Image: Courtesy
The lady behind the eccentric Zimmerman house has opened up about why she built the unusual home.
As several Kenyans questioned the house and others commented on its safety, it was noted that the owner had constructed a penthouse on top of rental units for herself.
Elaine Ombasi claimed in an exclusive interview with Citizen TV that she needed a place to call home while still making extra money for herself.
She added that the idea was to accomplish two goals at once.
Her hometown of Zimmerman, where she was born and reared, was the ideal location for her to purchase a parcel of land and carry out her construction because it would allow her to see her friends.
“I have seen this house trending everywhere and I was shocked at first but now I am going with the flow,” she said.
“I wanted a house to live in and also I wanted something to make extra income and that’s how I got an idea whereby apartments would be on the bottom and then on top, I would build my house,” she said.
The 40 beds in the residence, which took four years to build and was finished in June of this year, are all taken.
She claimed that after having an idea, she spoke with her builder about it, and he reassured her that it was doable.
“He told me it is possible, he told me about the cost, how long it will take and what we expect and he surely delivered it,” she said.
She added that her decision to remain on the building's top with her husband was made to reassure her tenants that the structure was secure and suitable for habitation.
Ombasi claimed she made significant investments in the building's foundation to make sure it was sturdy enough, worked with qualified people, and made sure the materials were legal.
“For me to be up here is to tell them that I trust it as the owner. My husband and I as the owners when we are up here it is like reassuring everybody that this building is stable,” Ombasi said.
“The penthouse is very private, it is very quiet because I am on top and there is a gate here. The perimeter wall is very firm and stable and it is stone where even if they do their parties or I do my parties no one can hear each other."
She has called on those who are interested in doing so to go ahead noting the idea is doable as long as they have the finances and good contractors who will deliver.
