Property Investment… But with a purpose

I was gisting with an old colleague last week and we recalled our success in selling off 2 projects in the Agbára axis of Ogun-Lagos emerging markets. We talked about how it was challenginging when we started off, challenges the brand had as we were just starting off in the competitive real estate market, good prospects we lost to established competitors, issues faced even with ọmọ oniles and the fate of the projects now.

At that point we felt a little sad, not because we didn’t do allocations to every subscriber but because the projects have stalled! What really happened? How would the subscribers feel now with their hopes all on high?

Truth is Àgbàrá gave every first time home owners or investors the right platform to invest, but what killed every dream not just on the subscriber’s part but also developers is the fact that infrastructures are either very bad or not existent… That alone made it difficult to make projections. So except the state government aligns with our dreams of growth in this axis, its shocking to admit that investments in this axis have failed irrespective of the purpose.

Ofcourse we moved on, bigger dreams and more determination and we dived into the more competitive Lagos market, Ibeju-Lekki to be precise.

We were on the road last week to show a friend a project, he like every other investor was full of hope and anxious to take a bite out of the goodies real estate has got to offer. Then I paused to ask him, why are you actually buying into Real Estate?

His answer? I want to tie my money down, not thinking of building now but I’m hoping I can sell in the shortest possible time. That gave me the opportunity to advise him better.

A lot of times we all see advert of projects in social media, there are over a dozen especially of advertised projects in ibeju Lekki axis of Lagos. But before you put your money down, what should you look out for?

There are a few things to ponder on before buying that plot of land as these will help you make projections when it’s time to flip that property

  1. Social infrastructure and Government presence in the area. By this accessibility is important, proximity to major road and of course habitation around such property. It is very easy to flip a property in an area where people are already living than where you are envisaging will be habitable in years to come. Also when you have basic things like schools, malls and other commercial hubs available, such an area is viable for investment.
  2. Available Documents. At this age and time, it’s very easy and fast to confirm what documents are available on any property. An excision, gazette or a Certificate of Occupancy gives you rest of mind that there are no encumbrances on such property. This also adds value immensely on such property.
  3. Structural works and activities on the property in the case of an estate project shows the developer is ready to work and deliver and not just get your money tied up. I always tell my subscribers to ask for project timelines and ensure you measure such growth against a 6 months time interval. By this you can start your own plan towards building or flipping such property.

So I advised my friend, rather than go all the way towards or after La Campaigne Tropicana, look out for a viable project around Arepo to Bogije since he has the intention of flipping within 18 – 24months, a ROI of not less than 65% is possible when you buy from an estate project where you can see that the developer has comment Ed structural works.

Reading this and you would like to advise you more on your property investment or be your main plug? You can please hit me up on 08188419154 or by email bodfarfare@gmail.com.

If you have to invest in or buy properties, you have to do it right!