Seun Omoroga is a big property player in Lagos. He is the Managing Director of Echadh International Ventures, a property company that sells, buys, builds and leases houses in the Lekki, Ikoyi and V.I. areas of Lagos.
He has been in business for close to 20 years and he has carved a niche for himself as a reliable and dependable property developer. He is well known within the industry as a man who keeps to his words. His word is his bond.
Last week, in Lekki, this tall and ruggedly handsome guy spoke to City People Magazine Publisher, SEYE KEHINDE about his business.
Below are excerpts..
You are into real estate. But what aspects of real estate do you handle?
We build. We sell. We lease. We do practically everything in that sector. And we have been on it for the past 17 years. We have properties all around Lagos that we are selling. We have both in the Mainland and Island.
How did you get into Real Estate?
I studied Estate Management. I finished from the University of Ilorin. I have an Uncle who is a Lawyer. He invited me fully into real estate. Then, I was still looking for jobs here and there.
He said so far that is what you read in school, you can come in. I am a Lawyer, you can then handle the real estate arm. So we started together in 2006. Since that time we have been at it. We give God the glory.
What’s the real estate market like now?
We thank God. But the situation of the economy is bad. The recession is not helping. But we believe things will still be okay. Things are beginning to come up, to look up, little by little.
The future is bright. We have great future ahead of us. I believe in being practical with what you are doing. When you are working and you pray to God, he will definitely answer your prayers. You have to keep putting in your efforts because there is great future in real estate.
Government can boost the economy with real estate. They should put more efforts in real estate and tourism.
Why did you study a course in real estate?
I have always liked estate management. When I was in secondary school, I realised that what people needed most is houses. I used to say to myself that one day, God will give me the power to actualise my dream of providing houses for people and I have achieved that.
The one I have not achieved is to build housing for the masses. Apart from the ones we are selling right now which is for the middle class and upper middle class I would like to go into low cost estate for individuals. People are really suffering in terms of lack of housing. The housing deficit is still very huge. Accommodation problem is serious.
What class of people do you build for?
Both middle class and low class. We do what is affordable, what the market will accept. Most of the people who build for the high class estates have realised that they simply build these expensive properties and many people can’t afford it because of the bad economy. I believe if you have something small that is not too expensive, it will work. Right now the economy is not looking good at all. We pray that God will turn around the situation.
How do you think we can reduce the housing deficit stock?
Government can if they want to. They have all it takes to reduce the deficit. All the land belongs to them. They should provide land. They need to get private companies to come into real estate. Government can give them most of this land to build on. They will go into a partnership, agree on the sharing formula. I believe government knows what to do about that if they want to help.
How can government help developers?
That will be in the area of materials and title documents. They can make it fast, not the way we were doing it before. They can hasten the process.
How can they make the necessary approvals to be fast?
They should put a process in place to make getting approvals and title documents fast. I believe they can help.
What are your plans for 2017?
I have some landed properties that I want to put together, as in service plots, to sell. I am looking at erecting block of flats. I know that people can afford flats, like terraces around Lekki here. That is what I know people can afford. Some people will only buy plots of land and need people to build for them. We can build for them.
Tell us about your growing up years? Where were you born?
I was born in Lagos at Alimosho area. It was hard making ends meet. I come from a middle class family. We were not poor. We were not rich o. We thank God. To get to where we are today was by Gods grace.
I attended Anglican Primary School and Anglican Grammar School in Otta. From there I got admission to University of Ilorin. All the way, things were so rough. I just give God the glory because it has not been easy.
Today here we are. I had to work after my secondary school, to make end meet. I had to send myself to school. I had to work for a while, for a year or two years, after the admission. I just had to find a way to keep on moving.
My advice to people is that no matter the situation in life, keep on moving, and then believe in God. I believe one day God will surely answer our prayers.
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