Renting a flat or house in Abuja has become one of the most expensive financial
responsibilities one has to make.Property agents are cashing in on the lucrative market. But one has to be extremely careful and the key word is patience..
Are you looking for a place to rent in Abuja or Lagos? I guess as they put it, 'you need it sharp sharp'. Pause and take a deep breath and thread carefully or make a rash decision which you will regret later.
It makes sense to spend wisely. If you must spend millions to rent a flat, it should be worth it right?
Here are facts to consider before renting a flat in Abuja or Lagos
1. Rent:
Have you ever wondered why rent is increasing steadily in Abuja and Lagos? I believe the people looking for a place to rent are the ones driving the price.. Although in recent times, the property owner actually spent so much to buy it.
The high demand for sure is one of the major the reasons why rent is high in these big cities. Remember that most of these houses have been there for years. The property owner would have purchased it when things were not so expensive. They are obviously benefiting from the high cost of rent because the people searching for a place to rent made it so.
The more people are looking for a particular product, the more the price to get it increases. It is that simple.
The urgency to rent or should I say the desperation makes the home owners to stick to whatever price that has been fixed on a particular property since they are sure that if you are not ready to rent, there are others in the queue. They are so right.
The advice here is, if you feel the property does not equate the price, leave it.
Another fact to bear in mind is rent renewal. Always remember that for instance if you spend four million naira on a 3 bedroom flat, do you have same amount to renew the rent in a year's time? If you will not afford to, why not opt for a cheaper place that you can afford?
2. Service Charge:
This is another avenue some property agents have created to make some money out of the deal. Note that I said, 'some property' agents. Not all but most property agents are guilty of this.
To protect yourself from being used, first ask yourself what specific services will the service charge cover.
Some will say it includes cost of security, cleaning, water bill, stand-by generator etc.
Confirm from the existing tenants how legit this is before paying. Most times you will discover that they will not even engage professional security services or engage professional cleaners.
If you are patient you will get the facts but most people worry that they may loose the property while trying to investigate.
Sometimes the property agent or the lawyer engaged to rent out the property might see you as a problematic person for asking too many questions and decide to not rent to you.
3. Inspection Fee:
The inspection fee is usually not more than five thousand naira as specified by most websites in Nigeria.
But remember that some dubious agents have decided to use this as an avenue to make money.
How do they do this? They advertise a property for rent on a website of choice. When you call them, they will tell you that you must pay an inspection fee of say N5,000. What if you get there and find out you do not like the place? Well the agent will insist you must pay the 5k.
When you agree and see the property and like it, they will be reluctant to link you to the property owner. Sometimes they schedule to see three clients at the same time and promise to call you later with details of the lawyer in charge of the property but they never do so.
Think of how much they make just by showing 30 clients the same property and each one pays 5k. Be wise!
If the reason for the inspection fee is for the agent to transport himself to the property to show it to you, well, this is a good point but most times the client is still the one to pick up the agent in the clients car.
I personally have a huge question mark on any property where the agent demands inspection fee. Most of the time the agent telling you about a property is yet to see the property himself. He will make calls while in the clients car to his friends to direct him to the property he wants to show you. So what is the inspection fee actually covering?
If you are satisfied with the services of the agent and you just want to give him some money to show appreciation, that is entirely different. But always be careful when asked to pay to see a property. Most times the property is not available to rent, the property has been seen and rejected by several other clients or the agents are just out to make money for themselves.
4. Caution deposit:
Caution deposit works abroad where flats are already furnished before you rent and most tenants pay weekly or monthly. It makes sense when you are asked to pay a caution deposit considering the fact that some tenants are in the habit of ruining the property before leaving. So the property owner asks for caution deposit as a fall back when such is the case..
But In Nigeria people pay for a whole year before being allowed access to the property. The flats or houses are often rented empty and most times the tenant is the one to renovate and furnish the flat. Exactly what is the caution deposit for?
I feel the caution deposit is another avenue to make extra cash from renting the property.
5. 10% agency fee:
Years back the norm was to pay 5 percent legal fee and 5 percent agency fee.
Now that you have a long list of agents linked to the deal including the main agent hired by the property owner, they probably realised that 5% agency fee cannot go round and be enough for all of them to share. So they decided to add extra 5% agency fee making it a total of 10% agency fee.
If you find out that the law in your state actually permits 10percent agency fee, go ahead and pay it. The bottom line is to ask questions and always work with your lawyer.
6. Tenancy agreement:
Tenancy agreement should be between two parties sitting down and agreeing on terms not the other way round. I realised that property owners have a standard tenancy agreement which they simply print out and give the client to read and sign.
Most times people are so desperate to pay for a particular property that they do not have time to even look at the tenancy agreement before paying.
You should ask for the lawyers address, go to his office, sit down with your lawyer and go through the tenancy agreement. Make sure you agree 100percent with every single word in it. If you disagree with any part of it, do not sign it. You are bound by whatever you sign. So be careful.
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