Now guys, I am based in the UK and I have a lot of properties in the Ikorodu area. As you all know that Ikorodu is one of the best location to get good return on Investment now. e.g. I brought a land near the "radio" area. It is about 5mins walk from the main road for N600,000 excluding agent fee of N60,0000. That was back in June 2005, As at Oct 2007 lands that are 10mins walk from mine are selling for N1.2m, and mine is closer to the road so only God knows how much people are willing to pay for it now. An agent of mine that buys me shops at ikeja,  came to see me at Ikorodu last Oct. He was so surprised the amount of connection i have built up in the area, he decided to ride on that. He brought a land I was offered last week, the land is owned by someone in abuja and he wants to finish his house in Abuja so he decided to sell the land in Ikorodu for N600,000. I was not intrested because i am over invested,  no liquid cash, so i decided to pass it on to my agent at Ikeja,  He brought it straight away. That land is worth N1M, but because this man needs the money urgently he sold for N600,000. + 10% agent fee. The agent deals with all the omo onile problems on his own fees. Except they require you to pay N30,000 during foundation,decking and roofing. That is a gound rule in the area but on most of my own properties my we negotiate the omo onile.

why am i saying all these.
1, I don't like people to make mistakes that I have made, it can be very painful if you get dealing with people in Nigeria
2, I have a very good agent in Ikorodu that has a lot of knowledge about the area, he is very honest ,  I have made all the mistakes in buying land in  Ikorodu before i met this guy. He was a student of Ilaro polythecnic when I first met him years back. As soon as he started working for me all the problems disappeared.
3. if you need any help I can introduce him ,  just email me
4, If you need to visit to have a look at the land you want to buy in the ikorodu area let me know and I can arrange for him to help you out,  But please give him something for helping
5, if you need help building,  my we know all the ropes when it comes to the builders in ikorodu, never give your project to people in Nigeria to help you build, they will increase the cost of building at least x2. If you need us to help you let me know. We will save you a lot of building cost, and we do everthing by the book, 
6, You can let us finish stages of the project before paying us any penny. We will buy all your building materials and save you a lot of from so called thieving building engineers


I am always happy to meet investors, and Nigeria is one of the best places to invest now as we all know that the consolidation of the banks is about to lift the housing market and land value has been increasing in Lagos by average of 50% yearly for the past 5 years.
Good luck to you all. I hope we may be of help to you. Any question please just email us and i  will be happy to answer.
cheers

I felt seriously disgusted with this your post. Just because you want to create business for your wife you dont have to castigate other people. I am a builder and i am also into property vending and i live in in Ikorodu as well. I am not just living in ikorodu, i am an indigene. I have given my opinion about this topic on nairaland before. Many of this people you are talking about are who i will call "penny wise, pound foolish. Because they want to cut corners, they dont want to employ proffessionals, they always end up shooting theirselves in the leg. When building there are certain proffessionals who are suppose to work on the project. These are: Architect, structural engineer in case of a raised building, the builder and finally, the quantity surveyor who will be a cost consultant to be employed directly by the client. These proffessionals have their duty to the client and they will always serve as checks and balances for each other. So my brother, let stop this act on this forum and instead, lets encourage proffessionalism. Those who intend building houses that are abroad should try and go through the right processes and desist from cutting corners in the name of trying to cut cost which eventually, they pay more.

I felt seriously disgusted with this your post. Just because you want to create business for your wife you dont have to castigate other people. I am a builder and i am also into property vending and i live in in Ikorodu as well. I am not just living in ikorodu, i am an indigene. I have given my opinion about this topic on nairaland before. Many of this people you are talking about are who i will call "penny wise, pound foolish. Because they want to cut corners, they dont want to employ proffessionals, they always end up shooting theirselves in the leg. When building there are certain proffessionals who are suppose to work on the project. These are: Architect, structural engineer in case of a raised building, the builder and finally, the quantity surveyor who will be a cost consultant to be employed directly by the client. These proffessionals have their duty to the client and they will always serve as checks and balances for each other. So my brother, let stop this act on this forum and instead, lets encourage proffessionalism. Those who intend building houses that are abroad should try and go through the right processes and desist from cutting corners in the name of trying to cut cost which eventually, they pay more.  In case you want to reach me my email is seggs.partners@yahoo.com

What is wrong with my doing business?
With all due respect to you, don't you know that serving people should always be the main motive in doing business? I am not saying all builders in Ikorodu are bad. But having invested over £250,000 in the ikorodu area in the last 5 years don't you think i may be of help to someone about to make the silly mistakes i made when i started investing in Nigeria. I don't know you but if you are one of the builders that has intergity in Ikorodu, i congratulate you for your success.
My own experience with builder in Ikorodu is very bad. I lost a lot of my hard earned cash before I realise the do it yourself is the only way that works for me.
Since then I have been doing very well. You guys in Niger always think we abroad are fools,  How can you say people here are looking for the cheap option. when the first builder I used in Niger 5 years ago brought me a land that cost N100,000 for N250000 + 10% commission. I felt to visit the man that owns the land after about 3 months we brought the land. As for me I do not go to the elders empty handed, I brought the baba irish cream from duty free at heathrow. baba told me all the story of the deal. Baba did not know builder charged me so much for a cheap land then. Dishonnesty of builder in Niger is what  I am trying to protect people from, after that builder I have gone through 8 other so called qualified builders before i learnt my lessons . Not just the skills, if you have all the skills and experience in this world without honesty you cannot make an investors money. Not only Niger , it is a common experience in the UK and US as well my properties in the UK suffered before I got a good team to help with my porfolio, but Niger is worse,  I won't let any builder that don't own a building for themself work for me. they can never feel what you feel. And they don't know how investments work. They charge like you are building Rome and they help themselves to all the money, eating nightly pepper soup at the Joint in Grammar school, or eating expensive afternoon lunch Opposite Ragolis. By the time they finish your building and you work out the yeild all the returns on foreign money have been used to manage ikorodu girls
Mr boyle you have just created an idea in my mind, there is a UK company that sold me my propery in costa del sol in spain. They took me on a buying trip to Spain accomodated me, show me the investment, educated me, I paid my deposit and the off plan project was finished dec 2006. They rent it out to holiday makers using their holiday arm of the business and I use it when ever i want to as long as it is not booked ( their addres is www.oceanviewpropertiesonline.com). And the property pays for itself. Now I am beginning to think of doing the same in Niger. we will take people shopping for land, We will educate them, We will help them with all the information they need from borrowing from the Bank in Niger, we will help them to build,  Accounting for everything we are doing, we will create a website with all the pictures of how their property is progressing, We will advise them on changes in material prices. Our aim will be to build them a quality home negotiating the labour and materials for start to finish. We will not take a penny until they are happy with each stage of the project ( As we are not poor we can wait for years before we make a profit). I will visit the owners if they live in London and if they are in the USA I may visit if they are not far from where I am,  we will create a club of Ikorodu property investors and create a network of people that can help each other. Not a bad idea,  Thanks a lot Mr boyle for making me to brainstorm this.  But Mr Boyle if you want us to use your services we will make sure you have a permanent address and ask your neighbours about you, we will not allow you to buy any materials, we will make sure you are not left behind at the site. We will check your qualifications and make sure they are veryfiable. We will not give you money until work is finished satisfactorily, we will listen to your advise  but not necessaryly execute it . You have to be married to be a part of this vision. We are not prepared to employ Ikorodu builders that spend every evening at the pepper soup joint feeding the hungry ikorodu girls with foreign money.

this is a great idea,  I will have to work on this one,

Mr Boyle I can call you when i come to lagos in a few weeks time, if you can leave me your phone number, it will be nice to meet with you.

ladies and Gentlemen, I will be working on this one. I am sure we can help.

Please mr boyle i have left you to do the spell checking for me, i have no time to read over this document.

God bless u all and mine is a pepsi on the rocks with one of those curly straws
Its me again BAC

BAC - Execellent idea , If you really execute this business concept - all Naija based abroad will patronise your service.

Thanks Gobi38
I have started work on this one, for some reason something has ignited in me to do this, i can't stand builders in the area any longer treating  people hard earned cash bad which is a Nigerian problem and not just ikorodu.

On my next visit to nigeria i am going to contact many banks in the Ikorodu area to get all the latest information on drawing out a mortgage. I will post all I get here.

I have never borrowed to buy in Nigeria, but someone i know that is investing in Aja and Abuja told me all rules are continually changing and some banks are offering good mortgages. so I will start from my bank and walk into all others to grab the info we need

Peace to you all

Mine is a Pepsi with ice.

Great concepts BAC

i sent you a message mr BAC, i will be delighted if look at it.

Ololade,
Thanks a lot

Ricky,
I got your mail. I have added the details you asked for. I will call you tomorrow. I don't know where u live in London, I am in the North , if it is not too far it may be a good idea to see u before you travel. We can meet up at a MacDonalds or something. "if i have the time"

I have also received some emails from others that have not joined Nairaland. I will send replies to your emails as soon as I can,


God bless u all
Mine is a pepsi on the rocks

Its me BAC

Hello,

I also live abroad and have been investing in the Naija market.

My agent built our 6 flats,3 bedroom,2 storey house in Ajao Estate (near the international airport) and he did a very honest job. Everything was done to schedule and we got regular updates on the progress.

How did I know he was honest? Apart from the fact that he was totally accountable,whenever he gives us estimates on material and he gets them cheaper, he informs us. He never tried to pocket the difference. That to me made a big impact on us.

Another advantage the agent has is that, he studied Estate management in Ife and he came out with 2.1.

So we are not dealing with novice. He does everything according to the books. At the moment, he manages our property for us as we rented it out to a hotel on Airport road. He got the tenant for us. He has been managing it for us for the past four years.

So,really, there are still honest builders out there.

His website is: http://www.imperialhomesng.com/

For further information or verification,you can call email me on sola129@gmail.com

I live in the UK and honestly, this agent is not my husband.

Cheers.

newways,
Please note, I am not saying there are no honest people our there that can run your investments for you. I must say you are a blessed man\woman, if you get investments right the first time in nigeria, your agent must be God sent.

But for those that have no experience, be warned. Nigeria is a mine field. If you are dealing with any agent do your research, and don't expect them to be taking care of you business, they take care of their own pockets. Mrs newways please i am in no way saying all agents are bad in Nigeria but based on my experience it is a mine field.
"this agent is not my husband"
It makes no difference if he is your husband, a person with integrity, experience and good Nigerian People management is all you need in this business.

BAC i got your message i will call tomorrow. thankx

Hello BAC,
I know this is not your name so am sorry to be using this. My forum name is not boyle rather it boye/larry which is the combination of my name and my son. I quite understand how you feel and what am just trying to let you know is that if you have used the required personnel or proffessionals it could have been averted. Talking about builders in ikorodu many of them that call themselves engineers and builders are not. I happen to be born into the proffession and when to school to study building and i have been practicing since 1995 and when we meet i will take you to many of the projects i have done and at present i have two others that am handling. If you want to contact me my number is 08029478202 or mail me to seggs.partners@yahoo.com. To answer your question, i am married with a son with the second on the way. Your concept is quite nice i can visualise a synergy between us. will look forward to hearing from you.

Boye/larry,
I am so sorry shortening your board name. Just trying to reduce typing. You did't give any indication in your post, to know if you are male or female. If you are male , I hope your wife coping well in preganancy, I wish her save delivery and congratulate you both in advance. Thanks for your comments I agree with you, I have added you to my contact list, I shall contact you when i am in Nigeria. There is alot of activity going on in the lagos Ibadan express area due to the Mega city project , do you know if the Lagos state gov have decided to go ahead or not?

I have had so many reponses to my new idea. I will update you all as i progress. I am in Germany on business trip at the moment as soon as i get back to the UK i will reply to your emails. I am planning to open a website in the next few weeks, on this new website i will post a lot of advice for those looking to buy land and build in the lagos area. especially Ikorodu. I am also going to publish a list to tricks that most of these fraudster builders use. And my adivse on how to overcome them. I will also expain in detail how we are planning to work with people that want us to manage their projects. For those that do not want our service, I am sure that the tips and tricks of the trade will help them to avoid the mistakes that we made on our own projects.

I am planning to make a trip to Naija soon, during this trip. I am going to do a lot of research in the lagos- Ibadan express area to find our more about what is going on and link up those that know about the area. I will also post my findings on the new website. As soon as website is ready I will post the link. But for now the site will have a lot about aquiring land and building in Ikorodu

Cheers to you all

Mine is a pepsi on the rocks. It me again BAC (Born Again Christian) all because I refuse to be Burnt again.

" For those that do not want our service, I am sure that the tips and tricks of the trade will help them to avoid the mistakes that we made on our own projects." -

BAC - The above statement you made really confim the kind of person you are, "An Angel in deed" . With this type of attitute you will surely succeed in any business venture you lay your hands into because your cherish Quality Service and Good Name before Money. I am also looking into real estate investment in Nigeria, I will definely contact you when am ready.

STAY BLESS -

Thanks Gobi38,

I am determined on this one. Website registration and planning is in progress and I shall let you all know when I start building it and I will like you all to give me your suggestions as well. As it will be an information portal for all that need it.

Thank again Gobi38

I have replied to all the emails i received. Due to the volume i mistakenly deleted one of them. If you have not received a reply I may have deleted you mail, so please resend.

Website domain name is still under registration as soon as i get the domain I will post so you guys can watch us as we build the site. And I am open to ideas

Mine is a coke on the rocks , BAC

Hello Bac,

Thanks for your soothing words. I am looking forward to donig business with you. I felt encouraged. As for the Mega city Question, the project is still on and the bulk of it falls under Ogun state. The axis which you are talking about Lagos Ibadan express falls under ogun state. I know a lot of things going on Arround there and more so the company handling the lands along that area which is the Gateway city Development company I have a serious link into the place because i just finish serving in the government that ended in may 2007 but left to concentrate more on my business. If you want to do anything or ask any question you can call me or mail, 08029478202 or seggs.partners@yahoo.com. The government is even encouraging private developers to come into partnership with them to develop the place. you can also take advantage of that

Hello everyone,
Thanks for all your emails and boye/larry I have added you to my list of contacts I will call you when i fly into lagos.

I have now opened a website for this cause, I will like you all to email me your suggestions and watch as i develop. This site will be the most popular investment site in Nigeria in the next few years. So i am giving you all the privilege to be a part of the history

Site address is www.NairaInvestors.com

Enjoy.

BAC

hey,
boye/larry please i need land in ikorodu. my mail: sukpele@yahoo.com

I have added the Nigerian Anthem remix to www.nairaInvestors.com

Sukpele,
Please check your email. I have replied to your mail.

Cheers

Mine is pepsi on the ice

Mr. BAC. i'm a web designer. i stay in ikorodu. i can help with the designing of the website as i can get to take the pics of all necessary places you want on the webpages in ikorodu. we can talk on the charges after doing a satisfying job for you. you can contact me on
08033309720. or you can mail me on akeredolukola@gmail.com

Reka,
I need a copy of the best website you have developed. What is your experience on developing on Officelive portal. I have seen a lot of site developed in Nigeira but I have never seen any one that make sense to me. Even the banks websites are poorly layed out and there is no attension to excellence. But let me see what you have to offer first.


BAC

Reka,
I am still waiting for the sample website I asked for. if you are not intrested any more can you let me know.

Guys,
Website development still pushing on. We have a dead line of 15th Feb to finish phase 1


Its me again
BAC

@BAC

Allow me to commend you on your show of maturity, I was afraid when I saw boye/larry's initial response to your post( about being disgusted), I expected another 'Nairaland war'. I forgot that I was on the 'Property' section, where you have the big guys.

Now the two of you are talking about working together. This is 'Diversity and Inclusiveness' in action-different opinions and experiences coming together for a way forward.

Kudos to you guys.

bac u really ve the time explain and canvasing.Anyway ve done a good job keep it up.more power to ur elbow

Good to hear from you guys. I believe in partnership. And you learn a lot from others. Someone knows something I do not know that is why they are making more money than me. If i am humble enough to sit at their feet and learn i will have what they have,  it is a matter of time.


Mine is a coke on the Rocks
  more stuff has been added to www.nairainvestors.com enjoy plus videos

Is me again

BAC

I have just added another article to www.nairainvestors.com this one is about buyig a good land. This will save you loads of money


Mine is a pepsi on the rocks

is me again

BAC

Hi Boye/Larry,
We spoke on the phone on Friday the 8th and i will send you an email.I never knew there was a lot of positive,intellectual going ons between Nigerian guys.I am so happy about that.I am very interested in property investment and i would like an update on the Mega City stuff.Thanks will call you on Friday.

Hi BAC,how is are you doing now?I tried to call your wife but got Boye instead and he is being very helpful.I know i am definitely lucky to meet you both online as i am very interested in foreign property investment in the nearest future.I live in Essex you know and will like to call you.pls send me your number by email.The way i see it you are focused and future minded .I like involving myself with people like you.Hope your family is fine.

Hi bimsbims, Thanks for your comendation. Its quite wise for people abroad to think of of investing into property in nigeria. Amongst the top ten cities with the most expensive properties in the whole world Nigeria has two amongst them. These are port harcourt and lagos. concerning the issue of the mega city, it is an arrangement to link some of the adjoining cities surrounding lagos to it with good amenities like road electricity e.t.c. This is due to the fact that Lagos is considered to be congested as at present and the govt want to develop the surrounding cities to serve the working population in lagos. That is why it is very wise for people to catch in on this to buy properties now in this adjoining cities