Switching your status from tenant to owner can bring its own challenges. So before you decide whether homeownership is your next step, take a glance at this list of some pros and cons below.

Pro: You can customize anything
Paint the walls. Tear out the plastering. Break the walls to make a room bigger. When you own a property, you don’t have to wait for a management company to decide when, and how, a unit will be remodelled.

Con: You pay for the upgrades
If the water pumping machine breaks down in your rental, you can simply call maintenance to get the issue fixed, often within a day. When you own a home, not only do you have the headache of finding a reliable repairman available at a convenient time, but you also have to cover the cost of all repairs (and heaven forbid, replacements).

Pro: You establish roots
You needn’t worry about your rent going up next year (depending on your mortgage). If you plan to stay put for a while, you’ll build long-term relationships with your neighbours and can feel free to finally grow that vegetable patch you’ve always wanted.

Con: You lack mobility
When renting, it’s easy to make a change when the lease is up or even, in dire circumstances, break a lease if you have to relocate right away. If you suddenly need to relocate as a homeowner, you’ll remain responsible for the monthly mortgage until your home sells. In hot markets this isn’t a problem, but it’s not unheard of for homes to remain on the market for months.

Pro: You build equity
When you sign your rent cheque each year you’re handing off money you will never see again, usually in huge amounts. In comparison, as a homeowner your cheque is going toward paying down the overall price of the home. Ideally, when it’s time to move on you’ll be able to sell your home for at least as much as you paid for it.

Con: You’re at the whim of unpredictable markets
Ideally you’ll be able to sell your home for the same price you bought it for, if not more. Unfortunately, the housing market can be volatile. Some homeowners end up underwater on their home, owing more on their original loan that the property is worth.

The bottom line? When you’re ready, there are many great benefits to home ownership, but it’s not a decision to be made lightly. A RE/MAX agent can use his or her knowledge of the market and your personal situation to help you decide your next move. Find one here:

Updated Bathroom & Kitchen Fittings
Great aesthetics will catch and keep the attention of the millennial house hunter. From our experience, something as seemingly insignificant like shiny new cabinet handles or a clean free-standing bathtub can easily be the difference between another showing and a signed contract. In addition, millennials are usually not looking for fixer uppers that is above their budget or might appear to give issues in the future. 

Space…Lots of it
Millennials are ditching the conventional compartmentalised living areas for open floor plan spaces.

I mean, who eats dinner on a dining table in a room just for family dinners anymore? Exactly. There’s also a near constant search for great natural lighting – for those great ‘#Nofilter’ Instagram pictures & snapchat videos… yeah, it’s an actual thing.


Home Office
The demand for home offices are increasingly popular to fill the gap created by the 21st century business person easily identified by the term ‘entrepreneur’ in their Instagram bio’s. However they aren’t just for those who work from home full time. As technology makes things more mobile, allowing distance work, learning, meetings etc. young buyers have more options than ever to work from home depending on their job types and schedules. 

Having a dedicated work space at home, aids concentration and in some cases productivity while they catch up with work backlogs, plan a presentation, setting up a work day or even paying bills. 

Tip: Small bedrooms or storage spaces can be converted to home offices

Good Location
Younger buyers are looking for properties in close proximity to work districts like Victoria Island and Ikeja predominantly to save on transportation costs and the everyday struggle that is Lagos Traffic.

Houses in such areas have high appeal to millennial buyers.

Technology
We get asked a lot whether a particular area or even an apartment has good phone and internet connection. A house’s appeal can be increased or diminished because of a poor signal.

Online photos
If you’re sure you want to sell to millennials, how your property looks online will be a huge determinant in the number of house showings you will have. 

Younger buyers start their search for a property online. They shortlist potential properties based on the quality of their online listings. The home should have professional photography that shows the home in its best light or they will move on before ever going through the front door. 

Tip: Read our guide to DIY home photography

Contact your Local RE/MAX agent for help getting your home ready to attract young buyers or find your dream home with RE/MAX Nigeria.

Most people interested in buying a home have come across, at one time or another, property advertised for sale “as-is.” Here are a few guidelines to help you decide whether considering such a home is right for you.
 

What it means
An as-is description isn’t necessarily a red flag that there’s something wrong with the house. It simply means that the sellers will not be doing any repairs. The reasons could be financial – the sellers simply can’t afford it. Or maybe it’s personal – the sellers already left the area or their health and/or age won’t permit them to oversee the work. Many banks and lenders selling foreclosed properties also will offer them on an as-is basis.
In some highly competitive markets, many homes are sold as-is because buyers are motivated enough to take the risk.

Disclosures
Speak with your real estate agent about disclosure agreements. For most ‘as-is’ transactions, owners, typically fill out a disclosure form – a list of all known problems associated with their property. If during the inspection you come across previously undisclosed conditions that require significant, cost-prohibitive investment, you most likely can still walk away. 

Inspection
Inspections are always a crucial part of the process of buying a home, and in the case of an as-is home, a careful, thorough inspection is even more important. Your agent may be able to refer a reliable inspector experienced in looking at these kinds of properties. Be sure to get estimates on the various necessary repairs so you’re not blindsided by the costs after you finalize your purchase.

A property advertised for sale or to let, “as-is”, could also offer the buyer a further advantage to negotiate a more agreeable sale price if the buyer is working with a knowledgeable real estate agent who knows how to turn the reason(s) for such caveat to your advantage.

Looking for a new home? Find a local RE/MAX agent who can be your guide through the entire home-buying process.






 The team at Lamudi Nigeria recently sat down with the Executive Chairman of WorkPlace Plus Limited, Mr Ayo Akinmade, to discuss the challenges of running a formidable and profitable business in Nigeria during these trying economic times. WorkPlace Plus Limited are the operators of the Regus franchise in West Africa, who provide office space and a host of other office solutions to global and local businesses.

Lamudi Nigeria: Tell us a little bit about WorkPlace Plus and your role at WorkPlace Plus

Ayo Akinmade: Workplace Plus was formed about a decade ago. The objective at the time was to approach Regus, a world leader in virtual offices about a franchise for West Africa. We needed an entity for this venture so we set up WorkPlace Plus. WorkPlace Plus secured the Regus franchise for West Africa and has since been in the business of developing virtual offices in Nigeria and Ghana. I am the founder, executive chairman, the buck stops with me.


Lamudi Nigeria: What kind of businesses or individuals does WorkPlace Plus target?

Ayo Akinmade: Our clients’ range from startups to fortune 500 multinationals. WorkPlace plus is ideal for someone who is at home with a great business idea and needs a professional place to operate from. This person also does not have the funding to rent a proper office but needs a professional presence. We also cater to our clients in different ways. For example, we have what we call virtual products, which is a telephone answering service where we would give you a phone line, answer the phone professionally, take your messages and relay your messages to you. You can also decide to combine that option with mail handling. This would involve us handling your physical mail, which will be kept for you and redirected for you when necessary. Or you could choose to rent office space, combined with these two services and only use it when you need it. For example, one of our South African clients who lives in South Africa but does business in Nigeria wanted a convenient and professional office space for their business meetings when they’re in town. All we required from them was to give us notice in advance. In their situation, they only required office space five times a month. So in essence they were only billed for those five days. We also provide traditional office space for more permanently based clients. Some of our clients with these contracts range from architectural firms, perfumeries and even tech giants like Google.


Lamudi Nigeria: What sort of advantages do your customers enjoy from renting office space from Workplace Plus?

Ayo Akinmade: Well first and foremost, the professional environment. The look and feel of the space. Apart from that you have a certainty of your price. This is something that we try to emphasize with our customers. When you sign a Workplace Plus contract for six months or a year or two years, the price is fixed for that period of time, irrespective of what is happening in the economy. You are always guaranteed a certain price, and for that price you are also guaranteed a certain level of quality. Also, most people don’t want to have to worry about office matters. They want to just get on with their work. That’s where WorkPlace Plus comes in- because once you sign a contract with us, we think of everything. From the most basic things like tea and coffee for you and your guests, to providing furniture, internet service and so on. We provide clients with the much needed flexibility to rent an office space for a day, a month or even a year at a fraction of the cost for a traditional office and the office can be set up in as little as 15 minutes. I would say an invaluable advantage our clients have is the access to other multinationals and great businesses that are already in the building or just down the corridor. In this building alone, we have about 38 different businesses. That is potentially 38 different business opportunities for our clients to take advantage of. We also have corporate rates with hotels which our customers can take advantage of which are lower than their usual rates since we bring a significant volume. Same thing for car hire and we also provide airport meet and greet for clients coming into the country.


Lamudi Nigeria:What current challenges do you face and how have you tried to solve them?

Ayo Akinmade: I would say the economy is our biggest challenge, which is generic to everyone currently doing business in Nigeria. However challenges that are specific to us, is the fact that we don’t control the facility management of the buildings we are in. This in turn affects the quality of service we are able to provide. For example, we are on 4 floors of this building and the largest tenants of the building, so therefore, we have a voice and some influence in this building. The facility managers and the owner of the building regularly consult with us when they want to do anything. In some of our other locations where we only occupy perhaps one floor, we are less able to control that environment.



Lamudi Nigeria: Is there any rationale for the locations for your office spaces across the city?

Ayo Akinmade: Our selection process involves us picking the best buildings at the time. Key word here is at the time. Over time, it may deteriorate. CEO of Regus Africa recently said “There is no science to picking locations. The science is in the fact that anywhere there is a business hub already established, it is a natural location for a Regus business”. Take Yaba for example, the “silicone valley of Nigeria”. Everyone knows it is a burgeoning business hub, so it’s a natural place for us to consider expanding into. In picking the exact location, prime real estate is ideally on the main road or a side road which is easily accessible, and of course a building that has certain standards. Health and safety is critical for us, so the building must be able to comply with certain health and safety standards.


Lamudi Nigeria: How would you say the concept of Virtual Office Solutions has been received by the Nigerian market?

Ayo Akinmade: Until recently, there hasn’t been much publicity about virtual offices, so people don’t really know about it. But when people find out about the business and what we offer, they instinctively say it’s great. Once they come in and we start discussing pricing, there is a bit of resistance. And this is because they are blown away by the quality of our services, but don’t consider all the different elements that go into determining the cost. So when we break it down for them and they consider that if they were to rent this space on their own, buy furniture, internet service, source for generator and diesel and all the things that are required to set up an office, then it begins to make sense.
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