₦airaland Forum

@poster,
Take a look this
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/07/eveningnews/main5069610.shtml?source=RSSattr=U.S._5069610


the young boy won $232million .

In Todd County, South Dakota, one of the nation's poorest places, the Wanless family struggled more than most.

"They were just so darned poor," said family friend Jim Colombe.

The sign to their ranch is broken, showing just how hard financial life's been lately.

The family was barely getting by selling scrap metal -- and they're reportedly behind nearly $4,000 in property taxes.

Just when it seemed things couldn't get worse, they got a whole lot better, reports CBS News correspondent Bianca Solarzano.

"I need some time to let this sink in …" said Neal Wanless, 23. Wanless was on his way to buy livestock feed when he decided to give luck a shot. He picked up Powerball tickets in the nearby town where he was born -- a place named Winner!

"I'd like to thank the Lord for giving me this opportunity and blessing me with this great fortune," said Wanless.

After a lump-sum payment and taxes, Wanless takes $88.5 million back to the ranch. And that's where he'll stay, he says, buy some extra land, keep working - and start helping.

"My family has been helped by the community and I intend to repay it back many times over,'' he said.

"That's just the way it is in this part of the state, people help people, we know one another,'' said Timothy Grablander, mayor of Mission, S.D., the tiny town where the Wanless ranch is.

On The Early Show Monday, Grablander described the Wanless family as a "typical ranch family" for that neck of the woods, "very down-to-earth, rural people.

Grablander said he's "sure" Wanless will keep his word and give back to the commnity.

A down on his luck cowboy who won big in a town called Winner -- is Hollywood listening?

@poster,
Take a look this
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/07/eveningnews/main5069610.shtml?source=RSSattr=U.S._5069610


the young boy won $232million .

In Todd County, South Dakota, one of the nation's poorest places, the Wanless family struggled more than most.

"They were just so darned poor," said family friend Jim Colombe.

The sign to their ranch is broken, showing just how hard financial life's been lately.

The family was barely getting by selling scrap metal -- and they're reportedly behind nearly $4,000 in property taxes.

Just when it seemed things couldn't get worse, they got a whole lot better, reports CBS News correspondent Bianca Solarzano.

"I need some time to let this sink in …" said Neal Wanless, 23. Wanless was on his way to buy livestock feed when he decided to give luck a shot. He picked up Powerball tickets in the nearby town where he was born -- a place named Winner!

"I'd like to thank the Lord for giving me this opportunity and blessing me with this great fortune," said Wanless.

After a lump-sum payment and taxes, Wanless takes $88.5 million back to the ranch. And that's where he'll stay, he says, buy some extra land, keep working - and start helping.

"My family has been helped by the community and I intend to repay it back many times over,'' he said.

"That's just the way it is in this part of the state, people help people, we know one another,'' said Timothy Grablander, mayor of Mission, S.D., the tiny town where the Wanless ranch is.

On The Early Show Monday, Grablander described the Wanless family as a "typical ranch family" for that neck of the woods, "very down-to-earth, rural people.

Grablander said he's "sure" Wanless will keep his word and give back to the commnity.

A down on his luck cowboy who won big in a town called Winner -- is Hollywood listening?

how much is it?

spoke with someone today at stanbic ibtc bank regarding mortgage facility, the guy said i must earn upto 300k a month so as to qualify and minimum facility is N10 million @ 22% and payable over a period of 20 years.
Anyone in the house with more information regarding mortgage please lets keep it coming.

Stanbic Ibtc line 070022557826242

contact innocent on 08039434856 he design and install my wireless base station and still working smoothly.He will also help you get cheap and reliable clients end devices for your would be customers.
Cheers .
Just tell him Olu from Kogi

i am actualy interested in a mortgage facility , have visited some nigerian banks website, and even contacted them, all i hear is the facility is for clients in selected part of Nigeria e.g Lagos , abuja e.t.c.
Am interested if you have any info.

Has anybody venture into taking mortgage facility, please i need advice.Especially regarding nigerian banks, what are the experiences, merits and demerits.

NASS Reconciles Dangote, Otedola
By Otei Oham and Sule Lazarus, Abuja.

Warring business moguls, Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola showed their disdain for each other before the House of Representatives on Wednesday, as they snubbed themselves before they were called to order.

Locked in a bitter war over allegation of manipulation in the sales of AP shares by Nova Finance, it took the intervention of Chairman of the Committee on Capital Market, Aliyu Wadada for them to exchange greetings.

Wadada urged them to see the nation above their interests and misunderstandings.

Speaker Dimeji Bankole, who got wind of the cold reception, had to pay a brief visit to the venue of the public hearing where he had a brief chat with Otedola and Dangote.

Otedola, who arrived earlier shunned entreaties and pleas to reciprocate greetings from Dangote, until Wadada, who had been watching them, invited the two businessmen to the front where he asked them to exchange greetings. They did grudgingly.

"The feud between Dangote and Otedola has socio-economic implications on the nation. We the lawmakers and the industrialists are all working together for the interest of the country, and it should be uppermost in our dealings. We will appreciate if you embrace yourselves and leave whatever concerns you have behind," he told the duo.

In his testimonies, Otedola denied withdrawing his petition and that he was ready to abide with the verdict of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the interest of the nation's economy.

He admitted that the dispute between him and his foe was telling on the economy, and said there was need to settle the matter by the stakeholders.

Dangote, in his presentation disclosed that the share price index was not static, and added that banks whose investments on shares worth about N60 billion annually sometimes experience a drop in the price of shares as low as N8,000, but which has rise to about N28.00 within three months.

"I want to suggest that members of share holders association be given the opportunity to make presentation since they are major stake holders in the capital market to give fair hearing in the entire transactions," he told the Committee.

President of Share holders Association of Nigeria, Sony Nwosu had complained that some of its members died in the course of pursuing justice in various courts to recover their investments which never came until their sudden death.

Wadada pleaded for understanding of the desire of the Committee to resolve the matter, reminding the stakeholders that both the report of SEC and NSE are not bidding on the House.

According to him, the report at the committee's disposal showed that two companies have been sanctioned by the two regulatory institutions on their role in the share price index.

"The country should be placed first in all that we do in the public service and the private sector if some economic indicators are followed very well by our industrialist crises of price index would as well be avoided".

"The issue of share manipulation was personal but Nigeria is greater than everyone since the matter has been investigated by SEC and NSE we have no choice than to accept the report and recommendations and after a careful study we shall further make our own report based on what we have seen.

"The two regulatory institutions shall be invited to brief the committee on their report, though the report of NSE has already been made public but in the course of studying the reports if there are reservations we shall not hesitate to let the public know," he said.

Before Dangote and Otedole left the venue of the hearing at the new wing of the House, they embraced themselves to the admiration of onlookers.

Meanwhile, the police in Lagos on Wednesday arraigned two staff of a Lagos-based communication outfit, Prize Communications Ltd and six newspaper vendors before a Tapa Magistrate Court for allegedly circulating libelous materials against Dangote.

Those arraigned were Adeolu Olufunso, Affia Grilo, Ademola Afolabi, Chika Idor, Simeon Okonkwo, Owoseni Femi, Michael Benedict and Azubuike Jacob.

They were arraigned on a four-count charge of conspiracy to commit felony to wit, libelous defamatory conduct likely to cause breach of peace and threat to life, an offence punishable under Section 516 of the Criminal Code Cap C17, Vol.2, Laws of Lagos State.

They were also accused of circulating the said materials with the intent to injure the reputation of Dangote by exposing him to hatred, contempt or ridicule and damage his status as the first vice president of the Council of Nigerian Stock Exchange.

They, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Magistrate however, later admitted all the eight accused persons to bail with one surety each, a N200,000 bail bond, evidence of tax payment, two passports photographs, an identity card and a driver's licence.

The police had last week raid the premises of the communication firm claiming to be looking for incriminating documents linking the firm to a new publication.

http://www.independentngonline.com/busi/lead/article01

is the car still available?
send picture to timer4netaccess@yahoo.com

interested 280k.
08036691956

am interested 280k?

dear all,
I have a cash flow of 250k-300k passing through me before being paid to the bank, Wandering if anybody has an idea business one can plough the cash to before remittance to the bank.
Just honest advice and experience business entrepreneur need to reply.

I realy need advise on companies or ISP that can real provide good broadband internet service outside lagos.
My current isp has realy been fucking up(but just improved lately) when i announced to move to another isp.
For three weeks it has been hell once it is 10 am can't browse until 6pm in the evening.It is so terrible i had to purchase an Idirect 3100 series for 220k.
Now what i want is, experinced nairalanders who are using VSAT powered by Idirect modem to comment or recommend good ISP i can connect to with a 1.8m dish and a 4 watt BUC.
I am in North central part of Nigeria.

A pregnant British woman faces death by firing squad if she is convicted of smuggling drugs at a trial in Laos, campaigners have said.

Prosecutors claim Samantha Orobator, 20, was in possession of 1.5lb (680g) of heroin when she was arrested at Wattay airport in Laos in August.

Legal charity Reprieve has called on the UK government to intervene with the Laotian authorities on her behalf.

The Foreign Office says it is "paying close attention to her welfare".

Miss Orobator, from London, has been held since her arrest at Phonthong prison in the south east Asian country. She became pregnant in the prison in December and is due to give birth in September.

In Laos, anyone caught with more than 1lb (500g) of heroin faces a mandatory death sentence.

Reprieve legal director Clive Stafford Smith said that on Thursday the authorities in Laos announced that they were bringing forward her trial by around a year to next week.

Nothing that happens in that prison is voluntary
Clive Stafford Smith, Reprieve

He believes the decision to move the trial was only taken after arrangements were made for her to see a lawyer for the first time.

He said: "It's pretty shocking that they would do that apparently to avoid her seeing a British lawyer before she has to go to trial.

"The notion that no lawyer should be appointed to defend her is outrageous."

He said she was "certainly not guilty" and had originally told police the drugs were not hers.

Mr Stafford Smith added: "We're dealing with a woman who has clearly become pregnant in prison. Nothing that happens in that prison is voluntary".

Labour MP Stephen Pound, vice chair of the all party group on the death penalty, said Miss Orobator was being kept "in the most inhumane circumstances".

He criticised conditions in the prison saying there was evidence of "no space, no light, no exercise, no diet, no food, no consideration of the needs of a woman carrying a baby".

There is no British Embassy in Laos and the nearest is in the Thai capital, Bangkok.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are paying close attention to her welfare and are in discussion with the Laotian authorities about her case.

"We have visited Samantha every month and we have kept in close contact with the family."

She said Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Minister Bill Rammell will raise the issue with the Laotian foreign minister when he visits the UK on 7 May.

But Mr Stafford Smith fears that could be too late.

He said: "The trial will be over by then. We're calling on the government to do everything in its power".

He wants the trial to be put back and for Reprieve lawyers and mental health professionals to be allowed into the prison. He is also seeking assurances that Miss Orobator will be provided with a proper defence.

Miss Orobator was born in Nigeria but lived in south London from the age of eight. Her father lives in Nigeria and her mother and three sisters live in Ireland.

She had been on holiday in Thailand and the Netherlands before travelling to Laos.

At least 39 people have been sentenced to death in Laos since 2003


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8029787.stm

A pregnant British woman faces death by firing squad if she is convicted of smuggling drugs at a trial in Laos, campaigners have said.

Prosecutors claim Samantha Orobator, 20, was in possession of 1.5lb (680g) of heroin when she was arrested at Wattay airport in Laos in August.

Legal charity Reprieve has called on the UK government to intervene with the Laotian authorities on her behalf.

The Foreign Office says it is "paying close attention to her welfare".

Miss Orobator, from London, has been held since her arrest at Phonthong prison in the south east Asian country. She became pregnant in the prison in December and is due to give birth in September.

In Laos, anyone caught with more than 1lb (500g) of heroin faces a mandatory death sentence.

Reprieve legal director Clive Stafford Smith said that on Thursday the authorities in Laos announced that they were bringing forward her trial by around a year to next week.

Nothing that happens in that prison is voluntary
Clive Stafford Smith, Reprieve

He believes the decision to move the trial was only taken after arrangements were made for her to see a lawyer for the first time.

He said: "It's pretty shocking that they would do that apparently to avoid her seeing a British lawyer before she has to go to trial.

"The notion that no lawyer should be appointed to defend her is outrageous."

He said she was "certainly not guilty" and had originally told police the drugs were not hers.

Mr Stafford Smith added: "We're dealing with a woman who has clearly become pregnant in prison. Nothing that happens in that prison is voluntary".

Labour MP Stephen Pound, vice chair of the all party group on the death penalty, said Miss Orobator was being kept "in the most inhumane circumstances".

He criticised conditions in the prison saying there was evidence of "no space, no light, no exercise, no diet, no food, no consideration of the needs of a woman carrying a baby".

There is no British Embassy in Laos and the nearest is in the Thai capital, Bangkok.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are paying close attention to her welfare and are in discussion with the Laotian authorities about her case.

"We have visited Samantha every month and we have kept in close contact with the family."

She said Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Minister Bill Rammell will raise the issue with the Laotian foreign minister when he visits the UK on 7 May.

But Mr Stafford Smith fears that could be too late.

He said: "The trial will be over by then. We're calling on the government to do everything in its power".

He wants the trial to be put back and for Reprieve lawyers and mental health professionals to be allowed into the prison. He is also seeking assurances that Miss Orobator will be provided with a proper defence.

Miss Orobator was born in Nigeria but lived in south London from the age of eight. Her father lives in Nigeria and her mother and three sisters live in Ireland.

She had been on holiday in Thailand and the Netherlands before travelling to Laos.

At least 39 people have been sentenced to death in Laos since 2003

A MAJOR crisis is imminent in the housing sector owing to soaring rent, coupled with recurring policy inconsistencies by government on the housing needs of Nigerians.
Skip to next paragraph
click to expand image
Punch

A well maintained Estate

The increasing demand for houses has not only shot rent out of the reach of the majority of the citizens but also triggered fluctuations in the prices of building materials.

A survey showed that most residents of such cities as Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Enugu are groaning under the squeeze of estate agents managing the few available housing units.

Experts say the country requires at least N400bn yearly to fund the housing needs of the citizenry.

The amount is for an estimated 400,000 housing units at a mere conservative N1m apiece.

The President Umaru Yar’Adua housing policy is to build 400,000 housing units annually (10,000 housing units in each of the 36 states and 40,000 in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja).

According to Lagos-Nigeria-Real Estate.com, a luxury three bedroom flat at Omole phase 2 goes for between N900,000 and N1.2m per annum. In nearby Ogba, it goes for between N400,000 and N500,000 per annum. At Magodo GRA, a three bedroom flat goes for between N1.1m and N1.2m per annum. In Ikeja, a three bedroom flat goes for between N950,000 and N1.5m.

In Surulere, a three bedroom flat goes for between N600,000 and N800,000 per annum. In Lekki, a three bedroom flat at Agungi goes for N1.8m per annum while a two bedroom flat in the same area goes for N1.3m.

For Osapa London, also in Lekki, a three bedroom flat goes for N1.2m.

In Lekki phase one, a two bedroom flat attracts N2m. In Ikoyi, a two bedroom serviced flat goes for N3.5m per annum with a service charge of N500,000 per annum. A three bedroom flat goes for as much as N5m per annum.

At Ifako Gbagada, a four bedroom flat goes for N900,000 while a three bedroom flat at Mangoro (Guiness Side) goes for N500,000 per annum. A three bedroom flat at Egbeda plus boys quarters goes for N5000,000 per annum while a three bedroom flat at LASPOTECH estate, Ikosi Ketu goes for N600,000 per annum.

Rents are also charged in dollars. For example, a four bedroom serviced luxury flat at Happy Haven Estate, Banana Island, goes for $120,000 per annum while a tastefully furnished, fully serviced luxury penthouse at Ocean Parade Towers, Banana Island goes for $250,000 per annum.

In the slum areas of Ajegunle, Okokomaiko, Agbado Ijaiye, standard three bedroom flats can go for between N90,000 and N180,000 per annum. It is also in these places that one can get single rooms and room and parlour for rent for prices that range between N18,000 and N70,000 per annum.

In Enugu metropolis specifically, the landlord is king. For this exclusive club of home owners, anyone in search of an apartment is a prey that must be bled to the last blood.

On hand to egg them on are the ubiquitous agents and caretakers who see every prospective client as the next meal ticket who must bear the brunt of their economic condition.

Operating at the fringe also are conmen posing as estate agents duping the unwary.

The city which hosts a multitude of tertiary institutions with the resultant dense student population makes it easier for house owners to charge outrageous rents even for tenements that belonged to the 19th century.

Depending on the area, a two-bedroom flat at Independence Layout goes for between N200,000 and N250,000 per annum, while the same apartment attracts from N240,000 to N300,000 at New Haven, the heartbeat of the city.

Gloria Ibenekwu, a Resident Surveyor with Pat Onukwuli Estate Surveyors & Valuers, traced the high cost of rent in the state to the high demand for flats which she said outstrips supply.

She noted that the high cost of building materials also contributed to the cost of construction which according to her was further exacerbated by the global financial crisis.

The Managing Director of Enugu State Housing Corporation, Chief Ikeje Asogwa, blamed the high cost of building materials and construction costs for the housing crisis in the country, noting that the situation could be reversed if the prices of building components, especially cement are reduced.

Some residents of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital believe the city charges the highest rents on property in the country.

Investigations revealed that a single self-contained room in D-Line, GRA 2 and 3 goes for between N150,000 and N200,000, while a one-bedroom flat goes for between N250,000 and N300,000 per annum.

A two-bedroom flat in D-Line, GRA 2 and 3 goes for between N450,000 and N700,000 a year depending on the finishing on the building.

A three-bedroom bungalow in D-Line area of the city goes for between N800,000 and N1m, while a similar property in Old Government Reserved Area and Amadi Flats go for between N1.5m and N2.5m respectively per annum.

A three-bedroom duplex in D-Line goes for between N2m and N2.5m while a similar property in Old GRA and Amadi Flats would go for between N4m and N5m per annum.

However, rent on property located outside the hub of the city in areas like Rumuomasi, Rumuola, Rumuokoro and even the Old Port Harcourt Township are relatively cheaper when compared to what obtains in the highbrow areas.

Investigations further revealed that most property owners prefer upfront payments ranging from two to three years with additional 10 and five per cent of the total rent fee charged as agency fees and legal fees respectively.

In Kaduna State, the cost of rent has been rising lately. In the Kaduna metropolis a two-bedroom apartment goes for not less than N200,000, while in Barnawa and Narayi High the cost is higher because of the high concentration of people in these places.

Again, in the same area, a two-bedroom apartment goes for a minimum of N250,000 while a three-bedroom goes for not less than N350,0000 per annum.

While a self-contained apartment in the state capital goes for about N80,000, the same accommodation in Kaduna South attracts N150,000 per annum.

Meanwhile, a former Publicity Secretary of the Nigrerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Mr Meckson Okoro has implored the Federal Government to make the nation‘s housing policy more flexible.

According to him, it is through easy accessibility to land and finance as well as deliberate provision of an enabling environment that will make the nation accomplish its housing needs.

He frowned on the politicisation of the nation‘s several housing policies, noting that these made the country not to achieve much since independence.

He said, “The Federal Government should make the private sector to be interested by creating adequate and enabling policy and climate to encourage the private sector to invest in houses.

“We have policy impediments because government did not focus positively towards making private sector to also be interested in housing development.”

In another development, within the past three years, mortgage banks in the nation‘s capital city have been enjoying an unprecedented boom as business and residential accommodation remain in relatively high demand.

Documents made available to Sunday Punch at the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria indicates that 102 Primary Mortgage Institutions are accredited by FMBN‘s Loans Production Department.

Through them, billions of Naira has been made available to those seeking mortgage loans under the National Housing Fund.

Although officials of FMBN declined to release relevant official statistics on the grounds that the bank‘s Corporate Affairs Manager, Alhaji Dauda Yusuf had travelled, they assert that the National Housing Fund Act No 3 of 1992 which stipulates that every Nigerian must contribute 2.5 per cent of his salary to the fund also offers everyone an opportunity to own a home.

FMBN which was established by the Federal Government in 1956 with the purpose of facilitating effective mobilisation of funds for the housing sector has had about 19 managing directors.

It manages the National Housing Fund that was established by Decree No.3 of 1992 to facilitate the continuous flow of low-cost funds for long term investment in housing for the benefit of all Nigerians.

Leading mortgage institutions in Abuja such as Aso Savings and Loans Plc, Union Homes Ltd, First Generation Homes Limited and Abbey Building Society Plc are facilitating provision of houses by individuals and housing estate developers.

For instance, First Generation Homes Limited‘s support has been crucial for EFAB Limited which now provides more than 2, 500 housing units of various price ranges at EFAB Estates in the city.

Mr. Omede Odekina, a Public Relations Officer at Aso Savings and Loans Plc told Sunday Punch that his company has been facilitating home ownership for thousands of salary earners and those engaged in the informal sector.

The daily influx of people from all parts of the country, the extensive demolition and eviction carried out in the Federal Capital Territory during the Obasanjo era and the continued relevance of Abuja as a political hub are among the strongest reasons driving the city‘s real estate values upwards.

However, there are clear indications that members of the body are doing well in Abuja‘s thriving real estate market.

Agents of different hues and even scammers have also featured while the speculative prices of land encouraged forgeries of documents.

According to the Customer Relationship Manager at Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS), Alhaji Muhammad Musa-Gombe, the Federal Capital Territory resolved to computerize the entire land record system of the FCT in place of the manual system that was plagued by numerous bottlenecks, widespread forgeries, document laundering, and racketeering of land.

Fellow Nairalanders,
I Completed my NYSC service January 2004, Immediately went to setup an internet cafe with my parents fund(borrowed).
I ran into trouble due to ISP wahala and got duped , Cafe was down for about 7 months of existence, by His Grace i relaunch a come back and ever since i have not looked back.
My current worry is that my financial status get me troubled at times, at any point in time i always have a back up some of about 200k should incase of emergency and isp wahala. Am currently developing property about 4( 2bedroom apartment each) Because i really want to diversify away from Cafe business beacuse of ISP wahala.
My plan is to create a residual income of about 200k per month, but it has been very tasking and challenging.From my expectation from the property at hand i can only earn about 60k per month when completed at (720k/year). Seems i still have a longer way to go if am suppose to realise my dream.
Please am really open to ideas on how to leverage and speed up this process of getting 200k / month residual income.

Any nairalander have an idea about the reliability of this company and their resellers here in nigeria.
Any info will appreciate.
http://broadsat.com/opensky/
http://www.xvillemediacom.com/
http://www.hook-me-up.biz/faq.html

Hello Collins465,
The problem with your cafe may not be from your end,Let me give you an example.I have been running cafe for about 5 years now,sometimes ISPs have problem from their end but pass the blame to you telling you there is virus on your network. What i normally do is first do a check on my side to find out the problem is not from my end ,once i have done that you can then tell them (ISP) that the problem is not from your end.Then recently most isp are finding it difficult to pay new rate as a result of Dollar wahala, my isp inclusive(DOPC). My current isp is the 10th isp i am using ,as i have bought all kinds of modems from KU to C band network. Just take your time the problem sometimes might just ease off.
Cheers

My advise for you is to go into real estate business.Let me give you a sample of what i have done before. I am in to IT business too, though internet cafe not banking as i am self employed, in my internet cafe i make about 45 -60k per month after all expenses paid, this has been steady for about 3 years now.
I needed new ideas to make more more money, i studied my environment and added wireless internet access to my business ,i.e providing internet access to people within my environment. To God be the glory my income increase from 45-60k to about 180-200k per month, this after all expenses are paid, i have about 180-200k every month.You know what i did with the money? I purchase a land for about 1million naira, started building 2bedroom apartments (4Pcs)
all roofed currently about to start plastering and aluminium window.Currently,2bedroom apartment goes for btw 180k to 200k per year in this area.
Although i have spent about 5million now on the project ,i could make about 720k per year as rental fees which to me is not bad as a residual income.
So i wish you the best in your thinking about how to utilise your N5million.
Cheers

I have been running an IT company for about 4 years now,I needed to diversify into Real estate,am currently developing 4 (2bedroom) apartment which command renting price of about 180k/ year. in the location where the project is located.
So far about N4 Million gone to the project, i just realised that building is not for the faint in the heart,i had wanted to rest for a while but all my attention has been on the project,i can't start any new project, i even find it difficult to give out few notes(naira) to friends.
I am thinking of developing another 4 apartments of 2 bedroom,
Nairalanders what do u think?

A MAJOR crisis is imminent in the housing sector owing to soaring rent, coupled with recurring policy inconsistencies by government on the housing needs of Nigerians.
Skip to next paragraph
click to expand image
Punch

A well maintained Estate

The increasing demand for houses has not only shot rent out of the reach of the majority of the citizens but also triggered fluctuations in the prices of building materials.

A survey showed that most residents of such cities as Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Enugu are groaning under the squeeze of estate agents managing the few available housing units.

Experts say the country requires at least N400bn yearly to fund the housing needs of the citizenry.

The amount is for an estimated 400,000 housing units at a mere conservative N1m apiece.

The President Umaru Yar’Adua housing policy is to build 400,000 housing units annually (10,000 housing units in each of the 36 states and 40,000 in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja).

According to Lagos-Nigeria-Real Estate.com, a luxury three bedroom flat at Omole phase 2 goes for between N900,000 and N1.2m per annum. In nearby Ogba, it goes for between N400,000 and N500,000 per annum. At Magodo GRA, a three bedroom flat goes for between N1.1m and N1.2m per annum. In Ikeja, a three bedroom flat goes for between N950,000 and N1.5m.

In Surulere, a three bedroom flat goes for between N600,000 and N800,000 per annum. In Lekki, a three bedroom flat at Agungi goes for N1.8m per annum while a two bedroom flat in the same area goes for N1.3m.

For Osapa London, also in Lekki, a three bedroom flat goes for N1.2m.

In Lekki phase one, a two bedroom flat attracts N2m. In Ikoyi, a two bedroom serviced flat goes for N3.5m per annum with a service charge of N500,000 per annum. A three bedroom flat goes for as much as N5m per annum.

At Ifako Gbagada, a four bedroom flat goes for N900,000 while a three bedroom flat at Mangoro (Guiness Side) goes for N500,000 per annum. A three bedroom flat at Egbeda plus boys quarters goes for N5000,000 per annum while a three bedroom flat at LASPOTECH estate, Ikosi Ketu goes for N600,000 per annum.

Rents are also charged in dollars. For example, a four bedroom serviced luxury flat at Happy Haven Estate, Banana Island, goes for $120,000 per annum while a tastefully furnished, fully serviced luxury penthouse at Ocean Parade Towers, Banana Island goes for $250,000 per annum.

In the slum areas of Ajegunle, Okokomaiko, Agbado Ijaiye, standard three bedroom flats can go for between N90,000 and N180,000 per annum. It is also in these places that one can get single rooms and room and parlour for rent for prices that range between N18,000 and N70,000 per annum.

In Enugu metropolis specifically, the landlord is king. For this exclusive club of home owners, anyone in search of an apartment is a prey that must be bled to the last blood.

On hand to egg them on are the ubiquitous agents and caretakers who see every prospective client as the next meal ticket who must bear the brunt of their economic condition.

Operating at the fringe also are conmen posing as estate agents duping the unwary.

The city which hosts a multitude of tertiary institutions with the resultant dense student population makes it easier for house owners to charge outrageous rents even for tenements that belonged to the 19th century.

Depending on the area, a two-bedroom flat at Independence Layout goes for between N200,000 and N250,000 per annum, while the same apartment attracts from N240,000 to N300,000 at New Haven, the heartbeat of the city.

Gloria Ibenekwu, a Resident Surveyor with Pat Onukwuli Estate Surveyors & Valuers, traced the high cost of rent in the state to the high demand for flats which she said outstrips supply.

She noted that the high cost of building materials also contributed to the cost of construction which according to her was further exacerbated by the global financial crisis.

The Managing Director of Enugu State Housing Corporation, Chief Ikeje Asogwa, blamed the high cost of building materials and construction costs for the housing crisis in the country, noting that the situation could be reversed if the prices of building components, especially cement are reduced.

Some residents of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital believe the city charges the highest rents on property in the country.

Investigations revealed that a single self-contained room in D-Line, GRA 2 and 3 goes for between N150,000 and N200,000, while a one-bedroom flat goes for between N250,000 and N300,000 per annum.

A two-bedroom flat in D-Line, GRA 2 and 3 goes for between N450,000 and N700,000 a year depending on the finishing on the building.

A three-bedroom bungalow in D-Line area of the city goes for between N800,000 and N1m, while a similar property in Old Government Reserved Area and Amadi Flats go for between N1.5m and N2.5m respectively per annum.

A three-bedroom duplex in D-Line goes for between N2m and N2.5m while a similar property in Old GRA and Amadi Flats would go for between N4m and N5m per annum.

However, rent on property located outside the hub of the city in areas like Rumuomasi, Rumuola, Rumuokoro and even the Old Port Harcourt Township are relatively cheaper when compared to what obtains in the highbrow areas.

Investigations further revealed that most property owners prefer upfront payments ranging from two to three years with additional 10 and five per cent of the total rent fee charged as agency fees and legal fees respectively.

In Kaduna State, the cost of rent has been rising lately. In the Kaduna metropolis a two-bedroom apartment goes for not less than N200,000, while in Barnawa and Narayi High the cost is higher because of the high concentration of people in these places.

Again, in the same area, a two-bedroom apartment goes for a minimum of N250,000 while a three-bedroom goes for not less than N350,0000 per annum.

While a self-contained apartment in the state capital goes for about N80,000, the same accommodation in Kaduna South attracts N150,000 per annum.

Meanwhile, a former Publicity Secretary of the Nigrerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Mr Meckson Okoro has implored the Federal Government to make the nation‘s housing policy more flexible.

According to him, it is through easy accessibility to land and finance as well as deliberate provision of an enabling environment that will make the nation accomplish its housing needs.

He frowned on the politicisation of the nation‘s several housing policies, noting that these made the country not to achieve much since independence.

He said, “The Federal Government should make the private sector to be interested by creating adequate and enabling policy and climate to encourage the private sector to invest in houses.

“We have policy impediments because government did not focus positively towards making private sector to also be interested in housing development.”

In another development, within the past three years, mortgage banks in the nation‘s capital city have been enjoying an unprecedented boom as business and residential accommodation remain in relatively high demand.

Documents made available to Sunday Punch at the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria indicates that 102 Primary Mortgage Institutions are accredited by FMBN‘s Loans Production Department.

Through them, billions of Naira has been made available to those seeking mortgage loans under the National Housing Fund.

Although officials of FMBN declined to release relevant official statistics on the grounds that the bank‘s Corporate Affairs Manager, Alhaji Dauda Yusuf had travelled, they assert that the National Housing Fund Act No 3 of 1992 which stipulates that every Nigerian must contribute 2.5 per cent of his salary to the fund also offers everyone an opportunity to own a home.

FMBN which was established by the Federal Government in 1956 with the purpose of facilitating effective mobilisation of funds for the housing sector has had about 19 managing directors.

It manages the National Housing Fund that was established by Decree No.3 of 1992 to facilitate the continuous flow of low-cost funds for long term investment in housing for the benefit of all Nigerians.

Leading mortgage institutions in Abuja such as Aso Savings and Loans Plc, Union Homes Ltd, First Generation Homes Limited and Abbey Building Society Plc are facilitating provision of houses by individuals and housing estate developers.

For instance, First Generation Homes Limited‘s support has been crucial for EFAB Limited which now provides more than 2, 500 housing units of various price ranges at EFAB Estates in the city.

Mr. Omede Odekina, a Public Relations Officer at Aso Savings and Loans Plc told Sunday Punch that his company has been facilitating home ownership for thousands of salary earners and those engaged in the informal sector.

The daily influx of people from all parts of the country, the extensive demolition and eviction carried out in the Federal Capital Territory during the Obasanjo era and the continued relevance of Abuja as a political hub are among the strongest reasons driving the city‘s real estate values upwards.

However, there are clear indications that members of the body are doing well in Abuja‘s thriving real estate market.

Agents of different hues and even scammers have also featured while the speculative prices of land encouraged forgeries of documents.

According to the Customer Relationship Manager at Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS), Alhaji Muhammad Musa-Gombe, the Federal Capital Territory resolved to computerize the entire land record system of the FCT in place of the manual system that was plagued by numerous bottlenecks, widespread forgeries, document laundering, and racketeering of land.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20090301325865

Trism spells success for iPhone developer
Puzzle game lands quarter-million jackpot

By Mike Smith

ADVERTISEMENT



Turning your passion into your profession is the dream of every hobbyist, but one amateur game developer turned that dream into reality with a smash hit iPhone puzzle game, CNN reports this week.

Steve Demeter wrote "Trism", a sliding-block, color-matching puzzle game, in his spare time, and put it on Apple's App Store for $4.99. Just two months later, the game had earned Demeter over $250,000, and prompted him to quit his day job at a bank and start a development studio.

Demeter's studio, Demiforce, is working on five new games, including the sequel to Trism.

Want to get in on the action yourself? Go right ahead: companies like Apple and Microsoft (with the Xbox 360's new Community Games channel) have begun to provide bedroom developers easy, low-cost ways to develop on hardware that was once closed off to all but the biggest games makers. But with low barriers to entry comes lots of competition. Over 1,500 games are currently available on the iPhone's App Store, according to CNN, compared to about 900 two months ago.







http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/-trism-spells-success-for-iphone-developer/1268382

As a result of the free fall of the price in value of stocks in the Nigeria capital market my uncle is currently losing as much as N18million and there seems to be to barrier to stop this free fall.Can somebody help us?

Your post is quite an interesting one.I run two cybercafe business and a small wireless service for clients in my area.
What prompted me to this biz was as a result of where I did my youth service (NYSC).
I was exposed to 6 hours of internet browsing every day (year 2003).
As a result of the addiction to the internet , on finishing my service year I was retained where I serve (The Guardian Newspapers Limited) though I rejected it .
I convinced my parents to invest in cyber café business as that time there was only two café available in the state capital where I reside Lokoja.
My parents having gone through the business plan carefully they invested 1.75Million in the business as at 2003(mind you my parents savings of retirement was the money for investment).
My first baptism of fire was the Internet service provider cleverly sold used equipment to us as new ones.
To cut the whole story short , the link was down for 7 months, I develop all kinds of problems but God realy gave me the gut to overcome it, Had to raise another N750,000
To start from scratch with the remaining scrap of equipment from the first company,
I forge ahead and I was ready to turn the business around so that my parents retirement benefit will not go down the drain.
Today I still run the café business from 2 locations and ISP service ,With assistance of God am currently putting up 4 units of 2 bedroom flats up in town.
I still net about N180k every month after payment of all expenses.
MY ADVICE FOR YOU:
YOUR LOCATION MATTERS IN RUNNING INTERNET SERVICE AND GOOD ISP WITH GOOD BROWSING SPEED.
If you need Help am available