Having a house built for oneself has become part of the way the majority of Nigerians want to picture themselves. And having your home with a fenced compound is typically a Nigerian thing. An average Nigerian is always proud to live in his own house; having a compound to himself and having a private surrounding, like a condo and semi-detached houses that are being copied from other parts of the world.
Aside from this, so many Nigerians, after buying their home, don’t want to start paying for any cost again, like estate electricity, which offers 24/7 electricity, as they call it. This and many others come with burdens to many people. They are also mandated to pay for security personnel aside from the general security personnel of the estate. This week, City People brings to you why many Nigerians prefer to live in stand-alone houses.
Leaving A Legacy
A typical Nigerian man wants to leave a good legacy behind, and one of them is building.
It has been said that the best legacies are the ones we build. Have you ever taken a trip to the first-storey building in Nigeria? Have you been to the new Kalakuta Republic where Fela lived and still lives on? The family house/compound was built by our grandfathers or fathers. Some of these are legacies.
These buildings arouse the life and times of their owners in you. It is in people’s houses that we understand how they lived their lives. The houses we live in are an extension of who we are. Don’t live and leave your best memories in a rented apartment.
Old age
Old age comes with a lot of uncertainty. Health, finances, and society seem to change so fast. You feel dependent, and it has been almost 50 years since you felt this way. You no longer have the huge paying job you desire and you do not have the strength to pursue some money-getting goals. You realise you are out of the league in a fast-paced world. The last thing you want is to be homeless and become a financial liability to your kids for those yearly house rents.
When you don’t have a constant source of income, it is smart to reduce your constant expenditure, of which housing tops the list. Having a house assures you that there is a place for you in this world and for people who want to visit you. Yes, those visits matter especially as you get older. By now, your kids and dependents have already moved on to face their life battles, and they may not understand how loneliness is the new fear for you.
With your own house, you can have your friends come over when they are in your area, and your grandkids can have their holidays with you. You can also demarcate your house and rent out one of the rooms to a younger person so the home feels lively.
To Create A Place That Defines You.
There is something about the house you build yourself. It defines you; the colours, the interiors and other details all have a story best known to you alone. From childhood, we are exposed to different kinds of home designs and neighbourhoods and get to discover what we like and what we don’t. This desire changes over time to accommodate discoveries and more realities about our housing needs.
You may prefer a large family and therefore need a large house, or you may just go for a small bungalow with 80% of the land surrounded by palm trees if you just want a family of 3. These unique needs might be hard to get in rented apartments, where some landlords raise a red flag when there are too many people in your flat, while the option of buying a ready-made house might not be the solution, as the home design is not unique to your requirements.
For Future Investment
Generally, once a house is constructed, the value of the house is almost instantly double the actual cost. Only a few investments guarantee such growth in value. Unlike cars, a house is an asset, and its value grows year-on-year and it can be used for loan guarantees. In case you have a prolonged financial challenge, you can sell your house, buy cheap land in a growing neighbourhood to build a new house, and use the extra savings for more liquid business purposes. Whichever way, you never lose.
To escape the neighbours’ Issues
This is one of the major reasons why many Nigerians want to have a house of their own.
They don’t want to live where they want to start sharing money for power consumption, or a situation where the issue of cleaning the compound or environmental issues will become a burden.
You moved to another house, and the landlord was so cool, you almost added him on Facebook, only for him to start behaving like your last landlord after a few months. Suddenly it feels like they both read the book “How to DEAL With Your Tenants”.
After 4 landlords (or landladies) and an unbeaten run of bad experiences, you start to think maybe you should become a landlord and end the abuse. Please, join the landlord club and get the bragging rights. Remember, you didn’t come to the city to count ceilings.
