Fair enough.
Nobody mentioned the cost of renovation that landlords have to make before putting the house back in the market. Nobody wants to do that every month in an unpredictable society.
1 Like
Wow. Like Nigeria is known for its landlords actually giving a shit about the condition of the houses they let out. Cool story.
4 Likes
Theyâre these institutions called banks. They give people money to do stuff. Insane! I know.
1 Like
If you want sensible people renting your property, you gotta work on it. Personally I donât move into any apartment if I am not the first resident. I donât care how much renovation was done on it.
Even when I was in school, I wouldnât.
I hope you know that this is a two way street.
Some landlords do not give a shit, and some tenants are just TERRIBLE.
Imagine a tenant moved into a flat that was painted whiteâŚThen she painted it yellow and blueâŚ
At the end of her tenancy when asked to paint it back to white, she claimed that the house was not panted initially but was just plastered with POP
PS: Her contract had clearly stated that she must restore the house to its initial condition excluding reasonable wear and tear.
Thatâs clear violation of contract then. Whatâs your point? How often does this exact scenario (complete with contract) occur versus moving into the house and spending an initial 200k+ renovating (including fitting kitchen cabinets).
These excuses are beginning to get weird.
My point is just the way some landlords are crazy⌠some tenants are crazy too. The craziness of one is usually what leads to the otherâŚ
Concerning that quote, why will a tenant be renovating a house that he or she is about to move into? Itâs the landlordâs job to prepare the flat unless there is an agreement that states otherwise.
The craziness of one leads is usually what leads to the other. Fine. Please draw a connection for me with context.
Regarding your question; ask the landlords, not me.
Draw a connection? You mean give some examples?
If so⌠tenant A moves into a flat, moves out after 1 year and also leaves behind missing keys, broken mirrors that where initially there, and probably one or two damaged wardrobe/cabinet doors⌠when asked to fix them, he/she is suddenly unreachableâŚ
Now tenant B comes in, and landlord is insisting for a refundable security deposit on top of the rent and legal agreementâŚ
Can you really blame the landlord for that?
Pretty sure I didnât say the deposits and legal agreements were bad. But hey, have fun thinking the legal fees you pay for renting an apartment in most of Lagos actually goes to a lawyer.
1 Like
This is not true. Can you compare the price of renting at Canary Wharf or Knightsbridge to the price of renting at Enfield? Or can you compare the prices of renting at Park Avenue to Buffalo. So there is nothing âneo-colonial elitistâ about the pattern.
In my opinion, property seems like the only rational investment bet for most Nigerians. Like any investment out there, the aim of the investor is to maximise profit. Unfortunately there is nothing the Government or anyone can do about it. Until the property bubble bursts and what people consider as assets turns to junk, the problem will always be there.
The reason we all think that rent and house prices are reasonable around the world is because Landlords normally have to pay mortgages and are answerable to the bank (not the government). In Nigeria, a large percentage of houses are built without any form of debt, which leaves the Landlord as God and he can call any price that he wishes. In fact the Landlord losses nothing if the house is left empty.
So for the bad news, unfortunately its going to get worse until the bubble bursts just like how the Nigerian Stock Market bubble busted some years ago.
4 Likes
Tola, unfortunately, I do not think that the bubble is going to burst anytime soon. I have had this same conversation several times in the past and my argument is that as long as there is serious traffic every day on 3rd Mainland Bride, Eko Bridge and Lekki Expressway; then the demand for houses around VI/Lekki Axis will always be high.
Its a simple case of demand and supply.
On the other hand if an effective and reliable means of cheap transportation that cuts out the traffic were to be available, then maybe the demand for such houses will drop. People will then feel comfortable staying in Epe knowing they can be on the Island in less than 15mins at any time of the day, everyday!
There was a time I toiled with the idea of creating a startup which will build a light rail from Obalande, through Marina and all the way to Epe and then get people to own the light rail on a per meter basis and others to own the train coaches. These people will get paid based on how much time a train drives over your section of the rail or if your coach is in service or not.
I even had a route mapped out and potential costs (but dont forget to double those cost because of Tinubuâs cut⌠
⌠see below
1 Like
And why not metro 
?
Canary Wharf once housed poor docklands workers and the east end of London where lots of factories were housed many of the poor. With the London economy shifting from trade of goods to trade of financial instruments you see a lot of redevelopments of places like Canary Wharf.
But the point is that economics geography defines the settlement pattern of London and New York. Neo-colonial Politics defines Lagos and Abuja. Lagos which was a slave port under the portugese grew from virtually nothing from the mid 1800s under the British. VI, Ikoyi, Lagos Island planning was triggered by British colonialists who administered the Nigerian crown colony from there. The choice of the island as their base was for security rather than economic practical sense. They could get out easily at the first hint of trouble or get reinforcements in. Otherwise there is nothing particularly special about the island. Its hard to get to and hard to build on. Just like Manhattan which was chosen for the same beachhead safety by European immigrants to America fearing the threat of Indians on the Mainland.
However while Manhattan evolved like large areas of London in creating houses for the middle class and poor, VI continues to enforce exclusivity even as many of its residences are empty. Ikoyi a middle class place has become exclusive. Lekki which was a swamp full of the dirt poor trends the same way.
Meanwhile in all those places high end property is oversupplied and overvalued, mid property is lacking and the affordable multi storey flats that should really house the single or young couple which is 80% of the VI, Ikoyi workforce is missing.
1 Like
G[quote=âNwabu, post:56, topic:4679â]
Canary Wharf once housed poor docklands workers and the east end of London where lots of factories were housed many of the poor. With the London economy shifting from trade of goods to trade of financial instruments you see a lot of redevelopments of places like Canary Wharf.
[/quote]
V.I., Lekki and Banana Island used to be villages housing the maids and servants serving the elites âBritish and Non-Britishâ living in Ikoyi whose businesses where based in CMS and Marina. Their business were based in Marina not because âthey could get out easily at the first hint of trouble or get reinforcements inâ but just like in Rotterdam, Shanghai, Mumbai, Canary Wharf and New York - anyone that controlled the ports into a country made the big bucks.
Ikoyi is a very special Island as it is one of the few places that was properly planed and most importantly, all the consulates are located and house staff around there. That is a big plus in any country. Just like in Knightsbridge where Abrahamovich is a neighbour to a wide range of consulates, I dont see any âhouses for the middle class and poorâ working at Harrods in that postcode as you suggest. So you can see that exclusivity in not just a problem for Ikoyi but a worldwide trend which then means your âNeo-colonial Politicsâ argument is flawed.
Now if we move to new money Canary Wharf vs V.I. - Just as Canary Wharf used to be a dump, V.I. (you can include Lekki) used to be a dump too. Canary Wharf and V.I. were both sand-filled and redeveloped. In order to live in both places, you have to chop plenty money to live there. Just as the flats in VI are not affordable, the flats in Canary Wharf too are not affordable too - unless your maga is seriously paying you - New money economicsâŚ
In summary - bruv, its just pure economics and not about our forefathers selling us into slaveryâŚ
So what happened to the idea?
2 Likes
It didnât get funded.
1 Like
Donât know where you get your history from but the British berthed on Lagos to enforce the end of the slave trade which carried on at Lagos well into the 19th century due to the yoruba internal wars. Lagos was an administrative and military station for the British at the onset and only much later a port. For a port it lacked a natural harbor and the Brits had to engineer moles to break the current of the waves and to allow ships to come in. Lagos port was one of the most expensive ports in the British colony and they had to justify it by adding the lagos kano railway and pushing goods through that port.
When the Brits got to Lagos it was much smaller than Ibadan. The total population was less than 14,000 of which a vast majority were repatriated egba slaves. Most of what is today VI, Lagos Island and Ikoyi were created by the colonialists. VI was not a village it was seasonally inhabited by fishermen as was Lequi. Lagos Island was where much of both the European, native and immigrant populations lived and did business.
About Lagos that it remains fixated on a neo-colonial pattern should be obvious. the Island remains like in old times an administrative center, exclusive residence and formal trading point. The Mainland is a jungle of all sorts of business activity.
London has been reinvented multiple times, trade, manufacturing, financial services. Lagos remains practically run on the same neocolonial economic model.
3 Likes
Tola,
Can you see the numbers in the table???
Letâs just say the numbers are scary⌠especially when you add the âNigerian Factorâ into the equation