Margaret Grant, an experienced and trained real estate broker who owns a registered and licensed real estate company called Megeek Nigeria Limited has encouraged Nigerians to seriously consider Investments in “offplan Properties’.

According to her, Offplan property investment means “buy a property before it is fully built or completed” by committing to purchasing or buying a property before it is completed.
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Explaining the risks involved in this sort of Investment, Grant says “buying offplan could be a major setback for investors because it entails taking risks with their money and they tend to doubt the authenticity of the developer in terms of delivery, finishing, sizes, services and management that’s why most developers have 3D designs and detailed brochures about their project, if need be they create a prototype for prospective clients to see and appreciate what it will look like once completed before investing or purchase.

Developers also not keeping to a delivery construction timeline ,some of them end up even abandoning these projects over a period of time that’s why it is very important to buy from a reputable and reliable source.
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Speaking on how she got into the real estate business, Grant said “I didnt actually study real estate in school, I started working for a reputable real estate company during my NYSC and enjoyed my job in sales and marketing handling both retail and corporate clients, so over time I became very passionate, experienced and knowledgeable about the real estate industry’.

On the challenges faced in the industry, Grant explained that, “there are often more listings and properties for sale but very limited buyers available and the fact that the industry is saturated with alot of inexperienced and unlicensed agents without any specific expertise, this can change if the industry becomes more regulated and there are laws in place if you want to become a registered real estate broker”.

She went on to explain that often times there are uncertainties about the real estate market plus the instability in our exchange rate that discourages investors especially diaspora clients from buying as well as cost of building materials which has tripled in price and this has affected alot of developers from being able to meet their deadline of completion and also causing prices of these projects to inflate over a short period of time. Poor documentation or the absence of relevant documents for some of these properties affects clients who want to also buy using the ‘mortgage process’.
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Despite the risk involved in buying offplan properties, Margaret Grant whose company sells, leases and manages properties and a member of AEAN (Association of Estate Agents in Nigeria) with over 10years experience says ‘it is a very easy way to own a property or invest in real estate without any pressure and be able to secure the purchase price below market value especially when you do in a very good developed prime location where value appreciation and your ROI (return on investment) will be fast. It also enables a client to be involved in the construction progress and the finishing of the property e.g the type of tiles, light fittings, sanitary wares etc to individual taste’.
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