How apartment leasing works

Apartment leasing provides viable real estate investment option

Hello again and thanks for coming back to read more of my writing and teaching about real estate investing. For a very long time, I never thought that I would be teaching about it because hey I didn’t think I was qualified to but time and experience has shown and proven that I can and I should. 

That being said, what has your experience been though – are you learning or still just following through to see when and if I will get to the points that really teach you stuff? Please let me know in the comments below or via email here – if we will both get what we need to achieve then we must communicate to and with each other (this is a key lesson I learnt from my dear friend & colleague – Tolu Dinma Okojie as she spoke about the lessons she has learnt in her 10 years of marriage and investing in them with her husband; so please let us communicate forward and backwards – it helps and works best) 

So, coming out of the article from last week, a lot of those who reached out, had questions. Some of which are:

1. How possible is it to live within your means in Lagos? 

2. My landlord won’t allow me to have a co-tenant, agreement doesn’t allow it. What do I do?

3. Where can I find these offers to lease for that long? 

4. Why should I even want to long lease when I might want to move somewhere else in the next year or so? 

5. If I long-lease, what are the things to look out for? 

Looking through these and void of being able to ask some specific questions, I will, in this article address the questions about the ‘How apartment leasing works”. 

First off, the strategy that allows them have the rights to do anything like this is called Gentrification. 

Gentrification is the process wherein, a property owner or a third party will tear down an existing but old building to rebuild a new one that is more suitable and in sync with the current reality of the area it is located. 

Below are the definitions from Oxford Dictionary.

gentrification

/ˌdʒɛntrɪfɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/

noun1. the process whereby the character of a poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving in, improving housing, and attracting new businesses, often displacing current inhabitants in the process.

“an area undergoing rapid gentrification” or the process of making someone or something more refined, polite, or respectable.

“football has undergone gentrification”

With this definition in mind, and if you are familiar with supposedly the old areas in Lagos, a few places that will easily come to mind would be the Lagos Island, Ilupeju, Yaba, some parts of Gbagada like Bariga, Ogudu, Ikeja and many others. 

Have you noticed in any of these locations where reconstruction is ongoing and it’s in the space where an old building used to be? Chances are that those properties might be open to leasing units out – so feel free to ask them if this is the case when next you see them. 

Should you make inquiries and you are then told that the property is only up for outright sale of the units, then it could also be a gentrification project but not for the purpose of long leasing as you are interested in. 

If it is however open for long leasing then bingo – here is an outline of what the process should look like 

1. You will be required to choose the type of apartment you are interested (projects like these also offer some variety to allow for a mixed target of residents), so with this in mind, if you are currently living in a self-contained apartment, this might be the chance you need to move up into a mini flat. Remember that you are likely to need to stay here for a while so plan long term not just immediate

2. Due diligence here would include reviewing the contractor’s right to develop and lease the units for that duration of time they are offering you. You can do this by reviewing their (a). lease agreement with the original owners, (b) making sure the names on the agreement are also the names that have signed the agreementc. (C) You also ensure that the title and survey document correspond (d). the location matches the site that you will be or have been taken to (e). check your lease terms and confirm that they are covered by the terms in the main lease agreement 

**please note that these are guides and in some cases will require a professional to review with you. So as much as possible and even though you are learning what needs to be done, have a professional assist with the due diligence, preferably a lawyer or a real estate company well versed in the market. 

In the property offer, they would normally include the rental rate in that area so that if you are not looking to live there, you can immediately calculate your possible ROI for that investment. To know how to calculate your ROI, I have an article already published on this and you can read it here

Last but not least, and if you are wondering where to find such deals, then your best bet is to ask your real estate broker, search online or share this article on all social media channels whilst tagging @nigeriatodaynews and @lelekena so that your followers too can enjoy what you have been enjoying from these articles.

Seeing enough of you do this will very likely be the motivation I need to get approval for a live session/webinar with a source for these type of offers. 

Would this be something of interest to you? 
If so, then prove it by sharing this with someone you know or on your channels, tag @nigeriatodaynews @lelekena and let’s see how much of a benefit it is to you. 

We will be watching and look forward to getting your feedback. 

Before next week when a new article for the #DYP series will be out, you can also check out the platform on Thursday for the #RealEstatewithLerato – or simply sign up and have it delivered straight to your mailbox. 

Till then, its bye for now.