How To Become A Landlord With As Low As N500

Mr. Joseph Adewale is the Managing Director of Evertop Realties Limited. In this interview with Entrepreneur Excellence magazine, he discusses what gives his company strength amidst the current economic crisis in the country. He also highlights Top Esusu, a program designed to help low-income earners become landlords, along with other important issues in the Nigerian real estate sector.

Excerpts:

Tell Us About Evertop Realties
Evertop Realties Limited is a real estate company established in the year 2004. We are into real estate marketing, development, brokerages, investment and facility. By the grace of God, Evertop Realties is now in many places in Nigeria. For example, we have about fourteen estates in Lagos, Oyo and Anambra states, with plans to expand to many other parts of the country commensurate with our plan of reducing the housing deficit in Nigeria to enable every Nigerian to become a house owner.

What were your Initial Challenges

The first challenge was funding. Finance is always a major challenge for start-ups, but because of the big dream that I had, I didn’t relent in my effort. I had to keep striving till now. Also, government policies could be a challenge.

Unlike Before, The Issue Of Omo Onile (land grabbers) Have Been Subsided. How Was This Achieved

Initially, the issue of the land grabbers, also known as omo onile, was a big challenge. Omo onile and other touts would just encroach into your property and start making trouble. We appreciate the Lagos and Ogun state governments, who came up with policies that reduced the power and influence of these people.

What Is Top Esusu?

A part of our goals is to ensure that every Nigerian becomes a land or house owner. So, we came up with an idea that will also enable low-income earners to benefit from our services. In other words, the low-income earners such as market women, okada riders and other petty traders are now proud owners of lands and houses. With as little as one thousand naira or five hundred naira that you are saving with us every month, before two or three years, you will become a landlord. So, Top Esusu focuses on the artisans, petty traders, okada riders and so on.

What Is Turn Out On This Plan Like

I can tell you that if we had known, we would have started earlier because the turnout was quite impressive. Everybody wants to be a landlord.

Considering The Level Of Competition In The Real Estate Sector, What Has Kept You Going?

Thank you. You know that competition is not peculiar to the real estate sector. So, as for us at Evertop Realties, it is the dedication that has been keeping us going. We are dedicated and focused. No matter how tough the challenge may appear, we don’t lose focus. We are open to new strategies and innovations to make sure we are ahead of our competitors. Sometimes, we reduce our prices. We al; so do a lot of promotional offers to make us remain relevant in the industry.

What Is Your Take On Building Collapse Incidents In Lagos?

What I will say is that the government needs to help in that regard. A lot of quack engineers and inexperienced developers are everywhere. Imagine you want to construct a building and you don’t have a professional team to handle it for you. What result do you want to see? Or because you want to make more profit, then you want to cut costs by going for substandard building materials, so you can’t expect less. My plea to the government is to come up with more friendly policies that will make documentation easier because a lot of people may, at times, try to avoid the stress of going through the bureaucratic process of obtaining building documents.

How Has The Present Economic Situation In The Country Affected You?

I will say this is affecting everybody, but we in Evertop Realties don’t have a choice because this is our country, and we are committed to its development. We want to contribute our quota to reduce the housing deficit in Nigeria. The economy is harsh, but at the same time, we are managing our resources to achieve our objectives.

What Is Your Advice For Nigerians?

My advice for the government is to create an enabling environment for the citizenry. The government should also encourage Nigerian professionals abroad to come home to practise the skills they have garnered there over the years at home. Also, my advice for the real estate practitioners is to please let us do things professionally.