Buying a property in Lagos could be disastrous without going through the right agency or property development company. In many cases, a lot of people have had to lose a huge amount to real estate investment as a result of trusting their funds with those who eventually fail to deliver on projects.
But Adozillion Homes and Realty, a real estate company based in Lagos, is bringing the real deal. The company specializes in providing affordable housing solutions to Nigerians – including those at home and abroad – with a top priority on quality delivery.
The company’s CEO Dr. Simon Adozi, who was a guest on the latest episode of Nairametrics Business Half Hour, explained how the company has come to change the narrative by delivering on actual projects that yield significantly for subscribers.
After observing the space for almost a decade, Adozi said his vision was driven by the need to do the right thing by making real estate profitable. He said:
- “I have been doing real estate for over 8 years. Out of those eight years I sold real estate for over 7 years and I have seen how clients’ investments have been treated with some developers who would collect money and not deliver what they promised to deliver. You hear cases of people collecting money for over 12 years and they haven’t delivered a block of the apartment that the client paid for. In that case, that is a dead asset.
- “So I studied the market and trend, and I discovered that I can’t put my money down where it is not generating income for me. Real estate is supposed to be profitable. It’s supposed to be generating cash for me and that’s what Adozillion Homes came to do – we came to change the narrative; we came to deliver projects.”
In the last year since it started operations, Adozillion Homes and Realty has been able to do a lot. Within this period, it has built projects up to 85% finishing level. While commenting on the progress of its Mufasa Apartment project located in Lekki, Ikate, Lagos, Adozi, said:
- “It’s just undergoing finishing stages — just the paintings and some interior fittings that are remaining and we’ve been able to put the structure in place in just eleven months after doing the foundation work. So, putting everything together, we got where we are in 13 months.”
The CEO however alluded to the fact that getting access to funds has been a major challenge, as banks and other potential investors prefer to invest in businesses with a cash flow over some time rather than businesses that are just starting. Despite this, he stressed that the company has stayed true to its vision in the one year of its existence.
In addition, he pointed out that lands, especially in strategic Lagos locations, cannot be found cheap. He, therefore, appealed to the government to make land accessible.
- “We have had round table discussions with the government. If I have access to land, I can bring some kind of easy solutions. But truth is, land in Lagos is not cheap. Except you want to go further down the Epe, Ibeju Lekki Axis to be able to access cheap land.
- “Secondly, because of inflation, the cost of building is high. So, we are doing our best in the private development space to make sure that we understand the burden of everybody trying to access accommodation.
- “It is majorly the lack of governance. We want to provide this accommodation but it has to be a partnership between us and the government to be able to see how prices can be reduced. But we are doing our best to make sure that the prices are affordable.”
- Speaking on how the company is making housing accessible to many, Adozi explained, “we saw the way that housing solution is not cheap to provide, so we had to break it down for the average working class person to be able to access it with even as low as a deposit of just N10 million (depending on the apartment type), after which we will give you over 12 months spread to pay.
- “If you can also access a mortgage, the mortgage solution is a part of what people used to pay for the apartments we have here.”
In the coming years, Adozillion Homes and Properties want to play in the mass housing space. The company believes that this can be facilitated through a partnership with the government.
“What we are doing right now is a bit of the luxury space. We want to play in the mass housing space. That’s why we’re developing estates in Epe, Ibeju, etc., just to be able to cater to that market.
“For the property management space, we want the government to come in, in terms of the land partnership. If I can get cheap land, I can work my way around looking for some technology to be able to deliver a housing solution. Some people build houses that don’t have to do with cement and block anymore. Some technologies can help you to build houses without you breaking the bank. But the major factor in real estate is land. And lands are owned by the government.”
