Home owners are frequently faced with four different options, not two. Whether to buy a new home, build a new home, remodel an existing home or buy and renovate an existing home.
Follow along as we discuss the pros and cons of the various options available and the cost effects of buying a home and then remodel versus building a custom home.

Why should you consider all options before building or buying a home:

Over the years, I have met thousands of home owners (myself inclusive) who had wished they had taken their time before making a choices. In this regards, it would be wise for you to consider all options in full before making any decisions. This thread will draw from experience of different home owners who took their time to educate themselves on all the choices they have before making their choice and who eventually get the best deals of the homes that fits their needs and budget.

WHAT SHOULD I CONSIDER?

Let me do my best to explain to us that although there are many things to consider when struggling with this decision, for me it comes down to cost and [size=16pt]location[/size].  Location side of this decision can be defined simply by considering – what you love, the kind of neighborhood you like to live, the kind of neighbors you want around, and many other things? 

Often the property you have and your neighborhood is too difficult to consider leaving, so it makes this decision simple.  If I may ask - How many of us consider this before taking a lifetime decision to build?

More updates on this soon,

In making this crucial decision, here are a few hints that may influence your final decision and which we think you should consider:

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DESIGN AND LAYOUT

NEW BUILD - The design and layout of your house is a crucial thing to think about. It makes a whole lot of sense for you and your family to have a new home design and layout just after the pattern you really like and have been dreaming of.

BUY AND RENOVATION - You would have to adapt to an existing old home design and layout.
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MUST-HAVE FEATURES

NEW BUILD   - Spacious rooms, more bathrooms, and built-in closets or wardrobes are must-have features of new builds. If your choice is to build a new home, you can add this features as well as modern finishes within the home as part of the negotiation with the builders.

BUY AND RENOVATION - An existing home may require renovation in order to incorporate some of the features you really like and features that will make the home energy efficient. That is an added cost, though it doesn't take time to complete.
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PERMITS

NEW BUILD - Permits for a new house are more expensive because of ever increasing development fees for all new buildings. You could experience delays when applying for your building permit and approvals within your area (even so called estates) because it would first have to go through several committees and be open to public comment.

BUY AND RENOVATION - No Worries!!! Renovating a house can easily speed up the process; it will also put you in good standing with your neighbours.
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INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITIES

NEW BUILD - If you have to build a new house, you will need a septic system, electricity, road access, drainage, security (if you don't have one) and sometimes you will have to sink a borehole or well. Don't forget, you also need GOOD neighbours! Who knows who might occupy the next compound?

BUY AND RENOVATION - Buying a house for renovation does not require you to do any of these things, if you make the right choice.


More updates in the next post

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Win prize na.

This topic is going to be very interesting.

I spoke with a friend on NL recently and he made a statement that I will never forget about location. He said "I would prefer buying a slum in Bariga & renovate to building a castle in Ofada".

I begin to ponder why he would say such a thing. Why would someone prefer to renovate a slum in Lagos to building a new house elsewhere? I guess he's not ready to trade in the big city life. Its very hard and near impossible to get vacant plot in choice areas and my friend is not ready to settle for less.

The convenience, the comfort, the cool culture and good schools - not leaving out the amenities and infrastructures readily available are his reasons.

If I may ask, does that give RENO an edge over New Build?

Find out more in the next post

Let's examine straight-forward issues like comparative cost and value of New Build and Old Apartment.

Generally, building a new home is a better long term financial investment than renovation. But economic crunch, a dwindling supply of buildable land, lifestyle preferences and other factors has complicated this equation and make this decision more difficult than it once was.

COST COMPARISON
For many people, money will play a key role in this decision. In this regards, I'd like to advice that your decision as it relates to budget should be based on the amount of work a renovated or new building needs to turn it into your dream home.

VALUE COMPARISON
For other people, Value is a more critical issues to consider than costs. However, no decision to build new or renovate existing can be complete without comparing the numbers – initial costs, site costs, construction, phasing, moving, operations and maintenance for the lifespan of the facility.
For example, will the new building or renovated building be expected to last 10 to 25 years or 75 to100 years? In terms of life expectancy, a new building should carry the day. But is this really the case? 100 bags of cement today is less than 20 bags of 30 years ago.

For an accurate value comparison, absolute honesty must be exercised in addressing the issue of lifespan, and this honesty reflect in the area of construction materials used in the renovated or the new houses.

Questions For You to Consider before you BUY and RENOVATE

- Does the location play a significance role?
- Do the costs of renovating the building outweighs the costs of building new?
- Can the building be renovated to accommodate features of a modern house?
- Is the building properly sized for my family size of today and of the future?
- Does the environment/neighbourhood impart a feeling of safety and wellbeing?
- What is the extent of changes required to establish the desired fit?
- Will additional space be required?
- If so, how well will the structure allow for such additions?
- What is the expected life span of the renovated building?


On the next post Questions For You to Consider before you BUY TO BUILD

New student too. enrolled

just registered my presence! another interesting arena!

BEFORE YOU BUY THAT LAND TO BUILD, CONSIDER THIS

Every community is unique, but in Nigeria, the underdeveloped rural areas share devastating circumstances and persistent problems that local effort cannot easily overcome. Not even the developers - quote me!

Insufficient community infrastructures contributes to a lack of adequate housing and essential services such as health care, childcare, education, and youth development. In many rural communities, human capital is underdeveloped, and, consequently, business opportunities is on the low side. In addition, rural areas often suffer from a lack of investment in young people and their careers and lingering class, race, economic, and social divisions.
This explains why there's so much disparity between Lagos and many other states in the country.

Unfortunately, there is no single solution for rural poverty exists.

With all these information, at hand - will you still go ahead and buy that land because it is CHEAP or because they promised you infrastructures?

Always ask "Will There Be Difficulties with the Location?"

If you want to build in a remote site—in the rural area or newly-opened sites—research the availability of electricity, water, and other utility services. Also, consider potential difficulties the location might pose to your builder before purchasing land. And always be aware of restrictions for each area.
I've heard story of a couple that bought a cheap land on NNPC pipeline!


More update soon

NEW BUILD VS RENOVATION

BUILDING A HOUSE IS NOT JUST THE FRAME WORK, THERE ARE MORE TO IT

The are two fairly simple and straightforward items that readily come to mind when you think of building a house.

1. The cost of the land
2. The cost of the house

But there are more to Building than the two items listed above.

Tomorrow we will examine the COST of building a new house vs COST of buying a house to renovate.

Am luvin it!

This is an educative thread, Good job Brabus.

Welcome back again!

Yesterday, we discussed the problems associated with new builds and the advantages of renovating. Today, let's us probe further into this by examining the position of families.


I find it amusing to tell us that it is only in Nigeria that leadership doesn't come with responsibilities, where citizens had to pay for water, road, school, basic infrastructures and amenities, good health, house, fuel, electricity, even AIR that we breathe and still NOTHING to show for it.

For instance, I remember I had to grade the road to my land (I did it myself) before having access to commence construction. This is the least of the problem associated with construction.

By the time you enumerate those things you had to do yourself on a recurring basis, I think its better to buy and renovate in the city than to build new house in the suburbs.

I have a sister, who used her little salary to build a 2 bed apartment in Mowe. She's now a landlord!

But I warned her before she left her rented apartment in Ajah to reconsider moving to the new apartment.
The fact that you have a new house should not reduce your living standard, I think not. But it should add value to your life.
The concluding part of the story is that she's counting her losses in less than 8 months. The children education suffered a lot, she'd changed job at least 3 times in 6 months - no to mention the heavy traffic she had to face everyday when going to work in Lagos.

Always put your family first in the scale of preference before making any choice.
The kids are the ones at the receiving end - don't play with their future!

The most painful part of this story is that it took my sister almost 7 years to build the house.

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Case study 2

Jide is a childhood friend who is still in his early-thirties. He approached me for a candid advice on what decision to take based on pressure from his family to build a house in his hometown.
Although, I like to make money but I value making friend and building good relationship over money.
I told him he should not do so but asked him to consider building in the village if he's planning to reture in the next 3 - 5 years.

Jide heed my advice and we went for a 2 bed apartment on a 600sqm plot of land for N8.6m in a street off Badore road, Ajah, Lagos.

We spent additional N3m to renovate and remodel the house and also extend the house to 4 bedroom with a home office.

Is it a wise decision?

Read more about the cost savings in the next post.

I'm back again!

In my last post, I told you the story of my sister who spent 7 years to build a 2 bed apartment for N6m (cost of land inclusive) in Mowe; and the story of Jide, my childhood friend, who bought a 2 bed apartment in Ajah for N8.6m and used N3m to renovate it.

In this post, we'll be examining the 2 cases - who's decision is right?

Jide was able to save a lot in terms of cost and time because the renovation work was done in less than 6 weeks!

TIME
What took my sister 7 years took my friend just 6 weeks.

COST
My sister built a 2 bed apartment (3 toilets/2 bath) in Mowe for N6m, while Jide got 4 bedroom all room ensuite, 1 office for N12m.
Jide didn't do well here, you think!

Let's look at it from this angle.

LAND COST
A plot of land in Mowe usually range between N600k - N2m depending on location. My sister's location currently goes for N800k. This means that my sister actually paid N5m for the 2 bed apartment.

A plot of land in Ajah is between N3 - N10m. Jide's area is valued at N4.5m which means Jide actually paid N7.5m for the 4 bed apartment.

Jide is a winner here!

VALUE
A 2 bed apartment in Mowe is currently valued between N3 - N4m.
A 4 bed bungalow in Ajah is currently valued between N8 - N12m (depending on location/ finishing)

Here again, Jide is a winner.

Does it mean, we should stop building new houses and start renovating existing structures?

What should I do to the lands I already have in the rural areas? Should I sell it off and move to the city?

Read more in the next post.

Can i add a perspective to the example of your sister and Jide.

Jide could afford to do what he did because he had the cash down but your sister had to keep saving and waiting till she had enough money to continue.
You can only buy and renovate if you already have all the money you want to spend waiting in the bank. But if you plan on building little by little, waiting for whenever you have cash to continue then you CANT do a buy and renovate.

My 50kobo.

Good work brabus. Keep it coming, am already waiting for the next write up.

I love that 50k.

Jide who paid at once did not get the money at once.
He actually save up the money.

Whether you choose to pay at once or instalmentally, you are both paying for something.

The explain the reason why you shouldn't fall for instalmental payments. You end up payong more for less. Save up your money, you might eventually get a good bargain when you pay at once.

@spyder880, I'll update soon. I'm presently shopping for materials for the RENOVATION contract we just signed. Its not easy blogging on the move, though.

I completely go with you on that installmental payment thing. Once you start out, you are hooked and so you must go all the way. With savings, you are optimizing your decision every step of the way and you are open to new deals. The only bad side is that it is not so easy to save that kinda money without channeling the fund elsewhere,

Learn how to save funds without diverting it. More interesting updates later as I've decide to showcase the LSPDC renovation project here.

Somebody shout Halleluyah!

Speaking from a finance side, the extra cost in paying instalmentally is a cost of sourcing for funds. If you are not able to save successfully, then pay the extra cost involved in paying instalmentally. Its a trade off, so u decide if the extra cost is worth it or you would rather wait and save it up knowing that inflation could diminish the value of your savings. Time value of money is very important in making the decision.

That's why it is important to hedge your savings/investments.

blank:

Speaking from a finance side, the extra cost in paying instalmentally is a cost of sourcing for funds. If you are not able to save successfully, then pay the extra cost involved in paying instalmentally. Its a trade off, so u decide if the extra cost is worth it or you would rather wait and save it up knowing that inflation could diminish the value of your savings. Time value of money is very important in making the decision.

That's why it is important to hedge your savings/investments.

I will have to agree with blank on this point. Inflation is something that you can't predict in this economy couple with the fact that landed properties keep appreciating at exponential rates. By the time the savings reaches the present amount of the house, what is the assurance that inflation would not have affected prices again? Since the financial muscles of individuals are different, the final choice should actually be left to the individuals especially according to their pockets.


Then there is an issue that is still amazing me in this Lagos. So many people build their lives/investments around their present places of work; what happens if the job is lost/retires or the person gets posted to another branch I know somebody that was formerly working in Ajah but all of a sudden he was posted to Ikaja!!! Obviously he moved into his house in Arepo.

Inflation, Transfer, Retirement etc - all noted.

Just as the man was moved to Ikeja, he could as well be moved to Badagry. What happens in such a case?

THE BENEFITS OF BUILDING A NEW HOUSE

Home buying or building is not something to make hasty decisions about. Naturally, building new will take a bit[b] longer [/b]than buying used property, but owning a house that was designed for your needs and wants – down to the very last detail - is really worth the wait to ensure that everything is exactly as you’ve always dreamed.

1. Live Worry-FREE

2. Lower your Repair Costs - a New House always enjoy new plumbing, wiring, roofing, mechanicals, and more!

3. Spend your Free Time the Way you Want - Used homes often require a lot of attention. With a new home, there is no need to spend your time remodeling, repainting, re-anything. Just move in and enjoy!

4. Enjoy the Conveniences of a New Home - Take pleasure in a home with a conveniently-located laundry room, walk-in pantry, and spacious bathrooms and closets.

5. Maximize your Re-Sale Value - you have a CHOICE to site your new home in close proximity to major highways, excellent schools, and community amenities; making it easy for you if you should ever need to sell your home.

6. Protect your Investment - Research shows that new homes appreciate in value more than older homes. Have peace of mind knowing that you’re making a wise investment and a smart choice.

Moreover, watching your dream house being born is an exciting experience, ask my client or Spyder's.

New homes have a longer life expectancy, therefore they have higher appraisal and more favorable resale values than older homes.

NextHome


Next post "Why should you build when there are so many great deals on existing homes?"

WHY YOU SHOULD BUILD A NEW HOUSE?

In recent times, there exist so many opportunities to buy and renovate an existing home that appear to be a good deal. But not!
Many people settle for a renovation because of the appearance of a great price in a good location. However, findings show us that the majority of these deals are on distressed properties.

In a distressed property, there are so many unknown risks with regards to repair and upkeep. Too much that buyers tends to spend more money fixing up the home to make it their dream home than they would have spent if they had built a brand new home.

IF YOU MUST BUY A RENO - THINK TWICE!!! NOT ALL THAT GLITTERS ARE GOLD

School of thought. keep them coming.

TERRACED APARTMENTS - A NEW DIRECTION

Kay, John and Cynthia are good old friends working in a telecommunication outfit in Lagos. Cynthia stumbled on NextHome blog and made a call to me to make service request. We discussed the possibilities of helping her build her dream home in her choice area.
Immediately, our "PlotHunters" went into action and got her a beautiful plot overlooking the Lagoon (with nice views). She loved it and decided to discuss the offer with Kay and John. John is a smart "Ibo" guy, whose senses are always at work while Kayode is a cool guy who' looking to buy or build his first home.

The trio fell in love with the land and requested an extra footage. Unfortunately, the whole land is not more than 1200sqmtrs! Too small for the three friends.

THE SOLUTION

NextHome suggested and came up with a multifamily design concept with value-added amenities and services - offering advantages that a single-family home doesn’t. When we finished up the concept, we were able to get 4 terrace units with parking space of 3 cars per terrace on the 1200sqmtrs plot of land.

THE PLUS FACTOR

A terraced apartment offers several advantages to different set of people (retiree, Lagos boys, first-time home buyers). Find out how?

Retirees/Nearing Retirement Age: A terraced apartment is highly recommended to people who fall within this class as they would need to be in areas with warmer weathers, rich cultural attractions, and easy access to good medical facilities. Moreover, as we age, activities like mowing the lawn and cleaning the gutters may become too hard. Share the burden with your neighbour!

Lagos Boy/Girls: A terraced apartment is highly recommended to many "Big Boys & Girls", who are simply thinking about enjoying their freedom now that their kids are out of the house. This set of people are tired of urban lives – are returning to the cities, leaving behind the single-family houses and the long distance journey to work everyday.

First-time Homebuyers: The last set of people are relatively young geeks who have found that purchasing their first home was more financially attractive and feasible than they anticipated. They want to be accessible to areas where young professionals congregate.

While a terraced apartment is a good stand-alone investment in the cities. NextHome is recommending an investment in Multi-Tenant units in a university community – one that can be used to pay for your child's education.

Oga Brabus,
Abeg, you fit post some pixs of these terrace style apartments you wrote about?

Obrigado

Based on the request of sir Natudu, pic updates has find its way to this section. Find below modern terrace apartment.

Brabus time will not allow me to pour my whole mind on this matter, but let me try little. Base on my experience in estate development in this recent Nigeria, i can assured people are just buying cosmestic and it is a matter of time peoples eyes will clear but i prayed that there wont be casualties but that the building will at worst become non functional. As a structural/construction engineer i av seen what some estate developer are doing and deliberately withdrew my self from some appointments before my career is ruined. (NOT ALL OF THEM BUT I DONT WANT TO MENTION NAMES). I do not want to conclude on this matter yet but i want to advice if u re buying a house to renovate get an engineer to conduct integrity test or rather buy those houses in IKOYI built in the colonial era LOL. More contributions later

@Aventures, Developers! Don't even go there!! That's another topic for discussion in the nearest future.