I really do find the House renting system on the Mainland very funny. Having stayed on the Island for a couple of months, i find life really comfortable and easy here but for some reason i have to move to the Mainland.
A few days back, i went House hunting on the Mainland with a supposed one year budget, only to discover that most houses here are compulsorily a 2 year down payment, an absurd Agent fee(Whether or not an agent helps me find the apartment), an Agreement fee(Payment for a lawyer to draft an agreement between myself and the Landlord, which in some cases the Landlords drafts themselves) and a Caution fee.
Is it just me or does anybody else find the Housing system on the Mainland quite expensive?
Why should i have an apartment of 150k per year and i get asked to pay 50k Agent fee, 50k Agreement, 20k caution.
The major problem i face here is
Compulsory 2 year payment
Agent fee isn’t fixed anybody gets to quote whatever they like as an agent fee. In Port Harcourt, there is a fixed 10% agent fee(that is if you found the house with the help of an agent).
Why the Heck should i pay 50k for agreement fee (WETIN WE DEY AGREE FOR SELF CONTAIN:grinning:)
Is there a reliable platform that can hook me up with a place but eliminating at least 2 of the problems i face above?
Is there a platform that could hook me up with a possibly Monthly rent? I think i would find it more comfortable paying rent on a monthly basis(wouldn’t mind paying more) instead of this yearly or 2 year sh*t.
Nigeria real estate is abnormal and extortionist. In countries with better quality property like Kenya and South Africa rentals are on a monthly basis. In those countries you see value in the amenities and in the infrastructure. In Nigeria crap housing is peddled like its gold. Swampy lekki with its cobbled and sand roads marketed like its Miami. Victoria Island fronted like its Manhattan. Banana Island which used to have cows sitting near its entrance seen as some sort of Beverly Hills.
About agent and lawyer fees, in sane countries landlords bear the cost of agents commissions. In Nigeria extortion is our middle name. That mentality is also why landlords fix a two year rent pre payment. They try to rob the consumer like everyone else in Nigeria.
Many states in Nigeria accept monthly payment… most corp members pay monthly.
rent and any other fee depends on the landlord/landlady. every country has its expensive, average and cheap areas… If there are no high brow areas you will still complain…
And even then, they still do month on month leases in those countries. The Bay Area is up there on the expensive real estate chart and I still get to pay by the month without comparatively ridiculous agency and agreement fees.
@Nwabu is right about the pretentious markup on Lagos real estate by the way. I mean, just look at this screenshot (showcasing night stays at decent hotels) from booking.com
And no, if you think the problem is them being lazy to get rates from cheap hotels in Lekki, bear in mind that a night’s stay at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas is less than $200.
Last time in Benin, just this December, I paid N20k a night for an average hotel. The third night I begged a friend to join him. I’m too broke for that kinda lifestyle abeg.
I never understand why it’s so difficult for landlords to accept 30-50k a month for a space. I just don’t gerrit. I’ll pay 10% extra any day if I can get a monthly lease. Move in January, move out April. No shit.
Besides, life is too short to wanting to get stuck in one place for 2 years. Like seriously, I don’t even know where I will be in 6 months. Long term contract sucks.
For me, I pray for a day it will be fine and economical not to have a personal car. Uber got to ubiquitous and cheap asap, and can jump in from one nice flat to the other every 3 months.
Come to think of it, more people will be able to afford living close to where they work if this is put in place - a potential joker in the quest for fixing the traffic problem.
To solve this problem, one would need a personal finance loan servicing company. The company pays your rent for ahead. You pay the company monthly while you take life as it comes. This will be a temporary fix. And in fact, an idea close to my heart.
There is nothing wrong getting a new job, and moving into an apartment the next week. Even before getting your first pay. Life would suck less immensely.
@akindolu, I think that’s the basic idea. Most people just like myself wouldn’t mind paying extra on a monthly lease, talking about loan think that wouldn’t hurt, got a few friends who should be resident in Lagos but for the rent and Traffic
So how is the company sure you wont get fucked and if you do, what is the collateral for them? I think this is not going to work in Nigeria mainly for 2 reasons. First is trust and second is lack of guarantee for long term employment (perhaps this can be measured differently for permanent employees).
If this needs to be solved, it needs to come from the landlord creating a flexibility for tenants or renters. I think reducing it to 3 months down payments with condition of deadline dates might help a bit.
Simple, get 1 or 2 reliable guarantors. I once stood in for my sister once when she needed to borrow funds for some investment. No collateral, just me credentials and signature.
Is there a body regulating Landlords or House owners on rentage or stuff? Last year i did read an article where Fashola did mention the ministry was gonna ensure the 2 year down payment stops. Apart from the Ministry of Housing and Stuff, is there any other body that regulates Landlords/landladies.
That’s why I’m working on my current startup. A startup that’d fix the issues that will let a service or product like that be built.
Every company should have like a sorta of job security factor/number, combined with your monthly salary. I believe a service that can pull off such numbers, will be able to serve as a prerequisite for a loan financing service.
The same criteria used to assess a monthly tenant is used for a yearly tenant everywhere in the world which is identity verification, ability to pay the rent, good character to take care of the property. Methinks the trend to one and two year prepayment seems to have come out of Lagos landlords who got used to renting to expatriates who paid on that basis. As Lagos has grown with huge demand for property, it has been used to extort from desperate tenants giving landlords lots of advance unearned capital.
I don’t think government has done enough to address exorbitant rent in Lagos and Abuja. Lagos for all intents and purposes is less than a 100 billion USD economy yet rents are on par with New York which is a trillion dollar economy. VI, Ikoyi prices are so out of wack that half the fancy buildings remain empty awaiting the mugu ready to be conned out of his sack full of dollars.
Does it really go back that far? When Expatriates used to roam the state ladened with 2 years rent to lock down apartments they only use in fits?
Landlords feel entitled, they wouldn’t know how to reconcile building a house without any credit line (mortgage) for the state to come and dictate to them how much they should be renting their space or for how long at a time.
Most of you guys are looking at this from a Tenant perspective. Now lets look at it from a Landlord perceptive. My dad owns an Estate somewhere down South and to collect Rent no be beans.
So I think that 2 years rent is to provide some sort of LockIn and less headaches for the Landlord for at least two years. Only corporate Landlords can afford to allow monthly rentals which is obtainable Abroad.
I see no reason why the no nonsense approach can’t be taken. If you are struggling to collect rent from your tenants, perhaps its because you’re requiring them to pay a hefty yearly amount as against a simple monthly one. Plus if they are paying monthly, they SHOULD be evicted within a few days of defaulting.
Thats not how eviction works bro. You need a weekly quit notice for a monthly tenant, and a 1 mth notice for a Yearly tenant. Then there will be a followup letter. Then if on default, you apply to court for recovery of premises, then they give you a court bailiffs and PoPos then you go kick the tenant out and seize his property until money is paid up.
