It’s not easy living in a rented house, especially if you live and work in metro-cities like Lagos, Abuja, and Port-Harcourt. The money you’ll be spending on rent is no child’s play and after putting up with this for a while, there will come a point when you will be tired of giving up your hard earned money to your landlord every year as rent.
Owning your own house provides emotional and financial security and, in Nigeria, it’s considered a symbol of success. There are primarily two ways of owning your own house in Nigeria; building it or buying it .For the purpose of this article, we would be focusing on the first way to own a house in Nigeria, which is to build it.
This article is going to prepare you ahead for that time when you decide to build your own house in Nigeria.

How to Successfully Build Your Own House in Nigeria

There’s a lot that goes into the building of your own house. And even though you have all the money; there are still some critical questions that needs to be answered for you to successfully build your own house in Nigeria.
Such as; how would you build your house? Who should you have on board? Who are the likely contractors, architects, quantity surveyors and engineers you will be working with? Do you even need all these people?
These questions and many more all need to be answered when you want to build your own house in Nigeria. So let’s start with the basics; how would you build it?
2 Common Ways to Build Your Own House in Nigeria
In Nigeria
There are two very common approaches to building a house in Nigeria. The first, and which is by far the most common approach is the Do-it-yourself (DIY) method and the second is by way of
Design-and-Build .
In the Do-it-yourself (DIY) method, the client (owner) has all the money in place, buys a house plan from an architect or draws one up by themselves, purchases all the material and takes up the service of a contractor to provide labor – bricklayers, plumbers, casuals and electricians – such that it is the contractor’s role to direct the construction activity to completion.
In the Design-and-Build method, the home owner approaches a developer/construction company . The developer has a team in place that will consist of professionals – contractors, sub-contractors, architects, and quantity surveyors – each with defined rolesWhile there’s no right or wrong method to use when building your own house in Nigeria, both of these approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take a closer look at the first and most popular approach to building your own house in Nigeria;
The Do-it-yourself (DIY) method .

4Key People You Will Need to Build Your Own House in Nigeria Using the Do-it-yourself (DIY) Method
When you decide to build your own house in Nigeria using the Do-it-yourself (DIY) method, your role as the owner is unlimited. Starting with the most obvious, you will determine the budget(mostly in form of estimates) , you will provide the money, you will deal with the following 5 key people, you will have to make yourself available on site regularly, you will inspect the materials, inspect the quantities and a whole lot of other responsibilities
below are the 4key people you will need to come on board when you decide to build your own house in Nigeria using the Do-it-yourself (DIY)
method.
1) Architect/Designer. The Architect is the artist behind the looks and the beauty of a house. An architect comes up with a floor plan, elevation, roof design, and interior design. This work in most cases can also be done by a designer who could be one of: The owner himself if he can carry out the task, A builder, A quantity surveyor.Whoever does the designing it must be up to standard. However, it is important to note that there are certain types of design that must be strictly carried out by an architect alone i.E buildings over 2 story, Hotel complexes, recreational centers e.t.c
2) A quantity surveyor. After the architect/designer must have finished the plans. The next stage is costing. If you want an accurate info on how much the building will cost as well as the quantities of materials for each stage, You have to use the services of a QS who ll produce a document known as bill of quanties. This document will save you money as the project progresses because it contains how much each stage i. E Foundation will cost as well as the volume of concreting and other associated works.
3) Contractor/builder
Once the idea is conceived by the architect/Designer, the BoQ has been drafted and a plan is approved by the local authorities, the services of a contractor can be procured. A contractor is simply a business person who supplies the machines, labour and material for construction. Again here, as the owner you may choose to supply the material by yourself or you may leave it entirely to the contractor. The contractor may select sub-contractors such as electrical sub-contractors, plumbing sub-contractors and so on. The contractor may or may not have an engineering background, though most contractors double up as engineers.
4)Structural/civil engr. The services of a structural engr is usually needed in buildings with more than one floor i. E from one storey upwards. He carries out structural design which is different from architectural design, this involves designs the position and size of columns/pillars, beams, reinforcement / iron bars e.t.c

These parties to a construction will be sourced by the owner if they want to use the Do-it-yourself (DIY) method. Alternatively, if they decide to use the second method of Design-and-Build , the developer/construction company that you approach will already have this professionals in place.
Some clients prefer the Do it your self method others will tell you it is preferable to use the design and build method. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. As a client what ever method you opt for will work for you The major advantage of Do it your self method is that it is considerably cheaper while design and build method offers less stress and more professonslism