Thursday, 27 June 2013

MTN Project Fame: All Stars Concert

This season MTN Project Fame has decided to bring together all its superstars and take them on a two city tour of Calabar and Lagos. Project Fame’s season 1 winner Iyanya was discovered in Calabar. MTN plans to paint Calabar Y'ello with a rich collection of Project Fame All Stars from season 1 to 5.

The MTN Project fame concerts promise a parade of both Nigerian and West African Award-winning PF Stars including Ayo, Monica, iMyke, Chidinma, and Iyanya, Kesse and Nii from Ghana, Nicholas and Musulyn from Liberia, and Anis from S/Leone. They will be supported by Fineboy Eyo, Tolu, Ochuko, Yetunde, Adetoun, Ella and Marvellous,  and lots of others plus special guest appearances from Wizkid and Davido.

The concerts are free with registration by texting, name, location and age to 5005 from an MTN line.
 The Calabar concert will hold at the Cultural Centre on Mary Slessor Ave on Friday June 21st from 7pm and in Lagos  on Friday June 28th  at the Lagos Oriental Hotel, lekki, lekki Toll plaza. 

 Segun Ojo

Tuesday, 25 June 2013

Will House-Hunting Unleash the Battle of the Sexes?



When my husband and I purchased our home, we went to war with one another over the various amenities and aesthetic differences that make a house a home. It got me thinking: How do men and women differ when house-hunting? And who wins out in the end? Surprisingly,

Tuesday, 18 June 2013

Three Gay Teenagers Caught in Kaduna

black gay teen
Models



A brief pause from Real Estate; I came across this news on the net, tell me, do you think the government has a right to prosecute gays?

According to the Leadership newspaper, three teenagers between the ages of 8 and 10, have been caught in the Badarawa area of Kaduna North Local Government Area of Kaduna State, for their indulgence in gay activities. The young offenders were nabbed when the mother of the 8-year-old boy became curious

Monday, 17 June 2013

My Last Will and Testament



After watching an intriguing episode of ‘how I met your mother,’ where Marshal and Lily decided to write “future notes” to each other which will contain any important information which they needed to pass to the living spouse after their demise, it got me thinking about writing my own will, especially because of my property.

Thursday, 13 June 2013

Why It's True: You Should Own, Not Rent


The "Nigerian Dream" means owning your own home rather than renting. More so, after the financial/banking meltdown experienced in the country in recent time, the dream is very much alive! But what, exactly, do people value the most in owning over renting? A study by Fannie Adekunle of Property Interest shows that most renters aspire to own someday, though they feel it may be more difficult to buy than in the past. The strong appeal to owning is rooted in the sense of control.

Monday, 10 June 2013

Questions to ask your Real Estate Agent



When you go through the process of buying a house, you usually do so with the help of a real estate agent. This person will help you find a home, make an offer and help close the deal. However, there are some things that you should make sure to ask your real estate agents during the process before you pick one to work with.

Friday, 7 June 2013

6 things you learn when you want to sell your home


We put our house on the market recently. This was our first home, which we've lived in for almost a decade, so we expected to invest a lot of time cleaning, organizing and making some minor repairs that we'd been putting off. Here's what we didn't see coming:

Wednesday, 5 June 2013

SMS Text Messaging for Real Estate


It’s a pretty sure bet that you have a cell phone. What about text messaging, do you use it? If you don’t, consider yourself in a very small minority. Nielsen Mobile surveys shows that by the second quarter of 2008, text messages had exceeded the number of cell phone calls by an impressive margin.
And, if you think it’s all just teenagers who don’t buy or sell real estate, think again. The facts show that every age group up through 44 years old sent more text messages than they made cell phone voice calls. And it was close on the 45 to 54 group. The plain truth is that text messaging is becoming a wildly popular way to exchange information. And, huge marketers and retailers are now doing text message marketing to bring in consumers. You can actually get a coupon text message and show it in a restaurant for a discount.


Friday, 31 May 2013

SURVEY OF PRICES OF PROPERTIES ON THE ISLAND


Sales price
Rental per annum
Lekki Phase 1 
3 Bedroom flat
N45m – N50m
N2.5m – N3m
4 Bedroom wing of duplex 
N70m – N80m  
N3m – N4m
Agungi
4 Bedroom detached house
N45m – N50m
N2.5m
3 Bedroom flat
N40m     
N1.5m – N1.8m
Chevy view
4 Bedroom terrace house
N42m
N2.5m
3 Bedroom flats 
N35m       
N1.6m
Crown Estate
4 Bedroom detached house 
N30m – N40m 
N1.5m – N2m
Thomas Estate, Ajah
3 Bedroom flat
N25m  
N750k – N800k
Abraham Adesanya
3 Bedroom bungalow 
N12m – N14m
N700k – N1m
2 Bedroom bungalow
N11m – N12m  
N500k – N650k
Northern Foreshore
4 Bedroom bungalow
N39m – N45m  
N2.5m
Victoria Garden City 
3 Bedroom flat 
N30m     
N2m
Prime Water view
3 Bedroom flat 
N32m  
N2.5m
Lekki County Homes
3 Bedroom terrace duplex 
N30m
N1.5m


Ken Egedi

Monday, 27 May 2013

MY BRT EXPERIENCE

My o my! These were the words that dropped out of my mouth the fateful Wednesday of last week. My car had developed an engine fault and I could not risk driving it in the ubiquitous traffic that Lagos has become known for. I was running late for a meeting on the Island; a bead of sweat broke out on my face, it was 8 O'clock in the morning. So I decided to take a ride in the mammy-wagon (gratuitously called BRT in our local parlance). As Lagosians, we love speed and for the first time, we are able to move from one part of the city to another unhindered by gridlocks (or so I thought). The dedicated corridors guarantee that passengers in BRT vehicles get to their destinations without undue delay.

BRT buses taking after molue.
BRT Buses taking after their predecessors

Friday, 24 May 2013

WHAT CAN I BUY? - BUDGET HOMES

Ogba on a N5million budget

With its quick transport links to Ikeja (about 10 to 30 minutes depending on time of day, Ogba can be considered ‘central’ and following from this, prices of property are generally over the N5million limit. However, due to the various Government and LSDPC estates in the location, there are some flats which are on the market in this price range. One such estate is the LSDPC Oluwole Community  Estate where a two bedroom flat advertised by Victor Okpera & Co for N4.5million. A typical Government flat, the finishing is modest and the two bedrooms are of an average size with a bathroom and toilet. This particular flat is on the ground floor of the prototype 3 floor blocks and there are four clusters with three of such blocks in each cluster. Oluwole Estate with its high density environment sadly will have to accept the tag of barracks so it cannot be recommended as a dream home. On the flip side with rents in the N300,000 to N350,000 per annum range and the possibility of negotiating the sale price to N4m (average price in the estate) the 7.5 to 8.75% return is above average. No wonder, most owners there have let out their properties.

Friday, 17 May 2013

Lagos Still Among World's Costliest Cities

MAUREEN AZUH writes on a new survey that classifies Lagos as one of the 50 most expensive cities in the world

As the biggest commercial centre of Nigeria, Lagos, has always been in the limelight. Before now various Internet sources had indicated that Lagos is the second fastest growing city in Africa and the seventh fastest in the world. A recent survey by Mercer, a global outsourcing and consulting firm, has also ranked Lagos among the 50 most expensive cities of the world for expatriates. The survey, tagged World Cost of Living Survey 2012, covered 124 cities across five continents and placed Lagos at the 39th position, two steps up from the 41st position it occupied last year.

According to the report, published online, the survey was based on measures of the comparative cost of 200 items in each of the surveyed country. The items included transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. Housing cost, regarded as constituting the biggest expense for expatriates, also played an important role in determining the ranking of cities. The survey is designed to help multinational companies and governments to determine compensation allowances for their expatriates. While New York is used as the base city against which all other cities are compared, currency movements are measured against the US dollar.

Monday, 13 May 2013

5 Mistakes of Real Estate firms in Nigeria


It seems to me that every once in a while we see new realtors come into the real estate industry and at the same time we see droves of them leave. I’ve been wondering to myself, why is this? What makes the ones who stay survive and what makes the others leave?
  1. No clear cut difference between marketing and sales: Real estate is a people empowering business and not just a numbers business. You need to desire to help people to own their own spaces. It’s not all about the numbers (it’s big business when you cash in) but a strong yearning to get people to own their own spaces on whatever budget they have would really go a long way. To meet the needs and wants of your target is what marketing is about while sales is the act of selling a product or service for money. Realtors in Nigeria would rather be sales people than marketing people; this isn’t kosher.

I'm moving!!!



Finally, I am moving out of my old apartment into my new house! Remember I told you I was going to remodel my kitchen; totally changed my mind as I realize I need bigger space. The feeling of moving into my new place is so exciting!!! I grew up traveling to different states of Nigeria as the daughter of a military officer and I always looked forward to wherever dad was going to be transferred next.
I’ll be starting a new adventure, putting down roots in a new place. I’d been dreaming about the new home I just acquired, and it will be fun to see how fresh and different my new place will be.
After all the exhilaration dies down, I’ll have to start packing. Over the years I had gathered so much stuff which I have attached sentiments to and there was no way I was going to leave anything behind! This is a daunting task; deciding what I need to pack first or how to pack this vase or that CD player. *phew*

Saturday, 4 May 2013

Psst… I have a secret!!!


Have you ever heard about the NHF (National Housing Fund) mortgage loan in Nigeria? Ha, you haven’t heard? You can access this trust fund to get a mortgage facility from FMBN (Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria) to build a house. Yes, you!

Friday, 3 May 2013

Daycare service providers


There was a time in Nigeria, in fact, in the world when women did the job nature asked them to, home makers and carers! The typical day for the ‘olden days’ woman was to wake up at a normal time, say 6:30am, prepare a meal for the family, wake, bathe and feed the kids (and her hubby of course), take the kids to school, do the laundry, go to the market, have a mid-day nap, pick the kids from school, tutor them in their homework, feed them for dinner, send them off to sleep, go to bed early herself and then resume the cycle again the next day. If she was from the eastern part of Nigeria, she may likely not even do the laundry and shopping in the market as she would have a ‘small girl’ to help her out at home. Those were the good old days. *sigh*

Monday, 29 April 2013

Trends in Kitchen Design

My plan this year is to re-model my kitchen and this has got me doing a lot of research and study on new trends in kitchen design. I realize that the kitchen is the most expensive room to re-model in the house so I have listed some naira saving tips which will leave me with a brand new kitchen when I’m done. I’m obliged to share them with you:

*Decorative: top trend in kitchen design for 2013 is decoration. Gone are the days when kitchens were just kitchens – now they’re so pretty they could be any room in the house. Spice your kitchen up with some picture frames arranged on the walls, place a vase or two of fresh flowers in different positions and arrange the cookware, cutlery and plates in a creative pattern that catches the eye.
*Neutral tones: the kitchen colours trending right now are whites, off-whites and natural wood stains. These colours continue to be what homeowners want in cabinetry. Counter-top tell a similar story as authentic colours and neutrals, particularly warm grays, create an understated look which allows pop of colours to be used in the decorative layer.


Thursday, 25 April 2013

I NEED A JOB PLEASE!!!



www.cityworksnigeria.com

Knowing that there are so many people out of jobs or underemployed in Nigeria now, I was more than happy when we had a vacancy for a field executive to be filled. I wrote a comprehensive description of our company, what we do, what the role entailed and even went as far as including the remuneration package for the successful candidates. This I posted on a few prominent job vacancy websites. The aim was to make sure the candidates applying had a feel of what the job required and also to serve as a guide for applying.

Wednesday, 24 April 2013

Relocating Home!!!



So, now you are done with your schooling overseas and you have probably been working over there for a number of years. Everything is fine - you have a good job, you come back home daily to your lovely apartment, you have a bunch of nice friends but you just feel something is amiss. YOU WANT TO GO HOME!!!

Monday, 29 October 2012

Dream Lifestyle


The lifestyle most lead today is one of charging on credit cards for stuff they don’t really need, borrow money for newer, slicker cars, go further in debt, live paycheck to paycheck, struggle constantly, continue to stay at poverty and 30 days to bankruptcy levels. That’s a “way of life” for most families. They make a conscious or subconscious decision to live that way.

Even most professionals and 6 figure earners with college degrees and fabulous credentials live this way. (By the way, 6 figures a year . . . . well, that doesn’t go very far. It used to. But today, it doesn’t and the “new rich” is looking for 7 figures a year. They are the younger generation and they are reaching it in relative short periods of time. They recognize that going into debt for a career they don’t want is not the right path for them. So opt for entrepreneurship instead.

Since the economy has gone to pot, there’s been a huge influx of people who have answered the wake up call to their true lifestyle reality. They have been hit with a brick on the head and realize they need to get a handle on their finances or end up on homeless row.

While some families continue to live in denial and are going through the motions in a numb, ‘sweep it under the carpet’ attitude, others genuinely desire a different life and to discover a new way to do things. They want security and freedom to choose how they spend their time. They are looking at all their options and entrepreneurship keeps coming up as the only solution. I’ll show you below as we brainstorm ideas.

I’ve talked to many individuals who have been laid off, and now that they have time on their hands, they can see what a slave they have been to their jobs. They’d lost their sense of family, vacations, sleeping in, hobbies, and spending time doing things they enjoy. Their lives had revolved around trading time for money and paying monthly bills. It’s like their purpose in life was to pay bills, . . . work and pay bills, . . . work and pay bills. Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, like zombies.

As these individuals nurture the inner entrepreneur within themselves, they are planning for their future in ways they never have before and have described their “dream lifestyle” in various ways. They don’t want to go back to work. And if they are working, they want to come home and gain freedom and financial security.

And, at this point in time, they recognize that becoming a skilled entrepreneur is the way to do that.

For some, it means they are debt free and don’t need to consult their bank accounts if they wish to eat out, buy clothes, take a trip, give to charities, etc.

For others, it may mean that Mom and Dad are both home full time which allows them to be fully engaged in their children’s activities.

It means that hobbies are pursued with a passion.

It means that relationships are good because nobody is fighting about money.

It means there are no more alarm clocks, rushing around in the morning to get ready for work, exchanging time for money, fighting traffic twice a day and coming home exhausted.

Every family has their own idea of dream lifestyle.  I hope you’re pursuing yours...