I wrote about the global economy in the last issue and really do not know why I feel so compelled to still talk about it from a different angle in this issue. However, I have come to understand that when I feel this way, it is for the benefit of someone or people out there that I follow my heart. I only hope that the person or people meant to be blessed by this article will let me know when it happens. My email address remains realtypointceo@gmail.com.
Have you lost some tangible thing(s) lately, things of serious economic value I mean? Probably your shareholding portfolio has gone from huge positives(capital gains) to nil or even debt (to the Bank or Stock brokerage firm) for the marginal account operators. May be your property has lost value and you have not even been able to sell. You’ve lost your job or business has gone south. For some of us, you need to battle with goody-goody friends who are now calling for your head because the genuine innocent advise you gave on an investment did not work out like most things at this time due to no fault of yours. They want you to take responsibility for their decisions. Bad enough that way, but there are situations where you still have to cut huge losses to move on. It’s a judgement call that sometimes must be made for a better tomorrow.
Talking about a judgement call, I am presently writing from a distance of about 8hours flight away from my base in Lagos. The main reason while I am spending that time and money away is to cut a huge loss and move on with life. Actually, an investment that looked “totally” set for the promised shore went bad with the economic meltdown. You wouldn’t believe the deal is over 30% in the hole and we may still be counting until we bay out. Now, what do you do about that?
Buddy, losing or failing is part of business and life. Loose all you can, the most important is how fast you get up and catch-up again. Therefore, stop mourning over issues. Cut your losses if you have to. A friend just informed me of his decision to withdraw from a deal so he can get some money to take care of more sensitive matters. I may be having a meeting with another company next week on how to better guide our interest there to maturity. Decisions have to be taken, as there are losses, if you look carefully there are pluses somewhere in the corners. Yes, you may have to lose some, you can also gain a lot.
My heart goes out to you in this matter and I wish you will take up your bed and walk again. At times like this, even Countries aren’t speared and the US is taking the lead in cleaning his financial mess. A man has to do what he has to do.
Move on!
To your success
This is a question about the economic weather as regards the real estate climate. At the beginning of the melt down, it looked like Nigeria and most importantly the real estate sector will be insulated. But alas, the hurricane soon caught up with us. Now, it is very clear to every practitioner in the field that there is something call recession or economic crisis.
Every sign necessary to confirm such have shown up; properties on sale are staying on the shop floor for much longer than the average 3months. The length of time it stays in the market depends on which end of the market it belongs. Prices have crashed from about 10% - 30% at the highest end of the market.
A smart young lady had a question for me within the week. She wanted to know whether the real estate market has bottomed down and if more price descend is to be expected, what is our survival strategy? The question reflects the concern most watchers and my response was very simple. In a nutshell, we have divided the market into three and have designed different approach for each of them. We are not going out of our way to look for sales or letting briefs that must be executed in the now at the upper end of the market. We are more serious with letting in the middle market while both sales and letting are still very much on our radar for the lower end of the market. Of course, a lot of things went into arriving here; research, statistics and our experience. And I think it is working for us.
Talking about experience, I have a letter on my table now asking for the balance on one of our investment properties that could pass for upper-middle class type when the economy was normal. We didn’t want to get to this stage and have put the property up for sale since about 7-8months before now. We are yet to close any offer till date. Most of the demands have not been effective because prospects could not access loan.
However, in all of these, i believe we are nearing the end. Why I say so is because things have started picking up on a consistent basis from one of the sectors the effect was first observed. I looked up the current price of FBN share this week to discover that it is now N23+. I am aware that in the heat of the crisis a couple of weeks back FBN sold N17+. An appreciation of almost 30% in weeks and a general appreciation of the value of the shares on the floor of the Exchange to me is a very good omen that things are settling.
Our experience and my thinking informs that while other sectors of the economy could have reached the bottom and now on their way up, the real estate sector and especially the high end of the market will still sag a little before it starts to rebound. We may be talking of a couple of months here, say 2 – 6months. There will be a little stagnation somewhere within the upper end of the middle segment of the economy while the lower end will be impacted directly by what happens in the other sectors of the economy. The world is a cycle, so also are the happening within it. Real estate was one of the very last to be hit and would have be one of the very last to regain consciousness.
So, I summit, it is bad, may be evening getting a little worse so that it can get better soon enough. Be wise, discern the times.
May be you are like some of us who wouldn’t want to wait forever before engaging in the right thing to do. If you think it’s time you Sack Your LandlordTM , So do we at Realty Point Limited. And we can make it happen for you. Take a simple step now, join Prime Estate Housing Co-operative Multipurpose Society Limited. That’s the platform designed to make you a landlord starting with just N5,000 joining fee. This is a friendly advice, take it, call Miss Gloria James on 08035181138, 07028023009 or email primecooperative@yahoo.com for more information.
To your success.
Send me mails if you still need further information
How are we finding the experiences?
I am delighted to be sharing another true-life story on this page with you, I hope you are take these lessons serious. You will be glad you did. Remember you can also call on us for further counsel and assistance.
“I am Mr. Victor Ogundipe, a vice principal of a secondary school here in Lagos. I lived in Abule-Egba area of Lagos for 16 years as a tenant.
It was an interesting experience because I happened to have a landlord then that was good natured and always at peace with his neighbours. For being a nice tenant, my landlord then made me the official caretaker with the mandate to oversee the general cleanliness of the entire compound, undertake minor repairs on the house and collect rents on his behalf.
But the visit of my brother in-law from Germany in Europe opened my eyes to the fact that no matter how benevolent my landlord was the fact remained that I was still a tenant in the house and could be asked to vacate the house one day.
It all started like a joke in January 1996 when I wanted to pay my rent for the year, my brother in-law looked at the money I had counted to go and pay the landlord and said, ‘Do you know you have built this type of house for this man somewhere without knowing?’ He asked me to estimate how much I have paid as rent all the years I had been living there as a tenant. When I did, the figure was staggering. Right there, I discovered that I could also have a house of my own if I should start to do something towards that direction.
I could still remember that he explained to me that if it were in Europe, the building could later become my own property through what he called a rent-to-own arrangement. Unfortunately, that type of arrangement is not available here. No matter the money you pay on a property as a tenant, you remain a tenant forever if you cannot build a house of your own.
The way out was for me to look for a plot of land to buy in Abule-Egba area where I lived. Unfortunately, plots of land people bought for N250,000 when we newly packed into the area had gone beyond the reach of a teacher like myself. To get a plot of land there you will be ready to cough out more than N4 million.
I decided to tell some of my friends who are into real estate business to help me to look for a plot of land to buy. After about three months one of them told me he had found one at Ofada, in Lagos-Ogun State axis for N550,000 per plot. I looked at the distance, I looked at the money, who dash teacher N550,000? I became confused the more.
But I summoned courage and decided to go for the inspection of the land. What I saw was alright, given the proximity of the land to the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
It is a major link to so many areas of Lagos. All I could express was interest on the land but there was no money to back it up. In order not to lose the land to another buyer, I approached my brother in-law in Germany to buy the land, because we discovered that it was a genuine land with the real owner as vendor.
Instead of sending the money, he asked me how much I had that he would lend me the rest to be able to pay for the land. I told him the amount of money at my disposal and he also made good his promise by sending me the balance through Western Union Money Transfer.
So immediately, I went to pay for the land and the land owner issued a receipt of payment and another agreement note that bound the seller to me, two other people also signed as witnesses and we took copies of the agreement each.
Thereafter, I discovered that building with cement is a thing of the poor. Although it may be expensive, it gives you the opportunity to develop the house little by little overtime without losing what you have put on ground. Rain cannot destroy the structure even though you leave it for years, the day you have money you start to build on it.
It was in my own case I discovered that except God builds for you all efforts for man to build for himself do not succeed. At this period, my brother in-law started sending fairly used items and motor parts for me to sell for him. He would give me the price to sell them for him, whatever comes over the price automatically became my own proceed from the transaction.
I made some money from this and paid him the money he lent me to purchase the land and started building the house.
It was my wife, a house help and I, so, naturally, I did not need a gigantic structure to solve my shelter problem. I did not see any wisdom in going to design a big house that I could not finish. It does not matter what anybody would say, you make your suit according to your cloth.
I settled for a two-bedroom apartment with all the facilities needed for my comfort included in the design. The plot of land was well utilized to contain a major building at the front of the plot while this two-bedroom building occupied the rear part of the plot.
It was a simple design that was easy for the building supervisor to produce. Within a period of two years, I completed the building. The finishing was superb. I started living there with my wife and two kids. Anytime we had visitors, my wife would leave her room and relocate to my side.
When the children were now growing up, I knew it was time to do something on the remaining part of the plot so that we can all live comfortably.
My income had increased. I was no longer a poor teacher, the emolument had increased and goods were also sent to me from oversea countries to market for people. That was when I built the four flats of three bedrooms at the front of the house.
The message I want to pass across in this testimony is for people to plan to become landlord with what they have at present. You do not need a mansion to solve your shelter problem.
It does not make sense for a very young man who is newly married to be looking for a six bedroom duplex to live. That is where the problem lies. They want to prove to the world they have arrived. At the end of the day their properties are thrown to the street. It is better to plan with the resources at your disposal by building a simple design that would address your need. As your life improves, you build bigger building.
Omo-oniles problem cannot stop anybody from building. You give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and move on. Land speculators are every where. Ask questions on how to settle them and you jump over the challenge.
I am a landlord today because I dreamt, planned and was committed to the dream and plans. From a humble beginning, you can save yourself from the hassles of tenancy and the moment you do that, you will be more focused to do better things for yourself.”
Need I say more? See you next edition for another interesting experience.
To your success!
I know as a formal student, the word “Test” does not sound too pleasing to your hearing because it conjures some strenuous memory. Not to worry, the test I am recommending for you here is not exactly like the type in schools. This is real life and it will be administered on you by a trained personnel. For the purpose of this article I will like to call it the First Home Ownership Barometer. It is being designed to be able to predict when the person taking the test will be able to build his first house, where and size of house depending on the financial abilities of the person, the untapped but “monitisable” resources he/she has and other factors.
I am presently working on the parameters of the Test Kit and should be ready to demonstrate it to the public by the end of the second quarter of the year.
Something sent me on this voyage and made me decide to recommend taking the test to you as soon as it is available. First be rest assured, you will not have to pay any money in order for you to take the test and it will be administered by specially trained personnel when the time comes. They, the administrators will be able to guide you through the test and offer tangible advise thereafter on what to do with the result. The result is actually my goal. For a long time, I have being cracking my head on how to be able to tell a man almost precisely what to do to be his own landlord or at least have a built apartment to his name somewhere. This should tell the size, location and how long it will probably take to achieve it and what the resultant effect will be on his life thereafter. I figured if people can know this in advance, it may help my one man crusade against Nigerians reliving the story a typical Nigerian Landlord. Remember the story? Sorry if you don’t, I will repeat it some other time, just stay tuned or check out some of our past editions.
Put simply, you will be able to determine when, how and why to “Sack Your Lanldlord!” when you take this test.
Would you like to take the test then? Kindly let me know what you think about this idea by sending an email to realtypointoffice@yahoo.com about your willingness to take such take. Tag the mail; Sack Your Landlord!TM Barometer. I will be expecting please.
May be you are like some of us who wouldn’t want to wait for a time before engaging in the right thing to do. If you think it’s time you Sack Your LandlordTM , So do we at Realty Point Limited. And we can make it happen for you. Take a simple step now, join Prime Estate Housing Co-operative Multipurpose Society Limited. That’s the platform designed to make you a landlord starting with just N5,000 joining fee. This is a friendly advice, take it, call Miss Gloria James on 08035181138, 07028023009 or email primecooperative@yahoo.com for more information.
To your success.
Send me mails if you still need further information.
Dear readers, I hope you are catching up with the realities of house ownership? I bring you another interesting true life achiever’s story in this post, read, be encouraged and apply for results.
“I am Mr. Keye Emejo, a mechanic; I specialize in the repairs of Mitsubishi brand of vehicles and other Japanese cars. Although I learnt my trade in a workshop where they repair Peugeot brand of vehicles I later went to one Ghanaian who knows how to repair Japanese cars. His workshop was always filled with cars. My mind told me the man was on the right way by repairing Japanese cars.
Somebody also told me that our people (Nigerians) now have interest in Japanese cars because petrol is expensive and the Japanese cars do not consume fuel like other cars.
Immediately, I made up my mind to learn the repairs of Mitsubishi, because most people use the L-3300 for transportation, people buy Mitsubishi Gallant, Lancer and Colt for private use. So when I started my workshop at First Gate Mechanic Village in Agidingbi, area of Lagos, it was not long before I started getting customers.
After I got a workshop, there was no money for me to rent a house. I started living with my elder brother. We lived very closely as brothers until he got married and things fell apart. One day his wife went to pick my First Bank pass book and showed it to my brother that I had money but was only pretending not to have so that I could still be eating his money.
Banking system had not improved like this then, they will write out all the money you have in the bank in the ‘kpali’ (passbook). From the question my brother was asking me and the way he and his wife were behaving I knew that they had gone to search my box of clothes and seen the passbook. Every little thing my brother will be angry with me saying I was a parasite, depending on him, while I was saving my money. This was not true though, because sometimes, I used to buy things and bring to the house.
The long and short of it is that my brother and his wife both fought me one night and I had to pack my things and move to the streets of Lagos. Such is life and I had to take my destiny in my own hands.
On getting to the workshop every day, I will pray to God to help me. They normally locked the whole premises used for workshop by 6pm. When it was time to lock up the workshop, I would go and hide in any vehicle that was still being repaired. I would ensure nobody saw me so that the union would not sanction me or drive me away from the mechanic garage.
I was always falling sick because of mosquito bites, stress and restlessness. All my clothes were dirty, nowhere to wash them.
I did this for over three months before I decided to tell people what I was passing through. One man also a mechanic in the yard had pity on me and took me to his house. He cleared a very small room where he used to keep used motor spare parts in the house and said I should be living in the room. There was no light in the room. Even the floor was not plastered. Each night, I would spread the mat I made from used cement bags on the bare floor feeling like a king. At least, I was no longer sleeping inside the vehicles.
After eight months, I gathered money from my workshop and got a room very close to my workshop on rent, bought bed and other things I needed and started struggling.
I discovered that my landlord then did not go to work. In the morning, they will prepare “Akamu” (pap) for him and after drinking it with milk and “Akara” (Beans cake), he would go round the compound giving instructions and that was all. It was not as if this man was that old that he could not work again. Then a co-tenant that had spent so many years in his house told me that the man lived on the rent he collected from his four houses in Lagos; that he invested in housing when he was much younger while others were still on the street battling to make ends meet. He was just cooling off.
It was at this point I resolved that I will also be a landlord and also invest my money on housing. In Lagos there are a lot of people and people are still coming in everyday. They need a house to stay. The moment one is able to build a house, people will rush into it.
God blessed me in my profession as a mechanic. The brand I repair, that is Mitsubishi products especially and other Japanese became so popular and people buy it a lot and bring them for repairs and services in my workshop. The money was coming. From savings I also bought one second handed bus which I repaired by myself and started using it for transport. I will close in my mechanic workshop by 6pm go back home to take my bath, eat and go out with the bus to go and work between 7.30pm and 10.30pm. I would still make up to N3,000, I was surprised. There is so much money in transportation business. Yet people came to my workshop to complain that they were not getting money from it. I think it was the drivers that were cheating them.
Within seven months again I bought another Mitsubishi L-300 bus old model and gave it to a driver. He wanted to be telling me stories but when I told him how much I got within four hours daily he behaved.
From my one room apartment I bought two plots of land in Sabo Ojodu-Berger area. I was told the plots of land were for sale when I got there with the agent that took me there, we negotiated the price of the plots from N200,000 to N150,000 immediately I paid for one plot and asked the man whether I could deposit another N80,000 for the second plot to balance the rest in two months. He agreed and in two months I got the money and paid. The two plots became my property. I could not believe it, that I could buy land in Lagos, not one plot, two plots for N300,000!
This was in 1998, right now, a plot of land in that area is N7 million and above. I continued with my mechanic work and part time driving. God gave me good health to continue to struggle day and night. That was how I got the money to fence the plots so that they could not take them from me. It was just a receipt of payment that they gave to me. But a cousin later advised me to get a lawyer to write the Deed of Assignment on the land. But the owner said there was no need, that he is not a bad person. We just went to prepare it and he signed.
I am from Ugheli in Delta State, I did not like the way people use hollow blocks to build houses here in Lagos. In my place we use solid blocks, I have never seen a single building collapse in my place, not even a mud house. But when I came to Lagos big buildings will just fall “yakata” as if they have no foundation. I brought block moulders from my place that helped me to mould big solid blocks. I moulded 10,000 blocks at ago. People were saying it is too much, but I knew I wanted to build a storey building of four-flats for commercial use.
When somebody packed out of the house I was living then I added the room to my own room because I was now married. It is not that I could not rent a 2 or 3 bedroom flat like some of my friends did. But I needed the money to build my own house.
The way I was doing it was that I would save money for five months and move to site again. We did the Damp Proof Courses (DPC) with the drawing a draftsman did for me. I told him what I wanted and he drew the design for me. The money one Architect charged me was so much that even if I should do my mechanic work and drive for months I would not be able to pay. All these frustrations make it impossible for people to build a house of their own.
It was one Artisan that built the house. I would buy the building materials and my wife would go and stay at the site with the workers to see that they were working with the materials. I was told that some bad workers used to steal the building materials on site.
Getting money is not easy. Government should reduce the money they charge people to get approval. It was after the building was completed that they came to mark the house, that it was not approved. I spent a lot of money, I could only do it because I was no longer paying rent to anybody and people had hired the other three flats, while I still had a full plot that had not been developed by the side of the house.
Omo-oniles will come and demand money when people are building a house and nobody is talking about it. They collected N30,000 from me two times. Is it an offence to build a house in a community? All these have to stop. They will be shouting you have not settled us. Settle what?
Building a house is a gradual thing. If one is determined it can be done. You direct all your income to it, it is better than going to buy cars, jewelries, drinking beer and pepper soup around town. Even if you do not have money or food you can still hide in your house.”
LESSONS:
- Master your trade/profession so you can make as much money as possible doing it.
- Diversify for multiple income but do it after gathering necessary knowledge
- Cut your expenses so you can have more money for the project
- Execute your site your in batches with pre determined mile stones.
I hope you read my article in the last edition? If you didn’t, please get yourself a copy and digest it because what I will be sharing today is a follow-up to that article.
We talk to a lot of people on house ownership in my organisation, it remains a wonder to me that a great number of the average to low earners in our society that are still tenants seem to have concluded within themselves that owning their own house is beyond their present existence. You can almost hear them say “I will do better in my next life”. Just imagine? The irony is that people in similar situations who by self realisation or cheer circumstance have built/bought their houses say they could have done it much earlier only if they know then what they know now. What’s that? you may ask. They say the must important thing that starts you on the right path to owning your own house is DETERMINATION. That was a surprise to us at first. It was not something just a few said, it’s what everybody said regardless of what they earn or have saved up somewhere.
Here is the best part of our discovery; folks who once thought house ownership impossible said the same thing after setting out or achieving their dream. For us, that confirms that ALL a potential landlord requires to have at first is the adequate dose of DETERMINATION. Yes, there is the place of other necessary ingredient in achieving such lofty dream like knowledge acquisition, planning, funds, e.t.c and that is what the true life jobless-to-landlord story I am about to share with you represent.
Digest it, note the lessons and apply them in your own situation. It is possible that you too become a landlord soon and I want to share in your joy when it happens because if you learn from this story, it WILL happen.
You can also contact me for further enquiry or practical assistance towards achieving your dream. Until then, read the story, learn from it and take massive action. To your success!
I am a Nigerian from Sapele in Delta State. I used to be one of the Nigerians that wonder how it would be possible for them to be a landlords in Nigeria because of the state of the economy. Things seemed to be going from bad to worse and the hope of ever owning a house of your own could not be imagined at all.
But it got to a time I decided to think about what to do to help myself to survive here in Lagos. I realized that making excuses that I graduated from the University and did not get a job after six years will not help me. At a time I started calling my elder brother in Holland in Europe to get me documents to check out of the country. From the response I was getting from him, I knew waiting for him to come back and help me would remain a pipe dream.
Initially, it was about survival. I needed to get something doing to survive. The guy I was squatting with, though he is my cousin was getting tired of taking care of me. I could feel the pains he was going through to keep things going in the house then.
As fate would have it one day a tenant in the house I was staying bought a motorcycle, the one they call okada. He is a close friend of my cousin and said he wanted to give it out for commercial purpose, to be working for him.
After we prevailed on him to “wash” the bike for us, that is buy us drinks in celebration of the purchase of a brand new bike, I also followed to the licensing office to register the motorcycle.
Thereafter he went to a friend to draft an agreement for him for the bike to be given out to somebody on a hire purchase basis. Here in Lagos they call it “balance and carry”. In the agreement I discovered that he was requesting N130,000 (One Hundred and Thirty Thousand Naira) from the purchaser for the Bajaj Boxer 5.
Another schedule in the agreement stipulated a payment of N6,000 (Six Thousand Naira) weekly to the owner of the motorcycle. This will continue for six months, after which the said motorcycle would be duly paid for and all documents of the motorcycle handed over to the hire purchaser.
What baffled me in the whole agreement was that everything pertaining to the motorcycle with regards to safety, security, maintenance, renewal of particulars remained the responsibility of the purchaser within this period of six months.
In August 2004 I reviewed the situation of my life and decided to be using the okada since there was no job forthcoming.
Our people say half bread is better than none. My cousin initially objected to the idea of me becoming an okada rider after all these years studying chemistry in the University.
We knelt down together and prayed to God to protect me on the ever busy Lagos roads, from reckless drivers and I took my destiny in my own hand. Some people jeered at me that I ended up an okada rider after graduating as a chemistry student from the University. But I was not going to them to beg for anything. It was not stealing. What I was doing is a legitimate business to make ends meet.
My brother, I was committed to my okada vocation. Within five months I paid him all the money and collected the documents of the bike from him.
Having mastered the terrain of okada business, I put in more effort to make something out of it. Within six months again I bought another brand new BAJAJ Boxer 5 and also gave it out on balance and carry basis.
I give God the glory as we speak I have 23 Okada here in Lagos which people use to work for me. What I did was to look for a space and put a caravan on it as my office where they come and balance money to me.
From the proceeds from my okada ventures I bought a land in Mowe in the Lagos, Ogun State axis after asking so many questions and carrying out investigations on the real ownership of the land. I did not want to lose my hard earned money to land speculators.
The whole negotiation kicked off at the Baale’s compound and the omo-oniles in that district of Mowe are controlled by the Baale. I paid N320,000 for the land because it is not too far from the expressway. But now no land is less than N800,000 in that area.
I must confess to you it is not an easy thing at all to build a house, but with God all things are possible. The Architect I went to do the designed charged me so much money. I had to go to my uncle in Festac Town, Lagos to collect his Architectural design to build my house.
On site I had a foreman who knows how to build house. We call him engineer. But I am sure he trained some where. I am always on site with my okada to check what they were doing there. The road leading to the house was very bad. So many at times the vehicle bringing building materials to my site, would break down.
The omo-oniles issue in Mowe is not as bad as people tend to paint it. It is just a matter of understanding and cooperation. They will tell you what you have to give to them at every stage of the construction. It is only when you refused to pay and started to quote the law that you have problem with them. They can even enter your site in the night and bring your building down. Yes, they could be that ruthless.
In my case I made sure I settled them through the Baale so that they do not bring their trouble to my site. So far I funded the house through my okada business. At the end of every month I put a percentage of the proceeds into the building project.
It is a house of two flats of 3-Bedroom each. I have completed the building and moved in. I can say I am truly fulfilled.
It is like a joke to me that I am now a landlord. It is amazing. My cousin who was living in a self-contained apartment was still paying rent doing a white colar job. But here I am a landlord. To reciprocate his kind gesture of keeping me in his apartment in Ojodu-Berger area of Lagos, I gave out the second flat to him to be living. So that he can also plan from my house to build his own house.
I did not have savings in the bank before embarking on the building. That is where most people miss it. Arrange your finances properly and with what you have. It is a gradual process I have spent over N6 million on the building.
What is left now is the painting of the outside of the building. The inside is already painted. I used quality materials all through the building.
The next thing would be to perfect all the papers which I have already started with Ogun State government.
Congratulations! Or may be I should wait till you finish reading this before saying that? Well, I am only anticipating that you can recognise a diamond when you are presented with a rough stone. I present here to you today the unfolding of a gem. Here is an idea that has the capacity to really become great, berthed on the simple but powerful concept of co-operation. People from my part of the country have a proverb that says something like; a tree does not make a forest. Ever heard the story of the broom stick vs the broom bunch before? Giving a portion to sweep, while it may take forever employing the services of a broom stick, you will be through in a jiffy if the broom bunch is applied and the difference is just in numbers. Nothing more, the bunch is just made up of similar sticks and together a common purpose is achieved to them all. That is what this initiative represents and I think you her blessed to be reading about it now.
The world as we have come to know it derives meaning from the interrelated chain of events, associations and collaborations, doing things together with people of like mind give more meaning to life.
I have done a lot researching how effective co-operatives work and how they can be used for the common good of members. I am over with theorising and action less research, here is the outcome of four years of research and thousands of personal and company funds on a platter of gold. What you do with it, is your decision to take but if you may allow me, I will say read this up and take action for or against immediately. Don’t wait another day. I do hope your action will be for and not against though.
PRIME ASSETS MULTI-PURPOSE HOUSING CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY LIMITED
The Prime Assets Multi-purpose Housing Co-operative Society Limited Project is an initiative of REALTY POINT LIMTED publishers of Prime Assets Plus Magazine. It is a private venture initiative to assist individuals in owning a home.
It is registered with the appropriate Government supervisory body and runs independent of the promoters- REALTY POINT LIMITED with full complement of duly elected executives.
The rebirth is a combination of all our Prime Assets Multi-purpose Housing Co-operative Society Limited use to represent plus the key tenets of the Real Estate Investment Mentorship Forum and a few other timely and well researched idea.
OUR OVERIDING OBJECTIVES
Help members become Land lords by
I. Providing property purchase and construction opportunities for self use
II. Provide micro-mortgage scheme for members
III. Provide real estate and other investment opportunities for collective gain.
IV. Provide investment (real estate inclusive), entrepreneurial and other life enhancing training to members at our monthly meetings.
V. Always provide well researched and negotiated clusters of landed properties members can buy and also assist in developing into mini-estates providing other services as may be required e.g access to mortgage facilities, below the market rate building materials, e.t.c
VI. Provide opportunities for members to borrow for growth in their business operations through our well structured and professionally managed thrift in association with participating Micro-Finance Banks. 20% of our fund at any time is made available for our thrift operation.
VII. Invest our collective monthly contributions regularly and distribute 30% of surplus(gain or profit) annually as dividend on a prorated basis.
In summary, we are a house ownership actualization and investment society using the power of co operation and thrift.
WHO SHOULD BECOME A MEMBER?
We are positioned to serve you if:
-
You are interested in any of our objectives, over riding or Long term
-
You have a regular job or vocation.
- You are above 18years of age.
- You like to own a house within Lagos or any other area the co-operative is investing e.g Settlements along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ikorodu, Lekki- Epe Expressway, Sango- Ota, etc
- You need to have where you can borrow money to run your growing small business
- You are interested in gathering knowledge on investment and your general financial wellbeing
- You have a well titled landed property but you are in need of financing
- You can make out time to attend our regular monthly meetings except absent on permission, non Lagos resident or call of duty.
- You can afford to pay a N10,000 one-time joining fee and make a monthly contribution (thrift) of a minimum of N5,000 (One Thousand Naira) Only and meeting dues of N500 (Five Hundred Naira) Only per month. Monthly contributions can be any of the following NN1,000, N3,000 5,000, N10,000, N20,000, N30,000, N40,000, N50,000 and above.
- You are interested in buying properties that are offered to the co-operative at a discount and with our guidance.
PARTNERS
To deliver on our promises and better serve our deserving members, we partner with reputable individuals & organizations particularly:
- Micro-Finance Banks
- Developers
- Mortgage Institutions
- Building material manufacturers and suppliers
- Professionals in the building industry
- Related government establishments and agencies.
MEETING INFORMATION: Time & Venue
Monthly Meeting Days: Every 2nd Sunday of the month
Time: 3.00pm prompt.
Venue: Realty Point Limited Training Facility at ONIGBAGBO HOUSE (3rd Floor), 29, Mobolaji Bank-Anthony Way, Ikeja, Lagos.
After Sheraton Hotel, Beside GTBank and Sharing a common fence with Bola Memorial Anglican Church, Abule Bus Stop.
Watch out for an invitation from our yahoogroup once you complete the formalities for joining the co-operative, sign-up and that way you will have 24/7 access to information from the secretariat.
WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN
- You want to cultivate the saving culture
- You are interested in leaving a legacy
- You need where you can borrow for the growth of your small business at a very friendly rate.
- You are interested in learning how to make, keep and grow lasting wealth.
- You want to position yourself where you can always be informed of what is new in business management and wealth creation.
- You need a place where you can meet with people of like minds.
- We provide a platform where members can start contributing to NHF and thereafter stand the chance to benefit from the Scheme’s single digit rate mortgage when the opportunity presents itself.
- We source for highly competitively priced landed properties that members can pay for installments
- We arrange rock bottom interest rate mortgage facilities and other competitive commercially priced funding for interested members
- Our consulting professionals provide their essential services to members at below the regular rates and some free. Services like Architectural drawings,
- We provide building materials at below market prices for members where/when possible
- All approvals, title, other documentations, designs and constructions are handle by our retained technical partners at a very competitive rate to subscribing members
- Our estates shall also confirm with town planning regulations where sited and professionally managed to ensure your properties continue to enjoy significant appreciation in value
- We reward membership referrals.
….. and the list goes on.
The vision is clear, the future is bright, and the journey has begun. Ride with us and let us make your dream come true.
PRIME ASSETS MULTI-PURPOSE HOUSING CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY LIMITED is the company to work with to achieve your house ownership/real estate investment dream.
Cooperative Membership fee:
Each intending member of the co-operative is expected to pay a one-time non-refundable N10,000 (Ten Thousand Naira Only) as membership fee. This is to be used to fund the administrative activities of the cooperative.
Annual accounts are subject to external audit of both Government Supervisory Authorities and Privately Self-appointed External Auditors.
APPLICATION:
To apply for membership, kindly execute the application form below and submit by mail or in person at the next meeting to:
THE GENERAL SECRETARY
PRIME ASSETS MULTI-PURPOSE HOUSING CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY LIMITED
c/o REALTY POINT LIMITED
ONIGBAGBO HOUSE (3rd Floor)
29, Mobolaji Bank-Anthony Way
Ikeja
Lagos
CALL: 01-8964527, 4346687, 07028141918
Your payment of the N10,000 annual membership fee is expected to be made on or before you submit your filled application form.
MODE OF PAYMENT:
All payment to for membership of the Co-operative’s should be
1) By cheque in favour of Prime Assets Multi-purpose Housing Co-operative Society Limited
OR
2) CASH
Paid into Prime Assets Multi-purpose Housing Co-operative Society Limited Skye Bank Account # 1681770008926 (Ikeja Plaza Branch, Ikeja, Lagos)
Endeavour to obtain receipts and have your Passbook filled for all payments made from the General Secretary’s office address or at the monthly meetings.
Kindly NOTE that under no circumstance should can be paid to any official of staff of the co-operative for any thing.
You shall be informed of the details of the account for your monthly contribution and meeting dues when you join.
Kindly note however that subscription to housing projects will be strictly on a first come, first pay and first serve basis.
Talk to any of the officers below for information on currently available landed property/housing schemes.
Congratulations in advance as you take advantage of this lifetime opportunity. For further enquiry, call the following: Yewande – 08037872122 or 07028141918, Ayo – 08060444700/01-8787288, Mr. Odueso – 07028023009, Mr. Mustapha – 08037183026.
To apply, down load the application form from www.realtypointltd.com, fill it and submit to the office at the above mentioned address.
You are my reading this article up to thi spoint invited to the re-birth of the Co-operative and the launch of our 3bedroom bungalow project on February 21, 2009 by 10am at the Office facility: 29, Mobolaji Bank-Anthony Way, Ikeja, Lagos.
Don’t miss it for anything!
Like it or not you will have to leave where you presently live. If you don’t leave by yourself your landlord or any other circumstance WILL force you to leave and chief among such circumstance is death.
Recently, I read the story of a renowned rich man in one of our dailies where he mentioned the fact that he built his first house at 19years of age. When Prince Samuel Adedoyin was asked by a Sunday Punch newspaper columnist if he can remember when he made his first big money, baba simply said “The only thing I can remember is that I built my first house at the age of 19 and I also bough a Volkswagen at that age. At the age of 24, I built a house in Rumens Road, Ikoyi and I was a millionaire then”
The story reminded me of what a friend told me about a certain man in Ota town who built his first house when he was 18years old.
It is with much indignation and heavy heart therefore that I listen to stories of scores of people who are approaching their grave without a roof they can call theirs. Mandela said a man is not a man until he owns the roof over his head. Achievements like the two mentioned above should be desired because it is legitimate. I am not by what I have said encouraging the craze for money within the youths of today. What people display these days is mostly inordinate affection for wealth. People want to acquire riches by all means and at all cost. No, that is not what I am talking about. I am talking about doing things that are legitimate to get wealth the way the old timers like Price Samuel Adedoyin did it. Their achievements is an indication of the fact that it is still very possible and the objective of this article is to show you one of the ways by which it can be achieved in a slow-and-steady-wins-the-race manner.
Have you heard of Micro-housing schemes before? It is a combination of some proactive measures, including the adoption of the right housing product and appropriate finance. When talking about micro housing, the key word is decency not luxury. According to a friend of mine, Mr. Segun Adaju, the MD of GS Micro-Finance Bank Limited, decent housing is the right of every person living on earth. He also noted at a conference last year that in third world countries housing had remained poor and inadequate for the majority of the population, adding that poor housing finance was evident in life tenancy, slums, shanties, overcrowded living spaces and limited housing design options. Mr. Adaju cited three examples of microfinance institutions around the world that had successfully provided housing microfinance to customers.
According to him, “One of such is the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, which started housing microfinance in 1984 and has disbursed $121m to date to 637,000 borrowers. “Customers build according to cost-efficient functional design and technology specified by Grameen – houses cost between $300 - $600 and customers are granted up to five years repayment period at a concessionary interest rate of eight per cent per annum. Loan recovery rate is 99 per cent.”
Another cited example was the Caja Popular Mexicana of Mexico, a traditional savings and loans organisation, which started housing microfinance over 50 years ago but re-packaged and refocused 10 years ago.
“It has a current portfolio in excess of $90m out of total loan portfolio of about $300m. Repayment period is between 18months to five years at interest of 50 – 70 per cent per annum. Loan recovery rate is 92 per cent,” he said.
If this exist in Nigeria, we will be well on our way to solving the housing crisis. I have good news for you, micro housing is the natural thing to follow after the spate of penny real estate land opportunities around emerging settlements witnessed last year. A lot of the folks who now have land or are still paying for theirs do not have what it takes to build on them in good time and NHF can not serve everybody so micro finance mortgage and developer’s loan will be the next point of call.
It is already happening, for example in the Ofada/Mowe corridor you can buy a 3 bedroom semidetached bungalow with one room BQ for N6.5m and pay as follows: 30% down and the balance spread over 35 equal monthly instalment. You are also allowed to aggregate the 30% over a period of 3months once you indicate interest in acquiring the property. Also, there is a micro finance bank on hand to give micro mortgage to qualified buyers.
So, if you are interested in becoming a landlord in 36months, you can do it using either of the above suggested ways because it guarantees you good neighbourhood, security, professionally co-ordinated management, excellent infrastructure and optimum value for money.
Affordable to Buy
The Federal Government defines housing affordability as housing costs that do not exceed 30 percent of household income. Housing Costs are defined as rent (in a tenant) or principle, interest, taxes & insurance combined (if paying back a mortgaged). If we assume you’re making about N300,000 income yearly, you would be spending no more than N90,000 per annum on housing costs. Now, if we also assume that you are purchasing a home selling for N3.5m, you will be needing over 12 years tenured mortgage. By a subjective definition, this home may be affordable to own, but with the present situation as regards the type of mortgage that is available in the country, would it be affordable (possible to secure a mortgage that would leave you still in the 30% housing cost range) for you to purchase?
Affordable to Build
One major factor in affordability is the cost to produce housing. Builder groups often claim—and government statistics support these claims—that home building traditionally leads the nation out of recession. It’s no wonder when you consider that home building benefits not only the trades but also manufacturing, professional services, and even transportation. But the demand for new housing can cause shortages in labour and materials. Delays due to weather or permit issues also add to costs and these costs get passed on to the buyer. Builders of new homes typically operate on fairly narrow net profit margins, so even a small spike in costs can cut drastically into a builder’s profit and increase housing costs to buyers
An experienced builder or estate developer like my company Realty Point Limited can help the homebuyer keep costs down through careful design and material selection. This process is called “value-engineering” and, as a buyer, it is in your best interest to find a company who thoroughly understands it. But while the building industry certainly benefits from innovations in materials and methods, the independent builder is generally not able to have much of an impact on overall housing affordability. Think of it this way: A N800m mansion in old Ikoyi, at its core, is built with essentially the same materials as a N25m four-bedroom emerging settlement farm house building. It’s not just the finishes that make for the inflated price tag.
However, the developer can do a lot more in this direction by providing added value.
How does a 2bedroom and 3 bedroom + 1 room boys’ quarter bungalow micro housing scheme backed with micro mortgage, long installmental payment options and choice of building materials sound in your hears? Great? That’s what you will get now. I will be looking forward to hearing from you on these possibilities. Myself, Mr. Adaju, Mr. Akin Olawore and another alternative building material expert.
Sack your Landlord in 2009!
In my last article in 2008 I tried to prepare you for the real estate investment opportunities in 2009, I shall be continuing along that line in this article also by identifying areas or call it locations you should be looking at if you plan to make the kind of money you have always dreamt of this year.
The global recession not withstanding, 2008 could not be said to be a bad year in the real estate investment arena. In fact, it was a fantastic year, what with properties appreciating by huge percentages in record time. Crown Estate Libra type of house (4 Bedroom Duplex) moved from N26.0million per unit to N42.0million in 9months. That’s about 61% appreciation in value. Once the major parts of Victoria Island were commercialised, prices went berserk. Now, property values are been reported in the billion naira range on the island. Whatever you are looking for is either in a fraction of a billion, over a billion or a couple of billions. Suddenly millions, even hundreds of it is going out of fashion on the Island.
Duplexes in Magodo now go for between N60m to N80m from a January 2008 price of about N40m.
Even the mass housing market reflects the trend, the Ogun Mega City Projects like Prime Estates and the likes appreciated by about 60% from N500,000 in January to N800,000 since April and revving to go higher shortly.
The influx of Capital market investors towards the tail end of 2008 as a result of the gloominess in the Stock market only helped in ensuring the progressive climb in value.
Although the market experienced a slow down between October and November 2008 it appears things have started picking up again.
Having experienced all these now is the time to project for 2009 and looking at the trend I will like to suggest possible investment locations where exceptional possibilities exist for money making in the new year.
Magodo-Isheri: Due to the fact that Magodo-shangisha is approaching full development the spill-over effect will result in the increase in activities in adjoining estates to which Magodo-Isheri estate belongs. This is a prime place for residential properties, especially duplexes.
Omole 2: It is my believe that the spill-over of Magodo-shangisha will also get here. Short-letting apartments, Hotels and other commercial properties will thrive here in 2009.
Arowojobe Estate, Mende and Maryland: Any serene neighbourhood where there is opportunity for development on the mainland will always be a hot spot. By serene I mean a measure of support structure like drainage, motorable road, and good layout. This is because things like these are scarce and value is bond to grow in the direction of such locations.
Ikorodu : My choice of Ikorodu is based on what happens with the 4th Mainland bridge. Connecting Ikorodu with Ajah, Lekki and by extension Victoria Island will definitely open it up to more prospects thereby impacting property values positively.
Lekki: Especially towards and around Eleko area. These projects; Free Trade Zone, Export Processing Zone, Cargo Airport, Golf Resort, e.t.c and as I gathered, the extension of Lekki-Epe Expressway will favour property investment in that axis.
Omuwo-Odofin, Festac, Okota: The road construction activities of Lagos State Government are being commended and I can authoritatively say that it will open these places up for more pressure thereby driving value towards the sky.
Badagry, Agbara, Igbesa: Imagine a 10 lane road running through Okokomaiko with a working rail system, value will go up like a bomb blast. The Lagos State PPP power project with some Asian partners, about 5 tertiary institutions (LASU, Crawford University, Gateway Polytechnic, French Village, Permanent site of Ronik Polytechnic), a tourist destination (Badagry slave camp), the Badagry beach, etc within that corridor are value drivers any day.
The Commercial areas of Victoria Island: this is for the high networth individuals or corporate bodies. You can more get approval for multi-storey office complexes on most streets in Victoria Island.
Along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway: this remains the hotbed for what I call penny real estate. It is an emerging destination for residential home investments with enormous potential for growth. This position is better enhanced with the Lagos-Ogun Mega City Project. The influx of developers into that axis has already broken the ice and ample opportunities exist for discerning intending investors.
Abuja: The Federal Capital Territory will continue to be an investor’s delight. The investment opportunities here cuts across residential, commercial, high and low income brackets.
Other parts of the Country where there is relative peace and serious work of governance will also provide investors with good returns on investment.
I suggest you take serious look at the places mentioned above, research further and launch out for an exciting real estate investment voyage in 2009.
Happy New Year!
I hope you know that there are a lot of real estate investment types available? If you don’t, I guess that must be why I am writing this article particularly because the new year offers an opportunity to start on a clean slate.
The idea of real estate and property is much more than just finding a home. There are categories of homes and business properties as well as divisions in the types of real estate that are available to others. If you want to make a different type of investment in something that you know you can make a profit out of, then knowing the different types of real estate investments can help.
Real estate investments begin with two major types; business and residential.
Each of these has specific guidelines set with them which will make a difference in the functions of the real estate. After you have determined what type of real estate you will be looking at, you can divide up what is available to you.
If you are looking at pure residential areas, then the real estate will be divided by the size of the home.
Typically, this will be known as a single family or multi-family home. If you are looking at a multi-family unit, you can expect to hav