i was just driving by lekki scheme 1 today and i was amazed at the number of vacancies i saw. what was even more amazing was the fact that most of these houses are new while some have have never even been occupied b4efore. now a friend asked me ---- why the hell aint these people letting out all this houses and he answered himself and said. maybe they were being offered rents too low for them and since many of them could allow the estates to remain vacant since they weren't built with bank loan BUT corruption fund. i really felt this was a naive thing to say,
ON SECOND THOUGHT , I THOUGHT THAT EVERY PRUDE Investor or business man should understand the implication of TIME VALUE OF MONEY OR PV OF money.because these people know that the EFCC is a dead dog that is decaying, they dont mind to stash thier ill gotten money in property and allow it to waste away rather than collect something significant over a period of time. they are no different from the bus conductors who would refuse to convey a passenger willing to pay 4o naira for a normal fare of 50 naira yet would prefer to drive such bus half empty to the passengers destination. IRONY RIGHT. BEATS ME TOO.

I am suprised most realtors and property guys on nairaland are not here yet. the postulation of the poster is over 80% correct. No man will work honestly and hard for money and watch it lie fallow. There are several individuals on the forbes richest people list who still travel with public transport. They know how they earned the money. the remaining 20% might be those who inherited the wealth from parents or through lottery, which explains why the wealth wont last.

Having supported the observation of the poster, I strongly condemn the opium that Nigeria is where we are as a nation because of corruption. Corruption has become the lame excuse of brainless, shortsighted and clueless political leaders. Corruption is a global issue, not peculiar to Nigeria. Any Nigerian not minding the level of education that joins the western media to describe Nigeria as a corrupt nation is an illiterate. Go to India, Brazil, South Africa, etc. even UK, US, corruption is worse than it is practised in Nigeria. Kenya, Benin, Egypt, Tunisia have all sorts on their streets yet people come back home and say we are corrupt. Was shocked at the recent support of N/Landers to a statement credited to Col. Gadaffi that Nigeria is full of rats and smells,even if you have not been to Libya, we watch on CNN and we know several places in Libya can not compare to Nigeria.

Our problem is not corruption but leadership that lacks ideas and foresight. Did Awolowo take advantage of public office to enrich himself? YES. Which is what Tinubu is replicating in Lagos. But the western Nigeria witnessed progress and development during his times just like Lagos is witnessing some developments now. These leaders we have now are just clueless. For all you care, most of them may not be as wealthy as the Awolowo dynasty despite the billions they loot because they are daft and cant think creatively.

Americans are corrupt.The British are corrupt. Scandals everyday. Tribunals everyday without any end. Tony Blair left office several years now. No end to his trial on the Irag war yet. America had contract issues over corruption during Iraq war. Their press will play down on their own issues. Our illiterate press and people will look the other way and detsroy Nigeria. In South Africa, you can barely use your ATM card and meet the correct balance afterwards. So much is wrong everywhere but they have found ways to advance, develop and make life meaningful for their citizens through creative thinking.

Awolowo in the 70s already postulated and calculated how many children will be born in Nigeria in the 80s through the 90s. He knew how muh the government will spend to keep them in school to tertiary level and how the money will be generated without depending on oil money. Ask the minister of finance today about how much the federal govt spends to keep a child in school at the primary level. She will go blank. Yet they will spend four years blaming their non-performance on corruption.

Someone should please tell them and whoever cares to listen that we are tired of this same old story from Buhari's first coming to GEJ about corruption. We need action, creativity, planning and progress. Otunba Gadaffi(Mobile Toilet) wont say to you he could not pack your shit cos they smell. He knows shit smells but the money doesnt. Any good leader and planner knows the ability to be selfish, greedy and corrupt is a natural human tendency that you should make provisions for in your planning for development.

The flood will attempt to pull down any house or structure in its way, its the owner of the building that will prevent it.!

With all those comments posted, we should ask ourselves what is the lifespan of those Houses? In the next 6 years those houses will be barely habitable. So, they are more or less waste of money, time, efforts and materials! It is annoying to see something like this happening in a country where there is no housing to meet the teeming population demand.

Nigerians are really suffering but they still defend the ones who are responsible for their punishment and suffering. I think y'all even like it so as to always have something to discuss on NL.

@ Topic

I have always held the same opinion. Forget the 'politically correct' view expressed by Seun; I can boldly declare - even at the risk of generalizing - that ONLY Nigerians who made their wealth in a CRIMINAL or ILLICIT manner would have the insouciance to build/buy irrationally expensive properties all over the place and leave them unoccupied. Property prices in Nigeria are overpriced, probably the most overpriced in the world. This is entirely due to the huge volume of illicit funds in circulation. Politicians, civil servants, businessmen, contractors, conniving lawyers/professionals, bankers, etc. They are all involved in all sorts of wanton criminal acquisition of wealth which they later have the audacity to vaunt as proceeds of "hard work". Yeah right.  You don't make your money through hard work and 'cheat' yourself into buying overpriced properties (averaging N100m - N800m) in Lekki, Ikoyi, Maitama, etc, only to leave most of them unoccupied. I personally know tens of unoccupied mansions and duplexes in so called high-brow areas in Lagos and Abuja; the owners own several properties, and their children are mostly abroad. Yet millions of Nigerians battle with housing problems, and even working class people have no access to functional mortgages to acquire their own modest homes. This country is sick.

It is unintelligent to make a sweeping statement on an issue where even commonsense provides a series of alternatives.

Why do people build

A home for their occupation
A retirement home
For commercial investment.
A holiday home

Why might the homes be un-occupied.
-If they have built it for their occupation it might be un-occupied if they are temporarily away from their home. eg on placement out of state or abroad.
-If a retirement home they might be happy to have it lie empty and use as a holiday home in the interim.
-If its a commercial investment. It might be void for a while to enable the owner secure the right kind of tenant who is able to maintain the property and can really afford to live in it and not ones who will combine with 10 other people resulting in damage far in excess of the rent they have paid.
-If its a holiday home, unless they have the option of being able to run it as a guesthouse/holiday home when they are away then the option is really limited. As we know a lot of 9ja's stay with family when in the country or out of state.

It is a known fact that the majority of 9ja's who built their homes did it without bank loan and that is why it takes in some cases 5-15 years to complete. It really then does not make sense even financial sense to let it to anybody who puts any kudi in front of you at the risk of substantial damage to your sweat and retirement fund.

One has to look at whether the aim is for short or long term gain. What is the risk profile they can afford to live with.

No let jealousy, lack of foresight, lack of believe that you can do it cloud your judgement. Enough said.

Gabbytabby has some good point up there.

How many of these thieves that own overpriced properties in Lekki and other 'ego-brow' vanity locations in Lagos and Abuja took "5 - 15 years" to BUY or build their vanity mansions? When we all know that most of those houses spring up in a few months (except we're talking about multi-unit estates). Some of you complicit beneficiaries are just too neck-deep in bullshit to even know what is inteligent to say and what isn't. Are we not talking about Nigeria? Corruption is the very life-blood here, and there is almost NO genuine case of legally acquired extreme (wasteful) wealth in these parts. It's impossible not to generalize in this case. But there would always be loathsome characters that would attempt to rationalize the irrational.

gabbytabby:

It is unintelligent to make a sweeping statement on an issue where even commonsense provides a series of alternatives.

Why do people build

A home for their occupation
A retirement home
For commercial investment.
A holiday home

Why might the homes be un-occupied.
-If they have built it for their occupation it might be un-occupied if they are temporarily away from their home. eg on placement out of state or abroad.
-If a retirement home they might be happy to have it lie empty and use as a holiday home in the interim.
-If its a commercial investment. It might be void for a while to enable the owner secure the right kind of tenant who is able to maintain the property and can really afford to live in it and not ones who will combine with 10 other people resulting in damage far in excess of the rent they have paid.
-If its a holiday home, unless they have the option of being able to run it as a guesthouse/holiday home when they are away then the option is really limited. As we know a lot of 9ja's stay with family when in the country or out of state.

It is a known fact that the majority of 9ja's who built their homes did it without bank loan and that is why it takes in some cases 5-15 years to complete. It really then does not make sense even financial sense to let it to anybody who puts any kudi in front of you at the risk of substantial damage to your sweat and retirement fund.

One has to look at whether the aim is for short or long term gain. What is the risk profile they can afford to live with.

No let jealousy, lack of foresight, lack of believe that you can do it cloud your judgement. Enough said.

everything you've posted here apart from the bolded part (which makes little sense though) is nothing but BULLOCKS and does not in anyway relate to the issue at hand.

it is those actively involved in the naija property market particularly around the Lekki , Ikoyi axis that can really understand what this thread is all about.

we are talking about people that can complete a luxury block of ten flats in less than 6months and you are here talking about completing a house within 5-15years. mschewwwwwwww !

pro01:

How many of these thieves that own overpriced properties in Lekki and other 'ego-brow' vanity locations in Lagos and Abuja took "5 - 15 years" to BUY or build their vanity mansions? When we all know that most of those houses spring up in a few months (except we're talking about multi-unit estates). Some of you complicit beneficiaries are just too neck-deep in bullshit to even know what is inteligent to say and what isn't. Are we not talking about Nigeria? Corruption is the very life-blood here, and there is almost NO genuine case of legally acquired extreme (wasteful) wealth in these parts. It's impossible not to generalize in this case. But there would always be loathsome characters that would attempt to rationalize the irrational.

Gbam !

u dey mind him? some people just come here to spew crap on something they know little or nothing about !

.

Most of the houses in Lekki are definitely 'overnight'. Many were built during the so-called financial 'boom'. The whole peninsula is littered with half-completed, abandoned estate developments, and a lot of people who subscribed have their monies stuck in these abandoned developments. I'm sure the estate promoters, bankers, and realtors are long gone with their loot.