Mrs Funke Adesoji is one of the top property developers in Nigeria. She is the CEO of the award-winning real estate company, Remax Realtors Limited. She has paid her dues in the real estate industry. Her foray into the sector was with Hamco Engineering Services. She was the Marketing Manager of the company after a short stay abroad which eventually gave birth to Remax Realtors Ltd in May 2006. She’s been able to deliver about 1000 units of houses in the last few years.
She has received several accolades/awards in and outside Nigeria. She is also a Fellow of Institute Management and many others bodies.
A few days back, she spoke to City People ISAAC ABIMBADE at her Ikeja office in Lagos. She spoke about her experience in the sector and many other things government need to quickly address.
You are the woman behind Remax Realtors Limited. Can you tell us more about the company?
Remax came to be around 2006, after I had worked briefly with one of my adopted uncles. Actually, he’s my brother’s friend. I worked with him as the Marketing Manager. It was a Civil-Engineering firm and he felt it’s a field (real estate) that I should explore. He was into contracting, getting contracts. While I was using my network that I had to get contracts. But it didn’t take long for me to realise that getting contracts wasn’t the thing for me. I wanted platforms where I could create opportunities because property development as at that time was still a ‘virgin’ thing in Nigeria. Those that were really into property development were UPDC, LSDPC etc. I remembered I used to tell my boss then that why do we still have to go and be looking for contracts, why don’t we buy parcels of land and then resell it? Because that’s what I saw in the US.
The first thing I did while trying to birth Remax was, what are the opportunities all around? Somebody came and said there was this market. Alaworo international market in Ojo. I heard that was the first indigenous market. And the local government wants to redevelop it. That was the first job I did as an individual. So, Remax was born and I tried to package an estate just opposite Rasaq Okoya house, around Ikota, by Chevron in Lekki. So, I bought a parcel of land there. I was going to put them into plots and resell. Along the line, the Omo-onile, the Ojomu family came. I bought the land from one Baale. There was one Baale everybody feared. Unfortunately not long after I bought the land the man died. I was the first person in that locality. That land became a big issue and I left. I went abroad for a bit and then and I later came back. So when I came back to Nigeria, the police were going to start the housing scheme and through my church member who was one of the first consultants they got into the scheme. He actually called because I had built his printing press. He’s actually in the media. Prince Emeka Obasi. He basically asked me to come up with some drawings for the project. And I had run my ideas with him prior before that time, so when they were putting up their own proposal to the Police, I was the one that came up with sketches and drawings. So by the time they got through, he just called me and said Funke, are you interested in it? He said you can actually build. And that’s how I became one of the developers for Police. That was how it started.
Prior to that time we had done a couple of jobs here and there. But basically what has formed the bulk of real estate Remax has done has been the Police housing scheme. I always joke that, I think I’m the only developer in Lagos that has 2 estates named after 2 presidents, back to back. Jonathan Goodluck Housing Estate and Muhammadu Buhari Housing Estate.
Police project has been very, very difficult. From 2009 that will hit the ground till now, I had to deal with 9 IGs. So, with each management that comes in they all have their vision, they have their own people and they have their own focus. So, meanwhile, we’ve invested. The only thing Police contribute is land. We have built. You see big projects, big estates but because of the timeline, all your profits are eroded. I don’t even want to go to Abuja anymore. I don’t want to go there and beg.
What set apart Remax Realtors Limited from other real estate firms?
What sets us apart is that we are passionate about our projects. Going into police project wasn’t to make money; we were looking at the long effect of having low medium income houses for people. The target wasn’t just money because if it was all about money we would have started on the Island because that’s where you make big money. We were looking at the effect we were going to have on the people.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Our vision is still to continue to provide affordable housing solutions to Nigerians at affordable rates, depending on the area. We are passionate about having affordable housing schemes. We are also looking at avenues to make it easy for our off-takers to pay. A year before I started hearing rent-to-own-home in Lagos, we started the Rent-to-own-scheme around the Idimu area because it was also opened to Police officers who don’t want to go through the Police cooperative scheme. What we did to some of them that have retired is we gave them a 10-year payment plan. But we don’t have it anymore.
What are the challenges you think the government can quickly address?
On the government side: the first thing we all say is the Land Use Act which needs to be more friendly.
The second one is access to loans for real estate developers. The interest is so huge. The government also needs to provide mortgage accessibility to every Nigerian that’s working. You don’t need to work with civil service. You don’t need to work with corporate organisations before you should have access to mortgages. Yes, the federal mortgage is there. How many Nigerians since its inception access mortgage loans? What is the capital, even to spread out to the intending off-takers?
Some of the property developers like you earlier mentioned are frustrated about the Nigerian situation and you also said you are frustrated. Can you tell us why?
I’m frustrated and I don’t think there’s any sane, hardworking Nigerian that’s not depending on the rent sharing and not depending on free bills that is not frustrated with what is going on in Nigeria. You can not predict what is going to happen tomorrow. You can’t plan. Everywhere you go, you will find your fellow man/woman trying to make things difficult for you when all you are just trying to do is to make a little bit of a difference. You import tiles. They said you we must not bring in tiles but the indigenous don’t have the capacity to supply what we need. But as frustrated as I am, I’m very, very hopeful for Nigeria and I try a lot of time not to say negative things.
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