FG urged to simplify land documentation

A real estate firm, Gestpoint Nigeria Limited, has implored the Federal Government to simplify the process of land documentation as a measure to enhance housing construction and home ownership across the country.

The Managing Director of Gestpoint Nigeria Limited, Dr Ebenezer Akinrinade, made the call in a recent interview with journalists in Lagos.

According to Akinrinade, the current reality in the sector is that the process of getting land documented is cumbersome and time-consuming across the country, adding that the development impedes investors from Nigeria’s real estate sector.

He said, “The government, especially at the federal level, should consider setting up special funds for operators and providing grant extensions for would-be investors to encourage more developers to embark on real estate development, thereby solving the issue of housing shortfalls.”

He posited that if the government could give every other sector grants to do one or two projects, the real estate sector would equally need some funds.

“If you are going to banks to collect loans, the interest on the loan alone will not encourage your business to grow. The government should look into that and we can have common grant templates,”   Akinrinade stated.

He charged Nigerians to take advantage of the firm’s projects in Champions Court, Emerald Estate Phase I and II, Gold City Estates in Epe Lagos, Glamour Estate in Oshiwo, Ogun State, and Emerald Estate Moniya, Ibadan.

Akinrinade said, “The main target is affordable products and we aim to serve the lower income earners and empower the youths through home ownership.

“The firm allows subscribers to spread payment from three to one-year payment plans to be able to afford homes. Affordable homes in the sense that we have a product at N1.2m in Ibadan and subscribers can spread payment.”

He advised developers to ensure property offerings were well documented for transparency and confidence in the sector and assured that due diligence was enforced in terms of documentation regarding titles and transactions with its properties well registered with the government.

Akinrinade further said Nigerians, investors, and developers must endeavour to prioritise knowing the status of lands before investing, explaining that the ‘status of land’ would reveal the plans of the government on any particular land, either for residential, commercial, industrial, or agricultural, and safe investors from committing funds to the wrong cause.

“Irrespective of the economic challenges, be it inflation and others Nigerians might be facing now, the best thing is to save through investment in landed property because if everything else fails, real estate will never fail.

“Daily, real estate appreciates. On the challenge of land grabbing, investors must try to know the sources of the land they are investing in and whether there is a dispute on the land and trace the land to the government because, on every land, there is a connection between the government and the land, “Akinrinade noted.