Property and real estate, the gathering momentum

It is a comfortable thing to know that you stand on your own ground. Land is about the only thing that can’t fly away’-Anthony Trollope “

When Mr. Mark Idiahi, an ebullient young man, gifted in persuasive skill with dexterity for perfection;  a long time friend  and the convener of Future Leadership Project approached Property Logic to play a key role in its next annual edition with the Theme  LEADERSHIP AND INNOVATIONS IN AN EMERGING GLOBAL ECONOMY slated for  OCTOBER 15TH, 2015 at the prestigious Unilag Center, I had started giving excuses that we wont be as pronounced as he wants us to; considering the enormity of the work load we have to contend with  at this time of the year. After the last two editions of this column, I have to quickly call him to inform him of our willingness to accept the invitation unconditionally. The reason for this sudden change is not far-fetched.

After The last two editions of Property Logic, I had to get extra batteries for my mobile phones to stand the torrents of calls that have been my lot from Nigerians who have bombarded me with calls for further clarifications and enquiries on how they could actually access Housing Mortgage in Nigeria. I have tried within the constraint of time to attend to those I could. The truth is; I have discovered that the more I tried to do this, the less I achieved as the volume of calls increased. I had to put on my thinking hat. Then, it dawn on me that there couldn’t have been a better opportunity than such a momenteous gathering like this platform created by the Future Leadership Project to attempt to address these torrents of enquiries. Property and Real Estate have finally taken center stage. Where will you be on October 5th 2015 when Leaders, motivators, key players and crème de la crème in the property and real estate subsector gather in UNILAG to unleash their stuff at LEADERSHIP AND INNOVATIONS IN AN EMERGING GLOBAL ECONOMY come, OCTOBER 15TH, 2015? It is expected to be awesome, informative, frenzy and educative. Those questions and worries that have been your lot on how to start up will be addressed by professionals in the sector. Am told it will be more. We can’t do much with phone calls or a few tweets. We also can not achieve so much with emails. I can definitely assure you; we can certainly achieve much more that day with all the resources that will gather under that same roof. The list of egg-heads is endless; CEOs, Technocrats, Academic gurus, Entertainers, Motivators and lots more. For those of you who feel a sense of inadequacies arising from the insufficient response you have received from me due to times constraint, you will have your hand full that day. Just find your way there and you will be glad you did!

I ran into a Professor of Housing & Urban Development a few days ago in a gathering in one of those prestigious centers in Lagos. To be precise, it was at a gathering by Registered Surveyors & Real Estate Practitioners in Lagos. He took me up on an article I had written on this column a few weeks earlier and wanted a bit of further clarifications. The discussion took a moment of our time off the hub of the unfolding events at the venue that day. I asked him pointedly what his opinion was on the shallow depth of information available to Nigerians who are desirous of suitable housing provision but have relatively impeded access to same. He said such impediment is created by the people themselves. In his opinion, the man who needs a solution is the one that seeks for it. He believes the average Nigerian does not do enough to research whether formally or informally. He believes the desire for useful information in areas of concern by Nigerians is usually insufficient, so, he is not surprised that there is a hue and cry about impeded access to particularly mortgage funded housing. He said, ‘if the government has licensed Private Mortgage Institutions, Private Developers and opened up direct channels to access housing with such ease; why won’t Nigerians graciously access such channels suitable for them? It is a function of relative laziness. Nigerians like short cuts, so, they prefer to fall prey to questionable vendors who throw all sort of suspicious offers at them and deliver on non when the chips are down, The government may not have done all that is needed of it, but it has certainly lay the template that almost Nigerians can build on. Let them wake up, define their desire and approach the right credible channel.’ I totally agree with the Professor. The ball is the court of Nigerians.

No doubt the Property & Real Estate sub-sector has its own share of charlatans and scammers who parade themselves as experts in property acquisition and management. We have had stories of Nigerians duped of their hard earned resources by these scammers and quacks. This is more pronounced because Nigerians prefer to patronize them as against approaching professionals who may charge a fee to do a more thorough job. In the bid to save a penny, they loose their pounds. Stories are a washed of huge sums lost in processes that are either fraudulently consummated or ignorantly contracted. A family came to me for legal assistance in addressing a land transaction that ran into murky waters. I asked the Agent who contracted the deal the of the steps he took to ascertain the status of the land before getting the buyers involved, he didn’t seem to get me in the first instance. I asked him; ‘did you do a check with the relevant authorities to be sure the land was free from all forms of encumbrances before you got buyers involved? He said, oh; I did. I asked the family head (one of the sellers) if the land was his, he said ‘yes’. I asked him if to him, that step was sufficient enough to give him the information he required to make an informed decision on the status of the land? He said yes. After all, who should know land better than the owners?!’ This is how far he could go in verifying the status of the land. Land verification goes beyond asking the presumed owner a few questions. An owner whose intentions are laden with irregularities will not disclose any adverse situation to you. He will do all to make you look the other side. Land or property purchase requires expertise. It requires professionalism and aptness. It should not be a guess work or left to assumptions. Professionals should be engaged to do this. A professional who knows his onions knows he has a lot at stake if he undercuts. He has a name to protect and he would do everything to protect it.

A man I met in the line of legal duties was lamenting his ordeal over the property he bought that has now become a subject of litigation. At trials, the Surveyor was needed to come and defend his work. All was done to bring him down to the court room to do this; the Surveyor did everything possible to avoid testifying. I got his number from this same man in the middle of the heat and I pulled a call across to this same surveyor. I tried to persuade him of the importance of his testimony before the honorable court. Our dear surveyor confided in me truly that he is not a REAL surveyor. He said he earlier told his client of his predicament. At this point, it became clear that the survey plan this good friend had with him on which he heavily relied to turn the tide of his case against the other party couldn’t be placed before the court as a valid affidavit to substantiate his ownership claim to the land. We have seen Deed of Conveyances written by Estate Agents that are devoid of the basic ingredients of Deed of Conveyance. A job can not be done better than a professional. Doing otherwise is akin to playing the ostrich game. When the chips are down; it is penny wise pound foolish. Paying a professional to handle your property transaction may be costly at the initial stage, but it saves you harrowing experiences on the rainy day. Investors have lost hugely for trying to save cost and then loosing all at the long run. Property procurements and management could be very contentious. Those that want to displace the owners are usually better prepared. Only a man who got it right from the beginning can unsettle their conspiracy. Do not be caught in the web of unpreparedness. Ensure every step taken is taken with tactfulness and diligence. This will make you stand tall when the time to prove your mettle eventually comes. I will conclude with this popular quote by the seasoned American Real Estate investor, David Waronker; “Buy real estate in areas where the path exists and buy more real estate where there is no path, but you can create your own”. When we gather at the prestigious Unilag center come October, 2015, your fears and anxieties will be addressed by the experts that know it all.

khigbe Dominic