REAL ESTATE FAQ

• How Many Years Is It Good To Keep A Land In Nigeria Before I Can Sell?

If you’re a real estate investor wondering about how many years to keep a land in Nigeria before you can sell for profit or for how many years to keep it before it can appreciate then here’s a reasonable answer for you that I hope you will find useful.

How many Years is it Good to Keep a Land for you to maximize Profit?

Well it depends on the kind of profit you will be satisfied with. While one investor may be satisfied with 150% return on investment another may not and therefore may want to leave the land for a few more years to appreciate more.

A land can only appreciate and never depreciates. Therefore it makes sense to think that the longer you keep a land the more it will appreciate. However the pace at which a land appreciates depends on the perceived value of the location of the land due to its attractions; landmarks and infrastructure facility.

Keeping a land for 5 years in Jabi or Garki area for example and keeping a land for same number of years in Lugbe will not yield the same amount of profit. The pace at which properties appreciate in wuse or Asokoro is much slower than the pace properties appreciate in Airport road (Lugbe). Buy a land in Lugbe now and keep it for 5 years and then sell and you will make 1000% profit but same can’t be said for other residential areas in Abuja.

The reasons for this comes down to Landmarks and infrastructural facility. Properties appreciates quicker when located in a commercial area. And within 3 years from now Lugbe will cater to the new Centenary City, with the biggest commercial activities. Before then though properties in lugbe will skyrocket in price as there will be a massive influx of people and Ministries.

How long you keep a land in Nigeria should be how long it takes to get the profit you are satisfied with. If you’re not in a hurry to get your money back, then you should keep the land, if it is yet to yield the kind of profit you’re satisfied with. However if you have kept the land for a few years now and no impressive return on investment then you should continue to keep the land and hope that the area will suddenly improve in commercial activities and therefore pick up its pace in price appreciation.

• Why is Investing in Landed Properties the Best Type of Real Estate Investment?

I. It’s Cheap to Start and Secure: Compared with buying a house for example or even buying a land and then erecting a building, buying a land is much cheaper. Even more so when you target places that are bound to develop in the near future. And then all it takes to secure your land from trespassers or land grabbers is to buy in a serviced estate (comes with gated fence) from reliable real estate companies with complete genuine documents. And then sit back till you are ready to sell for profit.

Acquiring a plot/plots of land for the purpose of reselling is a profitable inexpensive long term investment.

ii. Don’t need to do ANYTHING to cash out big: It’s the simplicity and stability of owning a land verse owning any other type of real estate that make investing in land so attractive.

Owning the right piece of land outweighs the many issues that comes with erecting and maintaining a house for example. All you really have to do is know if the land is suitable to build on if/when someone wants to and that it has the right attractions to make for a good investment.

iii. Owning a Land is Hands off Investment: Find a piece of land, close the deal for it and go on with your life. It’s that simple. No continuous time and cash investment to make it appreciate in value. Then 5 or 10 years later sell it off for 5-10 times your cash invested. It doesn’t get better than this.

iv. No competition: Investing in landed properties is an investment opportunity with low competition. Not many people have the patience it requires. And others prefer the residual income that comes with owning houses, apartments and commercial properties. You can take advantage of this.

v. Investing in Landed properties gives you peace of mind: Since land is a tangible asset that doesn’t wear out, doesn’t depreciate and nothing can be broken, stolen or destroyed it gives you peace of mind. Your investment is secured and you never have to worry.

If you go into land investing with the intention of holding the right property for long term then it can be more profitable than any form of retirement plan out there.