Amazing Property

[caption id="attachment_8547" align="alignnone" width="424"] 5 Important land Documents in Nigeria [/caption]   1. Land Purchase Receipt : We all go out and buy different stuffs at the store and demand for receipts. It is not too different with the purchase of land properties. Immediately you have verified the authenticity of the land and other property documents listed below, you must demand for the receipt of payment. These days, never do a transaction with cash. It becomes near impossible to trace again once you pay off. The best means of payments are through cheques addressed to the company or through online transfers. This way you are rest assured that your payment and the beneficiary can be easily tracked in case there are issues in the nearest future. Again I cannot over emphasize the point NEVER DO CASH TRANSACTIONS!! In case you are buying from a family, then you need to ensure you go directly to the family lawyer who will issue you a receipt (fa...

Former Federal Commissioner for works and housing, Chief Femi Okunnu Former Federal Commissioner for works and housing, Chief Femi Okunnu has appealed to quantity surveyors to help the government in reducing the increasing cost of construction in the country. Okunnu said as the determinant of the quantity of building materials needed for construction, the professionals have the primary responsibility to help the nation in cutting down prices of building materials He spoke at the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Lagos Chapter annual dinner/investiture of new chairman and inauguration of new senate members of the chapter. He expressed concerns on the situation and urged quantity surveyors to work with the federal, state and local governments as the most qualified professional in the sector to mitigate the challenge. “You have the primary responsibility to help the nation to bring down the cost of building in the country. It is gratifying that we now have a large numb...

December is typically the slowest month in the housing market, but it can be a great month for home buyers who have been sidelined to finally make their move. This month may be busier than previous December’s for that reason, too, economists say. Some buyers may be looking to take advantage of steadier mortgage rates—which are still averaging below 5 percent—and home prices that are easing somewhat. “I see more people buying right now because they’re afraid rates will be higher in 2019,” Lynn Fairfield, a real estate professional with RE/MAX Suburban in Chicago, told CNBC. DodgertonSkillhause - MorgueFile Mortgage rates are still nearly a percentage higher than they were a year ago, but they are still under 5 percent. Freddie Mac reported last week that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.75 percent. Rates are largely predicted to move higher in 2019. Housing affordability has become a mounting issue in the housing market, but home prices a...

Renting a house is a great a way to live affordably and it’s even better if you split the costs with a few housemates. However it’s important to ask the right questions before signing a lease. Renting houses takes practice and can often mean learning from costly mistakes. Avoid falling into the traps that come with being an inexperienced renter by asking these seven questions before taking the leap. Ask your agent plenty of questions before signing your lease. 1. Can I take the lease home and read it properly before signing it? If you’ve been approved for a house that you’ve applied for, it’s fine to ask for a day or two to properly look over the lease and make sure the terms are reasonable. Be prompt about it, but make sure you read over it carefully and have a trusted friend look at it too. This will stop you from signing on the dotted line of dodgy lease. Ask for a day or two to look properly over the lease before you sign it. 2. Is this a typi...

When you purchase into a homeowner association (HOA), you automatically become a member and obligate yourself to financially support the operation and obey the rules. That said, few buyers take the time to examine the information to make an informed decision. Here are some of the basic Know Hows: HOA Fees. As a member of the HOA, you will pay fees to support management and maintenance. High rise condominiums and HOAs with clubhouses, pools and parks typically have higher fees than those with few common elements. If the HOA does not have and fund a reserve study (30 year plan for major repairs and replacements) for common elements like roofing, painting, asphalt, decks and fences, a special assessment will be charged to each owner that can run into many thousands of dollars. Since boards of HOAs that don’t follow a reserve study tend to react rather than plan, these special assessment can happen with little notice and the financial obligation will fall on all owners, inc...

Court For alleged willful destruction of property valued at N120 million, a 45 years old land grabber, Emeka John Onugha has been arraigned before a Lagos Magistrate Court sitting in Igbosere. The suspect was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Folashade Botoku by Inpector-General Monitoring Team, (IGP Monitoring) Abuja on a seven count-charge His offence borders on conspiracy, felony, willful destruction of building, forcible entry, conduct likely to breach public peace and threat to kill. The police in a charge marked B/88a/2018, alleged that the defendant and others now at large, sometimes in March 2018, at Oko-Ado, in Eti-Osa Local Government Area, of Lagos, conspired among themselves and forcibly entered into a large expanse of land belonging to Hassan Ogwu Aku and Smart Clement. The police alleged that during the said unlawful entry into the said land, the suspects also willfully demolished a building valued at N120 million, which belonged to the two complainants. The defendant was...

Since the marginal recovery from the recession last year, the real estate sector is still lagging behind general economic performance because of an uncontrollable micro economic index. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the sector contracted further to –9.4per cent in Q1’18 from -5.92per cent in Q4’17 and -3.1per cent in Q1’17. High borrowing costs, low demand for properties, rent service charge defaults and low construction activities have slowed activities in the sector and hindered growth rate. The real estate sector is still feeling the pinch of high borrowing costs and dwindling consumer demand across board. Demand in the office sub-category remains driven to a large extent by co-working spaces as developers offer flexible prices and terms, while industrial market has shifted focus to locations with lower rents and taxes in places such as Ogun state even though there are still need for certain infrastructure developments to be in place to fully ...

Have you heard of private lending? Not so much as an owner-financed home but loans made by a certain type of lender using its own internal guidelines without having to follow third party regulations? Private money, or so-called “hard money,” is a valuable asset in the world of real estate and without it many existing properties could ultimately fall into a state of disrepair such to the point where it detracts value from surrounding real estate. In the residential world, private loans are used to buy and rehabilitate investment properties. Most residential loans today are issued following guidelines set forth by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. When a lender approves a loan using these standards the loan is then eligible for sale in the secondary market. Selling a loan means freeing up more capital for the lender in order to make more loans. With a private loan, the goal isn’t selling the loan, it’s getting the loan paid back. Private loans will carry higher...

FHA’s Managing Director, Prof. Mohammed Al-Amin To ensure sustainable infrastructure in estates, the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) is considering a new agency to manage its facilities. The subsidary to be called Federal Housing Facility Management Agency (FHFMA) will be responsible for infrastructural development in federal housing estates across the country. FHA Managing, Professor Mohammed Al-Amin who made this known at the inspection of federal housing estate phase I, Lugbe in Abuja, said FHFMA when established will assist to boost infrastructural development in federal housing estates as well as the maintenance. He believes that with good maintenance culture it will save government more funds to construct new houses than reworking on the old ones. According to him, the tour embarked upon by the agency was the continuation of assessment of facilities the agency had commenced, and how to work out ways to provide finance. Al-Amin asserted that there was the need to mai...

1004 Estate in Lagos The controversy dogging the imposition of exorbitant service charges in various estates in the country is set to boil over, with bitter quarrels between the property owners or managers and the occupiers. In rare cases, the trouble has been between residents and associations executives. Service charge is a mandatory payment made by tenants toward the cost of maintenance and repairs of common facilities, beyond those being personally used by individual residents’ in their apartments.     According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) Code of Practice document, the service charge enables owners of estates to recover the costs of operating a property from the occupiers as well as any other persons who benefit from and use the services/facilities provided.   The fees, also covers; car park or shared driveway, reception areas, corridors, lifts, grass cutting/gardening, general repairs and maintenance, Close Circuit Televisio...

‘Era of Super-Low Mortgage Rates Is Over’ | Realtor Magazine Internet Explorer does not currently support REALTOR® Magazine search. IE users, please download Firefox, Chrome, or Edge. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday voted to raise its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a point to the highest point in more than a decade, and the housing market is now bracing for impact. © anyaberkut - iStock/Getty Images Plus The Fed lifted its rate to range between 2 percent and 2.25 percent. This is the third time in a year the Fed has raised its rate. The committee points to an upbeat economy that is “healthy and moving forward.” “These rates remain low,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said at a news conference. “This gradual return to normal is helping to sustain this strong economy for the longer-run benefit of all Americans.” While the Fed’s key rate is not directly tied to mortgage rates, it do...

Every area has those secret places that only the locals know about. From cool bars and restaurants, to amazing beaches or hikes, here’s how to spot where the fun happens in your neighbourhood. If you’ve just moved to a new area, or it’s been a while since you’ve really explored your current one, it’s time to get your finger on the pulse. Lines run deep for the pork rolls at Banh Mi Thit Nguoi in Marrickville, NSW. Picture: Kate Hunter Take advantage of all the possibilities in your area with these out-of-the-box ideas. Top-secret night spots If you’re in or around an urban area, chances are there’s more than one speakeasy in your midst. Drawing on drinking traditions of the prohibition era, speakeasy bars are hidden away from the unknowing passersby. For instance, if you’re in Sydney’s inner west, a closed butcher shop hides the popular watering hole, Earl’s Juke Joint. In Collingwood, you’ll find 16-seat cocktail bar Abo...

In a move perhaps few predicted but nearly everyone seems to love, the "Brady Bunch" house has been purchased by HGTV, who plans to restore the Studio City, CA residence "to its 1970s glory as only HGTV can." Commence giddiness. "One of our projects for HGTV will speak to those 'Brady Bunch' fans," said Discovery CEO David Zaslav during a second-quarter earnings call this week," per CNBC. Discovery Communications Inc. acquired Scripps Networks Interactive Inc., owner of HGTV, Animal Planet, TLC, and the Discovery Channel, earlier this year. "You may have heard that the house from the iconic series was recently on the market in California. I'm excited to share that HGTV is the winning bidder. More detail to come over the next few months but we'll bring all the resources to bear to tell safe, fun stories about this beloved piece of American TV history." As expected, the house received multiple offe...

General Manager, West African Ceramics, Mr. Bhaskar Rao To make house affordable to average Nigerians, foremost manufacturer of tiles, grouts and adhesives, West African Ceramics Ltd has called for the support of ‘Buy Nigeria’ campaign. General Manager of the firm, Mr. Bhaskar Rao, made the call at the inauguration of two additional mega and ultramodern exclusive tile showrooms in Port Harcourt and Aba. Stressing the firm’s support for affordable housing, Rao said, the showroom is a response to government efforts in resuscitating local production through effective distribution network. The effort, he stressed is to ensure that products are available at the right time, right place, and at the right price; to cultivate and sustain the ‘Buy Nigeria’ behavior. According to him, consumers do not just buy products but the collective experiences of product quality, affordability, and reliability as well as all the functional attributes of the product.” ...

Real estate Unprecedented correction in the property market is making landlords who originally seek out corporate tenants, for their properties, to prefer individuals (single) tenants, who can afford the rents, according to newly released Ubosi and Eleh Company’s Nigeria Real Estate Report 2018. This trend is expected to continue the second half of the year. However, the overall outlook is mildly optimistic, as rents are unlikely to drop any further.But rents will remain fairly stable with the exception of strategically located properties in prime locations, particularly the ground and first floors, which will continue to attract a premium as financial institutions, service providers, telecommunication companies and myriad of retail concerns and fast foods. The 85-page report predicts an increase in demand that will continue to grow stronger as the year progresses. This outlook is predicated on economic growth as the country moves out of a recession, the higher oil prices, complem...

Would Your Neighborhood Score an ‘A’ or ‘F’? | Realtor Magazine Internet Explorer does not currently support REALTOR® Magazine search. IE users, please download Firefox, Chrome, or Edge. Where are the best neighborhoods for buyers and investors? ATTOM Data Solutions ranked more than 10,000 neighborhood housing markets nationwide using the letter grades A through F. The real estate data firm factored in six metrics: affordability, home price appreciation, school scores, crime rates, unemployment rates, and property taxes. © VIPDesignUSA - iStock/Getty Images Plus ATTOM broke down the common housing characteristics and trends among each grade. The top five neighborhood housing markets on ATTOM’s list: Pine Ridge neighborhood in the Naples, Fla., metro area (median price: $632,871); Westlake neighborhood in Mobile, Ala. ($196,179); Union neighborhood in the San Jose, Calif., metro area ($795,000...