THE CHALLENGES OF LIVING IN A NEW PROPERTY IN NIGERIA

THE CHALLENGES OF LIVING IN A NEW PROPERTY IN NIGERIA by Anthony O. Anyakora

"Building is about getting around the obstacles that are presented to you."

              - Jeremy Renner

It is everyone’s dream to live in a brand new property; however this comes at a cost many are not willing to bare. Living in a new property can be a bitter-sweet experience. Apart from the monetary requirements that are involved in acquiring the property, there are other associated costs which are not readily spelt out to the owners or occupiers of the property except during the course of time.

These associated cost ranges from bad plumbing works, poor electrical connections, cracked walls, broken pipes, wrong mechanical connection, abandoned connections etc. These costs can be reduced where there is proper monitoring and supervision of the building project from start to finish. Real estate projects are usually capital intensive hence some property developers who delve into it without counting the cost would later find themselves either cutting corners to meet up with deadline or abandon the project half way.

One of the causes of these associated costs is having multiple contractors on a single project viz-a-viz hiring and firing at will. The effects this action may cause on the end product would be borne by the property owner or occupier at the end of the day. It noteworthy to state that some artisans on site deliberately may decide to become “Agents of wickedness,” by destroying the works of other workers that are not directly related to the work they do at the site. For instance, the tiler may decide to pour mortar into the floor drain of the shower cubicle when laying the floor tiles. Some tilers even forget to remove the waterproof covering over the floor drain cover after they are done laying the floor tiles. Some electricians accidentally drill plumbing pipes and the leakages may not be discovered until later when dampness is noticed on the walls.

Another factor that can lead to this associated cost is when the property has been left vacant for a very long time. The taps starts to rust; the flexible connectors starts to break when there is water pressure and of course general wear and tear starts to set in. More often than not, the doors, wardrobes and the kitchen cabinet start to develop molds.

 It is always advisable to leave the windows partially open to allow ventilation into the property to prevent it from being stuffy. Also the taps and shower should be allowed to run once in awhile to prevent air-lock.

With the present surge of real estate investors to the real estate market, it is important they pay particular attention to engaging competent professionals who would supervise their real estate investment projects through adequate monitoring and evaluation in order to ensure that investors get value for their money.

A comprehensive test should be carried out on the property by the project managers before handing over same to the property owners or occupants. It is also important that project developers should reassure the property owners or investors by giving at least a Six (6) months warranty on their property thereby shielding the property owners/investors from unprecedented cost associated with living in a new house.

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