very great cost. The ingenuity of man has through irrigation provided more arable land in Israel, through the bombarding of clouds in Texas USA to create rainffall and grow crops in a near arid land, through reclamation in Holland to create the Zuider Zee making land more available for industry, agriculture and residence. Through sand filling, land has been created out of the sea for use in building one of the worlds largest and now busiest airports with a very long runway in Japan. Most of the pyramids in Egypt are no more alone in the desert. Irrigation has brought them neighbors, people and industry in close vicinity. Back in Nigeria we witness the real reclamation done at Iganmu in Lagos for land used in building that monumental edifice, the national arts theatre. Private enterprise was at work in the 1970’s in the Aguda and Coker areas , where massive land was reclaimed for the construction of showpiece residential houses. The projects mentioned above are usually expensive. The poor masses are
however not deterred. Uncoordinated attempts without legal approval have been made here and there by the poor to reclaim land usually for the building of shanties, Maroko in Lagos and Bundu in Port Harcourt are classic examples. The governments of the various state eventually descended on the slum dwellers and pointed and to then in very unequivocal terms that that was not the proper way to go about the business. These places were bulldozed and the governments have put in appropriate development initiatives.
The owner of any land anywhere has
an asset, a real asset, an asset you can view at any time of the day and an
asset that will continue to appreciate in value over time. Land is immovable
and when purchased we can safely refer to that transaction as an exchange.
Where proper documentation has been done including conveyance and the
certificate of occupancy obtained, the exchange may be deemed to have been
properly completed. The certificate of occupancy (aka C of O) is an acceptable collateral for
a bank loan for the purpose of adding value to the said land or for another
business project. Price paid for any land will depend on its size and location.
Development that has already taken place including access roads, easy connection
to electricity and supply of potable
water will go a long way to determine
price to be paid. I must be quick to add however that wherever there is land,
development will seek it and these facilities will eventually follow. There is
a population explosion in Nigeria, rapid urbanization and spill over of this urban population into
the hitherto contiguous rural areas for residence, industry and agricultural
purpose. If you own land, even in Antarctica, the value will continue to
appreciate overtime. Real estate business is good business. In the 1970’s a
plot of land in Akoka,Lagos was sold for N300 (three hundred naira). In the
1980’s the same plot of land was sold for N 60, 000 (sixty thousand naira). Today
the going rate is about 3million naira and that is if you can find one
to buy. If you have some idle cash to spare, we advice that you buy and own
your own land. Let us now examine why people want to buy land.
Persons from families that are not
historically land owners or whose ancestors had frittered away communal land
for uneconomic reasons, usually have a huge appetite, when they come into
money, for acquiring land. People wanting to purchase land will fall into any
of the two broad groups or into both.
The first group will buy land
to enable them build a home, house or
for industry, agricultural included. The second group are land speculators who
buy so that they can resell at a profit
when the value appreciates in the market. They are all entreprenuers (a person
who enters and takes). They are all going into business and are all taking a
risk, a good risk of course. Both end up as winners. The principal needs of a
man are food ,good health and a shelter for himself. The accolade of a senior
tenant is not good enough for one. An ageing unmarried bachelor will shudder if
derisorily called king of the boys (Obong
Etok Eyen in Efik). There is dignity for
a man in having rights to the key of his front door. Having that right is the
man’s choice. One can have the rights to
the keys of one’s front door but the dignity can be punctuated by a
cantercerous hostile and censorious land
lady who from time to time is breathing huskily over ones shoulder. It is better for one to own his own
house. There are two ways of owning a house. You can build your own house or
you can buy a house. Let is look first at the second alternative in Nigeria.
The market for buying a house or
for house exchange in Nigeria is almost or largely undeveloped. The only source
of house purchase is the government when the government has built a few estates
here and there. The buyers are usually civil servants. The absence of a market
for the buying and selling of house in
Nigeria does not auger well for the economy. Mobility of labour is hard and at the
end, resources are not allocated
optimally. A young man in Europe
out of school and who has secured a steady
job can apply for a mortgage to buy his
own house. He can relocate easily when he want to move from London to Edinburgh. He will quickly sell his house
in London and readily buy another in
Edinburgh. There is a very virile market for the buying and selling of houses
all over Europe. The structures put on ground in Nigeria for the efficient
development of mortgage services are not good enough so far. There does not
appear to be a strong coordinating link between the individual mortgage seeker;
mortgage banker insurance houses and government in this regard. Mortgages are
developed appropriately on provision and use of long term funds. This must
usually be assurance premiums and a strong pool of assurance fund with the
mortgage bankers, fund from institutional investors secured on government
long-term stocks and bonds. Long term interest rates can thus be guaranteed and
reasonable charges made against the mortgagee.One does not build a house with a
commercial bank overdraft. I believe that with change in the economy of Nigeria,planners
and administrators will take a second look at
the mortgage scenario and put in more effort in harmonizing the link
between the operators. Then can a good mortgage business thrive in Nigeria.
Then will it be possible for people to borrow money in a large scale to build
their own houses. The state of the real estate business in any country is a
pointer in the development index in that country. Let us take a look at why
people do not sell houses in Nigeria. A house when built can be let out to
tenants. Part of or all this building
can be used by the owner. Most often like a king or a monarch, he will live all
his life in that house and if not born a king, he has made himself one. After
all said and done a man’s house is said to be his own castle. Another reason
why one may not want to sall and relocate
is that it is generally assumed that one who wishes to do so has fallen
foul of the law or has become a proven bankrupt. The market for the buying or
selling of houses appears to be non – existent in Nigeria. Mortgage facilities can
be obtained but it can be a lengthy and cumbersome business. At the end one has
to rely on one’s saving or a windfall in business to make one’s dream come
true. You too can become a real estate owner. A plot of land when acquired can
be developed over a given time frame. Some do so with an anticipated retirement
time in mind. When completed part of the building can be given out to tenants.
The demand for housing in our towns and cities is enormous and a landlord is
not short of prospective tenants. Land may be acquired and there is little prospect
of immediate development. Where no time frame has been given by the government for
an immediate development of that area, the said land can be used for horticulture
or let cut to one member of the roaming
brigade of pastors in search of where to pitch a tabernacle. Head or
tail, the land owner is a winner.
Real estate developers are not
speculators. They acquire land to enable people own their houses therein. They
can also accept a commission to build according to plan for the future house
owner. The advantage of a real estate developer initiative is there. Lagos
state is a special case where with a rapidly exploding population and pressure
on housing and business premises is great. Ogun State which is a neighboring
state is currently offering a fair measure of relief to Lagos and now is marked
out destination of choice for real estate development. The developer, unlike
the individual, can articulate plans for the estate. The developer will ensure
that plans are put in place to make the estate environmentally friendly.
Appropriate facilities will be provided. Massive tower blocks will not be
allowed to crop up,so that ir will not become a concrete jungle. If this is
allowed the only clear view one may have from his house may be the bright sky
and the depressing sight of cloistered children in the opposite tower block or
women lingerine and washed diapers hanging at the window sills. One can choose
his friends but one cannot choose his neighbors. A developer will however while
not choosing neighbor can ensure that persons or organizations that have
potential nuisance value are not allowed access to the estate. A prospective
nuisance value may include noise pollution from a manufacturing outfit like an aluminum
foundry or uncontrolled high – decibel noise by some religious organizations or
dirt/scrap environmental polluting mechanic workshop. A doctor will be
encouraged to pick up a plot for a surgery and so also a pharmacist and a
tender – age school proprietress. A bank can
buy a place at the fore cour for
retail banking business and space will
be provided for a security post.
Our company
Care Link Ventures is in the business of real estate, development finance and management because we wish to give the public the best and
accurate information in this sector of the economy. We are in the business, to
help government develop and actualize that vision of housing for a majority of
our people. We are in the business so that our clients can tap from our wealth
of expertise in the field. We are also in this business so that clients can
have value for money in their investment. We encourage you to take up the
challenge of planning to own your house.
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