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By Bianca Iboma-Emefu
Concerned over the increasing number of Nigerians sleeping under the bridge and given the worrisome state of unemployed youths in the country, a developer, Dr. Steven Omobamidele Agbi, has rolled out plan to build 3000 mortgage luxury apartments in three states of the federation.
Agbi disclosed this during the official launch of new office space in Lagos recently where he explained how he intend to meet housing needs of Nigerians, stressing that the real estate industry has capacity to mop up unemployed youths.
While fielding question from newsmen, Dr. Agbi, who is the managing director/ chief executive officer of AS Wonder Properties and Homes, said he ventured into the business of real estate and property investment in order to offer affordable housing scheme to the common man.
He said:”Growing up, I faced accommodation challenges, which made me vow to help people like his story who could afford luxury apartments or even own a house.
“With housing deficit in Nigeria presently, we need a platform that can address the situation using innovative ideas that can tackle the challenge.People will always look for somewhere to put their heads. Youths can maximized the opportunities in the real estate industry and be financially empowered.”
He noted that “people can start with whatever amount they have, pay on a monthly basis, thereby becoming a landowner. Already we have properties in different locations that are affordable that people can key into. As developers, we also help them to develop these estates into habitable environments.
“Real estate is financially safe; landed properties appreciate. It also provides stable cash flow, especially in rental income as an asset that generates money while you’re not working, amongst others.”
Furthermore, he said that the industry do not only providing job opportunities for the unemployed youths, but also offering people the opportunity to own their own properties and also use the industry to grow their own wealth.
Agbi said: “We understand the challenges people are facing, getting a property of their own. You need at least N10 million, N20 million before you begin to make plans to buy, not any more because of the initiative we are working on.
“We want a Nigeria where individuals can say, ‘this is my monthly income, and you are provided with a mortgage game plan, where you can come in and we make sure that you as a person acquires property without having millions in your account.
“We cannot achieve this alone as individual, so we decided to go into partnership with the state and federal government.
” We have mapped out a plan to build luxury apartments for the 36 states including FCT but have gotten approval for 3,000 housing units, using a mortgages scheme plan for people to patronize.
“It is one thing to have access to affordable luxury; it is another to own a piece of this affordable luxury in a community where you can relate and further grow with people in your class.
” To achieve the above without going bankrupt is why we are having the private/ public partnership concept plan across the country but we would kick off in three states by providing a 1,000 housing units each for Lagos, Abuja and Borno respectively. These states have approved our proposal while others are in view.”
Explaining the projects initiative, he said it is accessible and affordable using his platform. “Basically, we have provided affordable housing, affordable land for our customers, and investors. We have an affordable game plan that even allows you to pay as low as N50,000 on a monthly basis. But this is a different project because it is in line with the present administration agenda to alleviate poverty.”
Agbi said that the goal of the current administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is renewed hope. He said: “We decided to come up with an initiative in form of a public private partnership system where we sent a proposal to Tinubu and he bought the idea. The other state governors across the country still in view.
“Although, three among the states have responded, we intend to take it further to get more states to be part of the project to ensure access to affordable housing in Nigeria.”
He narrated how his firm has experience growth with conscious effort and integrity. “We brought the office here because of the need for expansion. We started this real estate business in 2016, where I have my office in Ikota Shopping Complex. We thank God because the business is known worldwide, and we just came up with a branch in Abuja.
“The challenge of housing deficit in the country and how it has increased over the years, we seize this opportunity to provide solution to our fellow Nigerians by providing low cost housing, affordable property, creating a platform for an average person, a low income person, a low income salary earner to own a property in the country.”
He further said that they were not only providing job opportunities for the unemployed youths, but also offering people the opportunity to own their own properties and also use the industry to grow their own wealth.
“With this platform, people can start with whatever amount they have, pay on a monthly basis, thereby becoming a landowner. Already we have properties in different locations that are affordable that people can key into. As developers, we also help them to develop these estates into habitable environments,” he noted.
Speaking on some of the challenges he has faced since the business started, though they were prepared for it., “Omo nile (land grabbers) were a problem. Back then when I started this real estate business, it was a back to back fight with them (the land grabbers). But we thank God for the government policy that stopped that. “Then when you buy a property, before you can do foundation, you would have to settle this, settle that. But the government’s policy was able to resolve the problem. We also face the challenge of taxation.”
The burgeoning developer gave useful tips on how to get genuine property developers and shun fraudulent real estate developer.
He stated that one should research into the history of the developer, to know how he has fared before engaging such that he was able to grow his business because he had integrity. He recommended: “Get a surveyor who would check and test the soil, engineer and a lawyer who would handle the documentation when buying a property.”
Agbi added that fraudulent developers are on the prowl, exploiting the desperation of prospective homeowners and tenants to have roofs over their heads and secure cheaper accommodations to defraud them.
“With the huge housing gap, and the rising cost of rental accommodation, there has been an upswing in the fraud schemes. The coming of online platforms and money transfers in the banking sector has increased the risks.
“The social media has also been badly hit, as different groups and websites have been created to fleece members, including using multi-level marketing. In some circumstances, victims have been tricked to pay deposits or money for properties or buy into non-existing estates in major cities.
“Scam in real estate transactions occurs in different ways. It could be that someone pretending to be the vendor and trying to negotiate a sale is not really the owner or a person claiming to be the landlord and trying to let the property is not the verifiable owner.
He warned aspiring investors not to partner with unregistered real estate firms, saying it could be dangerous.
