Here’s a low budget route to home ownership

For real estate investors, especially developers, hard times are here. But for prospective home owners, it is pretty good news, that in Nigeria, a country adjudged the second most expensive housing market in Africa after Angola, it is now easy to own a home or become a landlord with just N3,500 daily budget.

The developers who are challenged by the downturn in the economy are currently evolving strategies not only to drive affordability and spur buyer-interest in their offerings, but also to remain in business.

These strategies which are creative and innovative in their packaging include discount sales, convenient and flexible payment plans, gift items, etc. Low consumer purchasing power resulting from shrinking wallets and difficulties in accessing mortgage loans for property purchase are also at the core of considerations for these strategies.

Apart from helping the developers to remain in business, the strategies also eases the hardship in owning homes just as they enable low income earners to realise their home ownership dreams.

Generally, instalment payment plans help developers to solve the problem of affordability and gives opportunity to people who are not qualified for mortgage loans.

A good number of estate development firms have adopted these strategies and they include Realty Point Limited, Adron Homes and Properties, Dradrock Real Estate Limited, Revolution Plus, and Alpha Mead Development Company which focuses on renters.

Realty Point, for instance, whose mission in real estate according to its officials is for tenants to ‘Sack Your Landlords,’ is championing the flexible and convenient payment plans.

“We offer prospective home owners opportunity to buy through a daily contribution of N3,500 for five days a week or N76,000 a month. This commitment offers the home buyer opportunity to own a 2-bedroom bungalow in our Bersama project,” Debo Adejana confirmed to BusinessDay on phone.

Adejana, who is Realty Point CEO and chairman of Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), South-West Zone, explained that this contribution is made for six years, bringing the price of the house to a little above N5 million.

As for prospective home owners looking for 3-bedroom bungalow, he said their contribution is a bit higher at N4,000 daily, N20,000 per week or N86,666 per month, pointing out that in the event of a default, the offer is revoked, property sold out and contribution refunded less administrative charges.

The 2-and 3-bedroom bungalows which have spacious living rooms are at the company’s Prime Estates projects located in Agbara-Igbesa, Mowe/Ofada, all in Ogun State; and Roseberry Estate in Nasarawa State.

On its part, Adron Homes offers one of the lowest payment plans in addition to its Lemon Friday sale which offers 40 percent discount on all the company’s estates in Ikorodu, Epe, Atan-ota, Ibeju Lekki, Badagry, Ijebu Ode, Shimawa, and other locations across the country.

Adron offers prospective home owners as low as N1,500 daily payment plan at its Grandview Park and Gardens as well as ₦N3,833 daily for its Treasure Park and Gardens.

Ayodeji Ojo-Omoniyi, the Adron Group executive secretary, explained that this strategy is in line with the company’s dedication to continuously give their customers opportunity to be homeowners through discounts, royalty rewards and friendly payment plans.

“Customers can pay as low as N25, 000.00 initial deposits and enjoy up to 36 months payment plan on all properties. This means you could make payment at your pace and within your budget because at Adron Homes, for every budget, there is a piece of land for you in all our 24 estates throughout the country,” he assured.

Dradrock Real Estate, a relatively young property investment and development firm has been upbeat with its flexible and convenient payment plans. According to its CEO, Oladipo Idowu-Agida, this strategy has enabled them to offer over 400 people opportunity to own homes in their housing schemes in Lekki area of Lagos.

For renters who do not have all the money to pay annual or two years rent as demanded by many landlords in Lagos and other locations in Nigeria, Apha Mead Development Company has a product it calls Rent4Let with which it makes house rent easy for low and mid-income earners.

“We take off the burden of annual or two years rent plus agency fees off the shoulders of prospective tenants. We rent apartments or whole houses and thereafter let them out to home seekers on monthly rent payment basis. With this we are helping people to get their accommodation without stress and also to pay without stress,” Damola Akindolire, the company’s MD, explained.

According to him, the highpoint of this product is that it leaves the home seeker with more money in his pocket to settle other bills which are also as important, like feeding, education and health.