Though it is a high end development sitting on prime land in the Coastal City in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos, Alexandra Court presents value propositions that make it a destination for home buyers whose pockets are not deep enough for ‘cash-and-carry or pay-and-pack.’
A joint venture development involving the Lagos State government and Legrande Properties Development, the estate offers prospective buyers mortgage loans through the National Housing Funds (NHF) supervised by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), and also a Rent-to-Own scheme.
Legrande helps buyers who choose to buy through mortgage to secure loan from FMBN provided such buyers are contributors to the NHF scheme, in which case they will only be expected to start repaying the loan to FMBN after the unit has been completed and handed over to them.
However, the title documents would be issued to FMBN in trust for the repayment of the loan and upon completion of the repayment of the loan which takes 30 years, depending on the subscribers’ current age. The title documents will be handed over to the subscribers by FMBN.
“I know that confidence in the NHF loan is very low. A lot of people think the loan is inaccessible, but the problem is not the FMBN, but the primary mortgage banks (PMBs) who make access to the loan difficult because of so many demands they make,” Babajide Durojaiye, Legrande MD, noted.
Durojaiye, who spoke during a tour of the estate by property writers recently, disclosed that Legrande was already working with AG Mortgage Bank through which all subscribers’ documents are submitted to FMBN on their (subscribers’) behalf for the processing of the loan.
The second option which the company offers buyers, according to Durojaiye, is the Rent-to-Own which a buyer goes for if he does not have a sizable down payment or his credit rating is too low to qualify for a mortgage. He added that renting a property with the intention to buy it could give such a buyer time to save and work on improving his credit rating.
He described Rent-to-Own as a homeownership enabler and a good solution to housing deficit, explaining that it allows more people to get on to the property ladder easier than any other option.
He noted that not many people were exploring that option because they were not aware of the scheme, assuring that it either gives a home buyer the option to buy or an obligation to buy after a certain period of time.
“You make rent payments each month and a portion of those payments can count towards your down payment. Should you decide to buy, the excess money can be applied to the purchase of the home. Renting to own can be an appealing concept for people who are interested in owning property but have thus far been shut out of the traditional home buying process,” he explained.
Durojaiye assured that with any of these payment options, buyers who did not have money to pay outright for the apartments which comprise 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom, could be home owners and enjoy all the amenities and facilities which the estate offers.
“This estate sits on 400 hectares of land and is being developed in phases. Phase one sits on 215 hectares out of which Lagos State has 50 hectares of serviced plots. We are building 12 blocks each standing on four floors with each floor comprising four apartment units,” he explained.
A major highpoint of the estate, he said, was that there would be an IPP project that will power the entire estate and there would be solar system too, meaning that homes would be powered naturally.
“People will not pay for light here; they will not pay for water either. People can take power from the national grid only when they want to power their fridge, air conditioner, or television. In this case, they will pay according to their consumption,” the managing director said.
