drive. We have already set up our phones and bank accounts praise the Lord! Learning the language obviously is another important step but that will take much longer than signing a house contract!
We found out that “house hunting” is a little different here than in the states! It actually feels much more like hunting and here’s why. There are no signs out saying “for rent”. You can’t go on Zillow or Apartments.com and see what’s available. Instead you can ask the neighbors or a local realtor! Because there are no “for sale/rent” signs, its normal to knock on random doors and just ask if anyone is living there. You can sometimes tell by the outside of the house if it is vacant. In some instances, if a person hears that you want to rent their house, they will vacate the house so you can have it! They will then move to another house or just build themselves a new one. If they move out and let you rent their home then they have that much more income a month! It’s pretty smart if you think about it haha.
If you decide to use a realtor they will help you find houses that are available. You still cannot rely on a set schedule. It’s important to be flexible and go with the flow. Occasionally the home owner will be late bringing the keys or you can’t get in touch with them at all. It’s no big deal though, while you wait you can knock on neighbors doors and see if they want to rent out their house to you!
You can often negotiate the price of rent as well. They are usually willing to negotiate depending on the length of time you are planning to stay. Some things are similar to the states and some are so very different. If I were house hunting in the U.S. I don’t think I would knock on my neighbors door and offer to move in!

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Interesting Home Facts

• Most kitchens are the size of a walk-in-closet.
• Homes will often have only showers and no bathtubs.
• AC is not run throughout the house, each room has its own wall unit.
• They do not use or even sell clothes dryers. Everyone drys clothes on a line!
• Homes are built with walls on all sides for privacy and protection.