₦airaland Forum

To get a building constructed can be very easy if you follow these steps I will be explaining to you. Before you begin at all or planning to do anything is better you know what is involved on that thing, and in your plan know how much you are going to spend,and you need to know the numbers of people you’ll be using so that you don’t end up paying people on your site that didn’t work for the day.

There are stages in building constructions that you must follow and requirements of labor varies but have it in your mind that anybody you bring to your site, work or not, they will have to be paid. And in case your first plan doesn’t work you can try another one.
A lot of books are out there advertising new innovations on building, you may be surprised to find out that what you need right now are right in those papers , and you have more opportunities of alternatives.

The reputation of your professional or contractor; how honest is he and which of his past jobs can he point to? who can stand for him, or recommend him to carry out your job. Make sure this person is actually qualified for the job.

Whatever you estimate, our economy is besiege by unending inflation, you will always be expected to spend more at the end of the day, so earmark 20% of the estimate for your building for exigencies, though make sure you don’t stretch your budget to the limit, or what is the essence of a shelter if you don’t have money to provide food for you and your family?

It is important you approve your building plan because of future occurrences, the government can decide to turn your building to a road, what will you use to fight back or at least be paid compensation for your property. If you are a businessman with an approved plan you can turn your property as a collateral to obtain loan from the bank to help your business. You and your contractor must have written agreement on a specific task he is to perform and also documents amount you pay him and always let him sign under to confirm amount of money you have paid to him, if you fail to do this, the probability is very high that you’ll quarrel over money with your contractor as the job progresses. I have seen several cases of this. If you feel what he’s charging is a bit on the high side is better you price lower and find out how your building will reflect the amount of money you are paying. Though the cheapest price is not always the best and the cheapest at the long run may end up being the costliest.

The safety of your workers on site is very important to avoid disaster let your contractor stipulates his health measures for his workers especially in a large building.When you are not sure of a step you are about to take, please don’t hesitate to ask the professionals before you embark on it, it may ruin your plans when you don’t seek advice, and local contractors and professionals can be of immense benefits also when you need them at short notice. Remember you are employing and creating a job by giving out your project to be managed by a professional who may actually be your friend, but in this case this is business and should be treated as such.

When purchasing materials, always go for the best quality and don’t hesitate to ask for discounts, you will be shocked by the amount of money that will be returned to you. When your contractor is offering you a deal that is too sweet to your hearing and too generous to your purse then you may be heading for disaster. Building work is not always as smooth sailing as some people will make you believe.
You can also save cost unknowingly when you build the biggest possible size you can afford as it will cost less if done at the initial stage rather than as extension later on especially when you are sure of your capabilities.

There is no need for being unnecessarily apprehensive to get your building completed very fast, be patient to watch out for favorable weather when building and also give room for waste management, so that you don’t end up having no space for your septic, refuse and other wastes. Whatever kind of material you are purchasing make sure they will be ready when you need them and always make sure of the presence of services on the site before you purchase them.

Where you keep your materials is also important, are they safe? Using an artisan (bricklayer, carpenter, welder etc) to do the job of a professional like Architect, Structural Engineer etc. is not advisable on your site make sure everyone is qualified for the job at hand and don’t allow any contractor to decide for you because you are the boss and pay only when the job is satisfactory however, don’t cut corners because it will cost you more later.

You can get the best quality of materials in Nigeria, you may not need to go abroad for this, don’t accept poor quality material or workmanship for your job.

By Omion Emmanuel
Source: www.lamudi.com.ng/journal

A country as populous as Nigeria and as evolving as any other 3rd world country has had its share of challenges, from politics to health, economic development and recently due to population, housing especially in terms of renting and owning of residential properties.

The National Bureau of Statistics reported in 2013 reported that following a banking sector crisis in 2009, which is now working its way out of the system, the real GDP growth rate rose to 7.8% in 2010. Growth dropped to 6.6% in 2012 as a result of a partial removal of fuel price subsidies, an increase in electricity tariffs, security challenges and a decline in agricultural output. Nigeria’s economy is dependent on its two driving sectors, mining (40% of GDP in 2011, and including oil and gas at 15% of GDP) and agriculture (30% of GDP in 2011, and employing 70% of the labour force). For 2013, growth is projected to increase marginally to 6.7%, and to 7.3% by 2014. Inflation is projected to come down slowly from 12% in 2012, to 9.7% in 2013, and 9.5% in 2014.

These data not only backs up our growth rate and the reason behind it, it also shows us a huge lacking an area which until now was relatively unexplored. House Micro Financing (HMF)

Microfinance basically entails the provision of financial services to micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses, which lack access to banking and related services due to the high transaction costs associated with serving these client categories. The two main mechanisms for the delivery of financial services to such clients are: relationship-based banking for individual entrepreneurs and small businesses; and group-based models, where several entrepreneurs come together to apply for loans and other services as a group. Housing delivery requires that a number of systems work; finance, land and infrastructure. Housing microfinance works even when many of these systems do not work well. For example, certain segments of the population build and improve housing circumstances incrementally, because of the high cost of housing and lack of affordable finance.

Text book wise, HMF is tailored to match this staged build process, financed by these relatively small and less predictable incomes streams. Dr. (Mrs.) Okonjo Iweala recently espoused the impact of Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company and related initiatives tend to unlock in Nigeria’s economy. While we agree with this statement, we have a duty to provide some level of insight on areas that require adjustment or refocus in order to achieve the overall stated objective of the low-income housing scheme. The need to adopt the principles of microfinance has been advocated in the quest by government to provide affordable housing for low-income earners in the country. We can take a cue from the Malaysian government.

The Malaysian government at first instance targeted the construction of 350, 000 units for low income earners with a monthly income of N78, 872.55, and a fixed price for the building at N2, 039, 100.00. Taking the case of the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur with about 52% of the population into trading and small businesses, it was discovered that achievement of the low income housing in Kuala Lumpur was the lowest with 27.3% compared to the medium (233.7%) and the high cost (749.6%). Analyzing the issues that necessitated the low performance of the low cost housing revealed that incentives given to medium cost developers was not available to the low cost builders, and most importantly, the lack of proper regulation, control and monitoring by the local authorities for the construction and completion of the low cost housing. In their attempt to resolve these imbalances, the Malaysian government created a new categorization called the low medium cost housing in 1998 which recorded a tremendous success taken the above negating factors into consideration.

Nigeria can model their solution after this. There is need to solve the of lack of infrastructure and services to support housing delivery. This includes water, sanitation, electricity and roads. This problem curtails housing supply particularly affordable housing, and is at the heart of slum formation. How does HMF work in the context of this shortage, and does it possibly offer some solutions?

Currently, Nigeria is projected to be having about 84.7million adults’ population out of which about 40million is financially excluded. More so, affordability for formally constructed housing purchased with a mortgage is limited to less than 15% of the adult population due to their inability to access mortgage finance, either because it did not exist or because it was inaccessible.

Household initiatives to provide infrastructure and services offer some solutions to the problem and HMF can finance these, particularly smaller scale, household and neighbourhood incremental infrastructure. Further, technological developments are increasingly showing that households and neighbourhoods can produce and manage their own services through off-grid solutions. However, we cannot discount the role of the state, particularly in ensuring that services are affordable and equitably distributed.

A real estate boom is a natural byproduct of emerging market growth via rapid urbanization. As growth moderates, particularly as seen in African markets, the rate of construction activity remains rapid. What are the constructions and how has it affected the commercial sector in Nigeria?

The commercial sub-sector of the real estate industry provides great opportunity for returns as Africa’s economic boom is sustained. Of the near 23 million m2 in shopping malls in Africa, 21 million m2 sits in South Africa and 0.5 million m2 is in sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa). Similar figures are found in the office space subsector – 2 million m2 in sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa) as compared to 4 million m2 in North Africa and 15 million m2 in South Africa. Navigating a blank slate in many instances, real estate investors approach the continent with the mixed ambition of Michelangelo and Donald Trump.



Yet, the “Africa opportunity” as regards to commercial real estate has started going south of 25 percent per annum returns as was seen in 2011, after putting in place strategies to tackle unexpected hurdles, like poor urban planning, unfinished neighboring infrastructure (i.e., unpaved roads), and boosting the financial power of local developers.

It’s no longer news that Nigeria is opening up Africa in the area of Real estate development with its mega and midi cities. But why is Nigeria rates amongst the top five African countries that has become the newest destination for real estate investments?

On the surface, Nigeria is the real estate investor’s dream canvass. It has become Africa’s largest economy with burgeoning middle class. Its 170 million-plus population loves to shop and consume. As companies flood the market, office space is lacking, such that prime office space rents as high as $85 per square meter, according to local renters.

The Ikeja City Mall, a 28,522 square metre mall in Lagos, which was backed by London-based private equity firm Actis in 2011, is unofficially considered the second mall to open in the country. Numerous malls have opened throughout the country since 2011. Even the recent boon in commercial space might not meet Nigeria’s rapidly growing demand.

Opportunities for retail development abound with only two international standard malls in operation in Lagos (The Palms, Lekki and Ikeja Mall) and two in the pipeline (Festival Mall by UACN Property Development Company (UPDC) and Falomo Shopping Centre redevelopment by Hiers Holdings in conjunction with Lagos State Development Property Corporation (LSDPC). The re-development will also include commercial office space and luxury residential apartments. Prime retail rents currently stand at US$1,800 per square metre.



The laws and regulations put in place by the Government has greatly reduced the issues that previously affected such investments like low tax rate and regulatory laws.

The retail sector continues to offer strong opportunities for institutional investment returns based on the demand for consumer goods from the emerging Nigerian emerging middle class, the demand by international retailers for world class retail space in order to access a market of 160 million consumers and the attractive return on investment figures generated by existing malls.