Investing in Real Estates Business in Nigeria: 5 things to look out for when choosing a new apartment

 

If you are reading this post then you are probably interested in investing in the real estate business in Nigeria or perhaps you are already in the business of real estate, you could even just have stumbled across this write up by chance or the title drew you to the prospects of  investing in real estate business in Nigeria. Whichever of the reasons, at the end of reading this write up, you will be glad you did. Feel free to read from top down or start from anywhere you are most interested in but be rest assured it will be worth your 5 minutes. Let’s get to it. 

 

What are the things to look out for when choosing a new apartment? A friend recently called me and asked me that question so I thought I should do a blog post on it. 13 things to look out for when choosing a new apartment. 

 

1. The Proximity to the places you often visit: The first and often the most important factor to first consider (after price of course *winks*) is the proximity of the places you often visit to the apartment. Do you have to sit down in traffic for 4 hours before getting to your work place? How close is the mall or the local market to it? If you’re like me, that might just be all, but quite a lot of people visit other places frequently so it is important to tick all your check boxes before choosing that apartment.
2. The Neighborhood: Yes, there’s a neighborhood where they people around in the middle of night making scary sounds to appease the gods, okay that’s just to scare you but you should find out as much as you can about the neighborhood the apartment is in. What’s the security status, what are the common practices and how often if at all, do they ask for neighborhood charges. *winks*
3.  Know your landlord if you won’t be one: Here in Nigeria, Lagos especially, a lot of landlords don’t take their meds regularly so, it is advisable to ask a few old tenants after the conducts of the landlord or caretaker. You don’t want to spend the next couple of months avoiding trouble or worse, taking part in it.
4. Consider the Utility Bills: How much will you be paying for electricity and in some cases, water. Is the electricity bill prepaid or postpaid metered. Most times there are some other miscellaneous bills. You don’t want to get a cheap apartment and pay through your nose for the utilities.
5. The State of the apartment: In the case where it’s not a new apartment, it’s good to inspect the walls for cracks, to make sure all electric cables are in good enough conditions and there’s no leaking pipes.

Other things to watch out for are good flooring materials, overall cleanliness and good power supply.

Kindly share your opinion in the comments section and make sure to check back for more informative write ups on real estates