Preparing for finishing stages

When prepering to move to finishes, there is need to be extra careful and critical with the job being done on site because any error you commit as a contractor this time will be visible and moe difficlt and costly to correct.
Imagine if you have marble installed on your walls only to find out that it was badly placed.
However, having good finishes does not begin when you are about to end the building process. To have a good finish, you must start due dilligence right from the foundation of the house. A job executed badly at the initial stage has a way of affecting the general outlook of the building.

So these are some of what to do to achieve good finishes
Employ an architect:
The architect is trained to criticise and view anything straight or otherwise, he has an eye for straight line so he can easily detect if your walls are straight or not, so he can monitor and coordinate the technicians on what to do to achieve better result.
Make sure your materials are of good quality like paints,marble e.t.c
A lot consider finishing stage from plastering to finally moving to your house.
The bricklayer is the one to be contacted for this job. Though he may know his job but you need to ask for these tools from him to show he is actually ready to do the work.
First you must ask for his range (this is a perfect rectangular wood or metal used in tracing the straightness of plastered area to the other to give a general smooth and nice finish.
The Plumb is the next thing to ask for, this is an instrument you see them carry about that has a portion of water in a transparent plastic material, it is used to determine how straight a wall and any other material is.
You also need to insist that your masons should first of all establish guage on the surface of wall round to serve as a guide when finally plastering.
Also when the blocks are not well laid then you will encounter problems when plastering.
Finishes usually consumes more money, that is why you need to be able to take extra care with various installations like,
checking the door, close and open several them times,
wash hand basins and lavatory equiments should be tested to avoid defects immediately you are just moving in,
Once again test to see that your roof is not leaking and the ceilling are properly placed.
You need good hands generally to work for you.

Hostel Development for University Students: One sure way of making money in real estate

Recently I was passing through the university of Lagos and saw an undergoing project of several rooms student hostel to be completed this year for the next academic session , and I remembered how smart investors were making cool money off us then in my days in Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma.
The potential here can not be underestimated considering the need and serious growth of student population numbers, already many of the institutions lacks adequate classrooms,studios,laboratories, library not to talk of hostel facilities. Unavailability of these facilities is the major reason parents prefers one higher institution to the other for their wards to pursue academic excellence.
Overcrowding and overpopulation of these hostels had made the government to come up with new policies that will encourage private investors to own and run hostels.
A lot of nigerian banks are now involve in it, for example spring bank ,zenith bank etc are now having stakes in some of the institutions.
However, this problem is not peculiar with the universities alone, you can also be thinking towards investing in these places:
Polytechnics, both federal and state, colleges of education,technical colleges, teachers trainning .

Advantages of this investment
Very High rates: No matter the place be it rural or urban ,institutions generate a lot of traffic especially in on session periods.
the rush for hostels make the rent to be higher than most urban areas with the same square meter area of rooms.
Quick returns on investment: Student pays in yearly basis so you have money in lump sum that you can easily use to build or add one more room to the existing ones you have which you can easily rent out again to build more.
The high rate of growth is noticeable mostly in these areas.
No owing of rent: Your contract with students is usually on yearly basis which terminates at the end of every session, you are paid before new tenants comes in unless the present occupier can afford to pay you new rates which are usually added almost every year.the student sojourn is always short and transitory which makes it easy for you to increase your rent after he must have packed out.
For potential investors, there are two options through which they can participate. One is by going into partnership arrangement with one or more tertiary institutions to obtain land under leasehold agreement:build and manage the hostel on agreed terms.
Two, speculate for land around tertiary institutions, obtain necessary titles and approvals from government agencies,build and then manage the hostel.

What you should know and do
-You don't need to be a building contractor or a professional to get this done for you,
-You don't need any government connection to do it
-It must not always be in the school premises, but should at least be in the town or close to the school, the closer it is, the higher the rate.
-You do not need to start with millions to build mega houses, you can start with small rooms (2,3 or 4) in an half plot of land then grow steadily to build bigger ones in the institutions scattered all over the nation.
But if you must start big, you need to be credit worthy, banks, mortgage and other financial institutions can collaborate and assist.
-Just identify the locations of the various higher institutions.

Oily wastes

Waste as defined by Oxford English dictionary as the unserviceable material remaining over from any process of manufacture; the useless bye product of any industrial process; materials or manufactured articles so damaged as to be useless or unsaleable,which may include both domestic and agricultural form of waste.In otherwords emphasis on its uselessness or unserviceabilities.
It is a worthless material removed in mining or digging operations.
Waste could be toxic, nuclear,domestic,gaseous, solid e.t.c
World Health Organisation (WHO) defines it as something which the owner no longer wants at a given place and time and which has no current and perceived market value.
In summary Oily waste, is the useless oily bye product of any industrial, material, domestic and agricultural liquids that do not mix easily under normal temperature with water and usually burns easily,obtained from plants,animals and minerals.

Types of oil wastes-
Light hydrocarbons(gasoline,kerosine and jetfuel),
Heavy hydrocarbons(fuels and tars,crude oil,diesel oil,residual il, slop oil,asphalt and road tar.
Lubricants and cutting fluids-emulsifiable(fat ,soap e.t.c) and non-emulsifiable (watersoluble oils,rolling oils, cutting oils and drawing compound)
Fats and fatty oils(soybeans,cottnseed,linseed and corn.

effects of oily wastes
The oily waste has a devastating effects on the ecological systems especially when it comes in large tonnes. It destabilizes the socio economic activities of the affected areas and can practically wipe out a serene and peaceful ecosystem.
Oil spillages in Niger Delta causes breakdown of aquatic and plant lives, depriving the farmers of good arable lands to cultivate and also rendering the coastal waters without fish for the farmers,thereby sending them out of their daily jobs.
When grasses,fishes and other aquatic animals are destroyed, the coastal water are polluted,living it dirty and untreated ,this usually causes a negative impact on tourism so a great amount of economic benefit is lost.
sources of oily wastes
oily wastes are gotten from-Petroleum,Metals,Food Processing,textiles and in the process of cooling and heating of industrial machines.

ways of eliminating oily wastes
Through improved industrial/technological process-For example in 1989 "the Thames water Authority developed avessel that injectsup to 30 tonnes of oxygen a day into the river when pollution threatens aquatic life.In California a form of steam cleaning wasdeveloped to removes petrochemical from contaminated soil.
Solar energy can also be used to destroy toxic waste.
Also through conservation of energy and recycling.
Conversion into useful functions, for example gas production
Cleaning up of contaminated sites
Substituting harmless for harmful techniques

Problems against eliminating oily wastes
1, Presently in Nigeria, there is no strong control act that is comprehensive enough and with bitting capability to improve water quality with implementation at the federal,state and local government levels which will guarantee water sufficiently pure for swimming and other recreational uses and the sustenance of fish with other widlife and total elimination of discharges of pollutants into the nations water.
2,Political problems, In Britain, the governent policy makes industry as the major cause of waste,provides for most of the cash to identify and clean up contaminated lands.
But in Nigeria no effective policy to make the companies especially oil companies responsible for it.
3,Administrative problems,Putting round peg in round holes also goes a long way to make sure that wastes are properly disposed off in this age of advance technological know how.
4,Obsolete equipments, This is also most noticeable in the Niger Delta where pipes that are old and leaking are still being used to convey oil.The defective parts constitutes great danger to the community.
5,Ignorance,A case is that of a man who rented out his land as a store for an Italian residing in nigeria who dumped 3,884 tonnes of chemical waste in 10,000 drums in old Bendel state.
6,Financial rewards, As in the case of the man mentioned above,he was given N500 per month to hire his land in may 1988.

Before you collect that plan from your architect.

It is unfortunate a lot of people find it hard to separate dreams from reality, This is the bane of many "could have being landlords" still tenants. when you are requesting for a plan, is pertinent to be aware of the purpose the house will serve, Is it for commercial purpose, residential or just simply to show off to your village kinsmen that you have arrived.


Before calling that architect, get a biro and paper juts down what are your housing priorities, you know your capabilities, start from the primary to the secondary and so on.

It is good to crave for good things in life but not at the detriment of your love ones that are depending on you (children and family members).

Getting that plan set require you to have a reasonable budget that you can easily expend for one to ten years without serious direct impact to your family. The terrible things you see around is someone trying to make his house the most beautiful in the vicinity just to show off, but he easily forgot that whatever is built today and consider to be the best building aesthetically around is always one of the worst buildings around in just few years to come. No matter how you try you can't have the most beautiful building around, because somebody is already seeing that your building as a benchmark to beat and that he will do, the arc. are always available to carry out his instructions.
To start criticising your arc. check the ingress and egress to the site,when your site is directly opposite a major expressway, does it give room for adequate manouvering of your vehicle?Do you have adequate buffer zone ( a left over space or setback from the road).
It is good you have a route that can easily be plied from the side of your building if it is a corner plot.
The setback from building line to fence, is there enough room for vehicle parking? what of the window and fence are they spaced apart to allow for good ventillation? You should leave a minimum of 3meters from your fence to end of building at the back,the two sides, and 6m from the fence line to building line in front, this is the minimum the town planners requires, however you can decide to go a little less during construction but it shouldn't be much.
Another thing that can affect your setback is a situation whereby rainwater from your building roof is falling into the compound of your next door neighbour.
The drainage pattern of your site is also important, how does your septic tank/ soakaway able to take advantage of it.
Is everywhere going to be paved? you need to have a green area at least to bring life to your building and make it more relaxing and aesthetically pleasing. Totally paved round buildings usually conducts a lot of heat to the building,when it is sunny it absorbs the heat, and when is night fall it begins to conducts to the inside, a lot of people thinks the best way to easily drain your site is to pave everywhere, this is not true, you can have green areas well landscaped building that will drain water easily from your site in seconds, it only depends on the designers dexterity.
What of the placement of generator and water tank, can vehicles easily goes in to the site and service/supply them with fuel and water.
It is important your kitchen has a separate entrance from outside so that you can easily carry in your foodstuffs without necessarily going through the living area.
Can the design be categorised this way, Private area, Semi private and public. A sound architect should have it in mind when designing your residential building, someone should be able to access the kitchen from the bedrooms without necessarily bumping on the visitors in your living room.
A back entrance is also needed to be able to enter from behind and for security reasons as well.
Minimum size for any bedroom should be 3m x 3.6m or 10 x 12 ft anything less is not too good though we have people constructing 3m x 3m bedrooms.
A modern kitchen minimum should be at least 3m x 3m,but for a small structure,3m x 2.4m can still be used.
Your toilets minimum can be 1.8m x 1.2m or more depending largely on the owner,taste and size of adjoining bedroom. For one with bath tub then expect minimum of 1.8m x 1.8m.It is important you get an explanation for the design of your roof, a complex roof can be a problem if not well designed and executed in two to three years time.
More on this will be discussed with you as you go with me.

The Architect and you

The cordial relationship existing between you the client and your architect is inevitable. The architect among the building profesionals occupies a vantage position, he sees to it that others carries out their jobs very well to be able to achieve your desire and see to it that what he planned is not wrongly executed.
Architect can be the proud professionals based on their wealth of experience and they can't hesitate to let you know it took them a lot to pass through the school of architecture.
An architect is himself a creator, so he sees himself as a small god, because he is probably creating structures that are not existing anywhere in the world. You take your visions or problems you are encountering in your house design and he solves them by trying to accomodate all your wish, so he is indeed great.
Besides, he is the head of the building team, also by the vantage position he occupies.
But you can easily be his best friend when you task him on straightforward issues, let your brief be clear and understandable.
Don't pay him less because he was able to finish your job in record time rather you should even reward him for this. This is where a lot of people get it wrong, because a job is done very fast , you tends to look at the job as being very easy so you want to pay less, or probably you are feeling he has not work enough to deserve the huge amount of money you are giving him so it is time for you to keep changing your design. This is not good. When a job is well done, realise it is well done and commend the designer to encourage him to do more. Most architects now resolve to delaying jobs because of this attitude of most nigerians, hence their is a lost of valuable time, energy and money especially when the building is meant for commercial purposes, ask the bankers, an extra day spent building a branch is a big loss to the establishment.
After you have negotiated with your architect, is important you give him an opportunity to supervise and see to the completion of your job. Many have said this cost much, but, I am telling you that at the long run you are going to save a lot of money doing it right the first time.
I hope to continue with you on the role of the architect some other time.

Certificate of Occupancy C of O in Lagos

An estate surveyor and valuer, Emmanuel Efuntayo, has said that the reduction of the period for obtaining certificate of occupancy from nine months to 30 days is good for the real estate industry.Efuntayo, in a paper with the theme: "Wealth creation through Real Estate Investment in Nigeria," said that the Land Use Act had created a number of difficulties on the concept of land as a marketable commodity.He said all landed property transactions have to be consented to by the governor.According to him, apart from the additional cost of burden of obtaining such consent, investor’s time is wasted as a result of the long processing time.He said that financial institutions are often wary of financing real estate investment because of the time it takes to perfect transaction.In Lagos State, for example, until recently it took an average of nine months to obtain governor’s consent.However, the state government has recently initiated a 30-day consent regime to facility speedy property exchange. The fees have also been revised downwards to 15 per cent of the value of the property. The breakdown of the fees are as follows: Consent fees, 8 per cent; Capital gains tax, 2 per cent; Stamp duty, 2 per cent and Registration fee, 3 per cent, he said.Efuntayo said that as laudable as the initiative is, he personally believe that the fees are still too high, adding that one would have expected a lower fee regime capable of encouraging investors to deal thus leading to a high consent transactions turnover.He said that it is recommended that while other fees as stated above are still retained, consent fees should not be more than 2 per cent.He said: "Lagos State should be commended for computerising its lands registry with a view to further facilitating quick and cost effective property exchange. One only hopes that cases of cloning of certificate of occupancy and other sharp practices being perpetrated by fraudsters in collaboration with unscrupulous officials will be addressed by the new system.

Above article culled from The Sun Newspaper



However what the government of the day should be wary of is the unscrupulous officials that takes advantages on hapless citizens that are interested in obtaining this paper.
When corruption is curbed probably we will have more people coming out not only to register and approve their buildings but also to make sure they don't encroach into acquired lands by government.
For the C of O, I have a document issued out in year 2,000 it should still be valid with little additions if there is any
। REQUIREMENTS
।1।LAND INFORMATION CERT। (ORIGINAL) APPL। FEE N1,000
2।APPLICATION FORM(RESIDENTIAL-N2,000, IND/COMM।N3,000) WITH 'VITAL INFORMATION FORM' ATTACHED.
3.COPY OF LAND PURCHASE RECEIPT/AGREEMENT (DULY STAMPED)
4. 4 NO. SUNPRINT COPY OF SURVEY PLAN (PAPER OR CLOTH)
5. 4 NO. PASSPORT PHOTOGRAPHS (INDIVIDUAL)
6.TAX CLEARANCE CERT. & N100 DEVT. LEVY7.COPIES OF ALL OFFICIAL RECEIPTS (APPLICATION FORM,LAND INFORMATION FEE & PROCESSING FEE)
8.PROCESSING FEE (BANK DRAFT TO LASG:RESIDENTIAL-N10,000IND/COMM.-N20,000
9.COPY OF APPROVED BUILDING PLAN (ELEVATION IF DEVELOPED)
10.TENEMENT RATE RECEIPT (IF OCCUPIED)
11.COPY OF CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION/REGISTRATION(COMPANIES OR GROUP OWNERSHIP).
12. SITE LOCATIONAL SKETCH
13.CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT LEVY(a)RESIDENTIAL-N30,000(b)COMMERCIAL AND PLACE OF WORSHIP-N40,000(c)INDUSTRIAL-N55,000

14। A COVERING LETTER TO : THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, LAND USE AND ALLOCATION OFFICE, GOVERNORS OFFICE, IKEJA: STATING ALL DOCUMENTS ATTACHED.


Updated today 23rd of August 2008

The government policies has always been changing due to changes in government. You'll agree with me that the present Lagos state government is very hard with anything concerning lands in the area.
The government consent needs to be sought to build a house now with rest of mind.
Please read report from Lawyer How To Calculate The Price of a C of O and Governor's Consent In Lagos Yourself

Tinapa as the Pivot of Tourism in Nigeria

Culled from The Sun Newspaper



From all that is gathering around Nigeria’s socio-economic atmosphere, it is quite apparent that the country is at the threshold of an important revolution and transformation in her tourism industry following the advent of Tinapa.For the first time, Nigeria republic can now boast of a world class business resort, capable of not only changing the ugly visage of the country but also attract enormous investment; an outcome of which will skyrocket her annual GDP.Understandably, the project was initially dismissed as impossible, unrealizable and a figment of Governor Donald Duke’s imagination owing to the fact that very little in previous administration was accomplished in transforming the tourism industry to a state of the art resort for tourist pleasures. However, what is consoling about this is that the tourism potential of Cross Rivers State cannot be underestimated and as long as it remains, it will be the backbone of the resuscitation of the erstwhile ailing tourism industry in the state and by extension Nigeria. Hence, the revamping of the moribund Obudu Cattle Ranch was a step in the right direction for the state. This has become a source of pride for Nigerians and not only for the Akwa Ibomites alone as it is designed to capitalize on Nigeria’s fast growing economy to put Tinapa in the mega-league of global trading centres.The project, apart from the business aspect offers so much potential for tourism. To complement the already existing leisure and attractive areas, is the breathtaking Studio Tinapa built over an area covering over 55,000 square metres, first of its kind in the country, commissioned recently by President Olusegun Obasenjo. The Tinapa studio was built in collaboration with Dream entertainment, a United States based production and distribution outfit.The amphi-theatre studio designed for shows and recording purposes of local and foreign productions in Nigeria for feature films, TV shows, dramas, and other related productions. The huge film studio is fitted with a fully adjustable crossover lighting grid with all the facilities of a modem theatre.Tinapa offers an umbrella for varied economic activities. Its four giant anchor emporiums cover a vast area exceeding 40,000 square metres of trading space. It provides an enabling environment for entrepreneurial sustenance and development. The four emporiums offers profound range of opportunities such as space for banking, furniture showroom, tile show rooms, Internet Café, Telephone and Outdoor Showroom.Ample spaces have also been allotted for vehicle showrooms, lifestyle, hardware, motor accessories, sports goods, linens and fabrics, toys, speciality and stationery. It is wide range shopping tenantries that include office equipment, Books and music shops, Supermarkets, fish market, fruits and vegetable or grocery store. There are also shops for travel agency, pharmacy, tobacconist shop, speciality, photographic, car hire and dry cleaner. Others include courier service, optometrist, textiles, fashion, branded fashion, ladies shoes, Gents shoes, hair dressers as well as specialist fashion. Household items that have shopping space provided for them include furniture, bedding and mattresses, lighting, home accessories, appliances and electronics, art and framing. Shops are also allotted for specialist items such as jewelry, cosmetics, children’s clothes, specialty audio, leather and luggage. Enough space has also been allotted for potential tenants to showcase computer and their accessories.There are also line shops for boutiques, restaurant, outdoor sports, beauty therapy, and camera sports. Others are fast foods, electronics, optical, toys and hobbies, arts and curious, lingerie as well as confectioneries. In Tinapa, it appears that virtually no item that is not given consideration. Other major attraction of the Tinapa wonder world includes its vast arrays of leisure and entertainment facilities. These include the Tsogo Sun International Casino, and the 300-room Southern Sun Budget Hotels. There is also the Entertainment centre including eight movie theatres. Nature is brought down to earth with a fisherman’s village which consists of themed bars nightclubs, and an art craft village. The entertainment orbit is not complete without the international movie studio.For sports facilities, there are children’s play area, tennis and volley ball courts, games arcade and ten pin bowling alley. The eatery orbit comprises world class restaurants, and food court with take away outlets. And immensely mesmerizing is the world class water world theme park.To support the magnificent facilities in Tinapa, the outgoing Duke administration in Calabar had planned to put in place wonderful infrastructure that will make Tinapa truly world class. The Resort has been created as an exclusive environment that is totally supportive of global trading.Another hallowed component of this stupendous infrastructure is the airport which is being upgraded to international standards to corroborate the impending flow of tourists as it translates to a business and tourism hub for the entire West Africa sub-region. A minor-rail system which carries passengers is to connect Calabar international Airport, direct to Tinapa. It is envisaged that the excellent facilities offered by the Calabar Port which is currently being dredged will be able to accommodate large container ships, allowing tenants to easily bring goods to Tinapa. Tinapa is also guaranteed constant supply of electricity through an Independent Power Programme. Security is guaranteed through an internal security unit, using the latest surveillance, monitoring and access control mechanisms. In Information Technology, Tinapa assures of the best of breed ICT infrastructure, including telephoning, data, POS.Already, Tinapa has started attracting partners. MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd announced its latest strategic move to clinch up a market deal as the official Telecoms partner of the Africa’s Premier Business Resort.As the official Telecom partner of Tinapa, it would be granted rights to provide telecoms services to the entire Tinapa business resort. It already has an ultra modern connect store.Tinapa Business Resort is located within a unique Tax free zone offering numerous benefits to tenants. It allows retailers to import, free of duty, capital goods, consumer goods, raw materials, components and articles. It offers excellent opportunities to investors, including exemption from all federal, state and local taxes, unrestricted repatriation of both dividends and capital. Tinapa Business Resort effortlessly combines business with high velocity leisure. To support the hotel is an array of professional services and offering amenities such as sickbay, management offices and so on. There is a warehouse cluster with five warehouses, leisure land, water world facility, wave pool, standing wave surfing, lazy river ride, water slides, and picnic area, among others. There is accommodation for associated facilities such as lifeguard tower, kiosks, and other management offices.Tinapa is a compendium of optimal resources to become an open reality. From the opulence of materials used and the palatial impression it sends down the spine of any tourist on a first time visit, it’s all too much to underestimate the painstaking effort of the eminent governor of the state and his people. Although, the relentless and hard work of the typical Calabar person cannot be undermined, this is the crux of their hard work and selfless dedication to the development of their potential. And have ever since internalized the principle as a way of life, thus sending positive signals to the world, and to Nigerians in diaspora.Project Tinapa is remarkable in all respects, talking about its outlook. The design for Tinapa is breathtaking and audacious in its scope; it drew inspiration from a range of finest designs in the world. Cross River State is certainly not the richest state in the country, it is one of the poorest in terms of available resources. It does not have the petrol dollars of the typical oil rich Niger Delta States nor the vast economic base of Lagos. Yet, it has been able to create a wonderful facility such as Tinapa which will continue to employ thousands of Cross Riverians and other Nigerians.It is examples such as this, one wished other governments would emulate just as one fervently hopes that Governor Duke’s successor in Cross River State will continue from where he stops in Tinapa. So far only a percentage of the huge vision in Tinapa has been achieved. The dream must not die.

How to Hire a competent building Contractor

Many atimes we find it difficult to get a contractor because of our ignorance.
A good one is easy to detect. After you must have gotten your plans what you should do is to make sure you get proof from the man that he had carried out the likewise jobs before.
He must have an address, he should nbe articulate enough in his spoken English you can even use this to detect a schooled person and someone that just learn oneor two thoings outside only to parade himself as a contractor.
He must be able to show you past works of his probably a catalog you can view to confirm his claims.
It may not be necessary to check his registration but is important when you are thinking of a large project. For a contractor in business then he must have registered his company at least to show level of seriousness and otherwise, it may not be with the Corporate affairs commission but the local authority should be able to have his papers with them.
His Contractor's license is necessary to add some credibility.
You, the homeowner, needs to be able to visualize the every room and corner in the house to be able to explain your special needs to the home builder.
If you have floor plans available, provide a copy of the floor plan. It will be easier for the building Contractor to provide a more accurate estimate on your project.
Request a detailed bid on your project with separate material and labor components. In this way, you will be able to compare different bids.
Ask for the warranty in writing Bids: Before selecting your contractor, you will need at least 3 proposals. All the agreements and verbal promises should be put in writing to protect all parties involved on your project.
The contract: In addition to the start and end dates of the project, the contract needs to have a detailed description of all the work to be performed. It also needs to include the total cost of the project and a schedule of the payment to the General Contractor. Some additional items to include are:
Daily clean up around the work site and final clean up.
A binding arbitration clause in case of disagreements.
One final word. Before signing any contract make sure you understand all the components. It is your home. You have a right to ask questions and explanations. Do not make your decision on price alone; reliability, quality of work , and on time performance are also important. Remember that the Contractor you select will end up knowing you better than your doctor. You and your family will see the contactor during the project every day. The relationship between the home builder and the client is crucial for the success of the project.

How to make money renovating and flipping houses

Many are making huge profits from real estate investment while some will never make or keep on loosing because they fail to take little things that seems unimportant but very valuable.

These are the various things you must watch out for
1.Have an eye for fixing and renovating seemingly poor but good houses.
There are so many houses that looks unattractive but only needs a little fixing here and there to raise their values. Their paints may be washed out and you easily conclude they aren't worth any trouble ,but not until someone snaps them up and turn the buildings to goldmine
The ones that are the easiest to fix are constructions with peeling paint, holes in the wall, stained carpeting, or even trash in the yard. It is necessary to keep in mind that these houses do not look attractive to most buyers and this is why investors see them as possible gold mines. It helps to use your imagination while viewing these homes, if you can visualize the finished product in spite of all the negatives one gets to see at the first glance, and you are convinced you will make a kill then go for it.

2. Avoid Houses with Structural problems if need be.
No matter what every building professional may say to get relevance, I think the most important thing in a building is not only the space organisation but the structural disposition of the building, so if need be you can avoid one with such problems when choosing a house to flip or better you consult an engineer to check the stability of the building.
But services renovation like plumbing work, electrical are okay if you are considering what to look for. Plaster walls peeling off can also easily be replastered and painted.
3.Understand the Market
Real estate like every other bussineses require you to have a step by step knowledge of how it works. Don't just jump into it blindly, knows where and how you can get the most profitable buildings you can flip. No doubt the properties in highbrow areas in Nigeria usually exceed expectations of investors in real estate. Imagine a plot of land in Banana Island that was formerly sold for N32m naira just within three months rose to N60m check out the profit.
You can begin with looking at houses for sale in your area. While it is important to keep track of sales and how long the houses take to sell, it is also necessary to ask about the terms of these sales, since this enables you to understand how sellers tend to market their property
4. The Cost
It is cognisance to take note of the costs you will incur both real and hidden costs or virtual.
Acquisition Costs
Almost every home will require you to spend some money before the deal is even finalized. It is a good idea to plan on writing out checks to the title company, government agencies - such as recording fees, your attorney, and an application fee for a mortgage (unless you are in a position to pay cash), and any other closing costs.
Management Costs
During the period that you own the home you can expect quite a few expenses towards property taxes, utilities, lawn maintenance, homeowners insurance, mortgage payments, and many more. The longer you keep the home, the higher are expenses you are likely to incur.
Home Improvement Costs
Before going all out and splurging on the beautification of the house you intend to resell, it is essential to make sure that the price you will eventually sell it for will cover all the expenses that you will make.