Real estate players move for legal reforms, present innovative projects for investors
The real estate sector is set for a lift as experts, lawyers and real estate players converged at the Africa Real Estate Summit themed: ‘Building a better Africa: Real Estate Investment Opportunities in Africa for a reform on the industry.
According to the Convener, Africa Real Estate Summit, Mr Onwuka M. Onyeka, The summit is deemed essential for the sector as awareness is risen on the fact that there are several challenges not just in Nigeria but in other parts of Africa over the real estate industry.
He said, ‘it’s almost the same challenge everywhere but especially in west Africa but we want to solve them one after another, that’s why some of the challenges that we identified are what are being talked about. One of them is poor information, people want to run the real estate business without adequate information about real develop into the sector as well as legal experts who can help ensure adequate protection of these investments. They all shared with us how they have been able to solve their problems.
He noted, ‘We invited Cabo Verde resource group all the way from Belgium so that they can come, see and invest in Africa. We still want more investors. You heard what one of the facilitators said, we have vast investment for this sector, therefore it is sacrosanct to have such a platform.
Mr Onyeka expressed that different territories have different policies and challenges as well, saying that of Lagos is different from Ogun state and everywhere across the world. He stressed that his team were in Accra Ghana for the ARE Summit earlier this year and they intend to mobilize into every country across Africa as they have come to the realization that most of the challenges may be similar but peculiar to their regions, such summit is necessary for growth of the real estate market.
The Chairman, IWFM Nigeria and managing partner at TWT, Tunde Obileye, LLB cited the prospects on real estate investment. He stated that real estate has been and will continue to be a huge investment for many. As regards the increase on building permit rate, he explained that the developers have to set their cost well and look at services that justifies the present economic impact.
Mr Tunde also mentioned other stakeholders in the real estate sectors such as interior decorators, paint industries, electrical engineers amongst others. He stated the need for synergy and partnerships in the sector in order to attain a robust economic presence.’This summit is beneficial for an upgrade in the sector’, he added.
In addition, the Chairman lectured on facility maintenance and rated Nigeria’s facility maintenance and management as still below average. He spoke on how facilties managers can implement sustainable practices, also the tedious energy of transportation and mobilization for workers in the country. He encouraged a widespread adoption of hybrid working and submitted that it has created an enormous opportunity to reconsider how we use spaces and resources within the workplace.
Amongst the facilitators was Partner, Bloomgate Solicitors, Barrister Sesi Hundeyin FiciArb who said that the right knowledge of the Industry is key to establishing and expanding it. He enumerated the essence of learning from experts and the importance of keeping the integrity of any firm, mostly when it comes to the real estate business.
Mr Sesi commended players in the sector for their resilience. Examining the problems of land grabbers, he emphasized how it could discourage investors, particularly foreign investors from investing in the real estate market in the country. He urged the government to create platforms where people can access funds from banks at a very reasonable interest rate because developers getting loans with such outrageous interest rate are likely to scare investors off.
Furthermore, he said, ‘The cost and processes of acquiring titles for a land is too expensive. You can imagine trying to earn titles for an acre of land, that will be massive. The government should get more people to perfect title at less sum. Most people are willing to get paper title but it’s too expensive. Let the processes and cost of acquiring titles be reformed. For example, we know it takes up to a year to get a ‘CofO’ so the process can be faster with such reforms.
A senior Associate at Aluko and Oyebode, Osinachi Nwanem FiciArb hinted on his responsibilities as a third party, an intermediary between a client and a developer. He affirmed, ‘Depending on who engages us, we will be sure to give the investor a sense of protection. We follow the concerns of our clients and draft a measure of achieving a win-win for both parties. For real estate development, the need of contractors cannot be overemphasized. People take the risk of not employing the services of contractors because they feel they can work on it without contracts. However, with contractors one can get remedies faster to problems coming up from developers and also get documents to hold on to contracts for effective execution of the contracts.
Osinachi added, ‘There are other countries that are getting it right in this sector, just like UA. Let’s look at what works in other countries and see how we can compile the policies in the sector with our uniqueness for growth and development’, he resolved.
