OffAir Podcast
OffAir Podcast
Why Rent in Lagos Is So Expensive Ft. Duru Bond | OffAir Show S9 EP10
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Why are rents in Lagos becoming unbearable? In this episode, real estate expert Mr Duru Bond breaks down the reality behind Nigeria’s housing market, why developers build luxury features over practical living space, hidden costs renters face, what the law says about agency and legal fees, and how to make smarter property decisions in Lagos.
00:00 Intro
02:20 Meet Real Estate Expert
03:56 Is Real Estate Still Profitable in Nigeria?21:01 Why Lagos Homes Prioritize Luxury Over Space29:42 Why Some Landlords Reject Single Women37:24 Agency Fees and Legal Charges Explained45:59 Red Flags When Buying Property in Nigeria50:54 Why Property Ownership Builds Generational Wealth51:48 Are Shortlet Apartments Still Worth Investing In?53:16 The Money Zone by Moniepoint
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The electricity rate was 450 naira per kilowatt. You understand? I was spending about 100k every five days. If you compare rent in Nigeria to neighboring Ghana, Ben Republic, Ivory Coast, we are cheaper than not even poking afasto. Nigerian rent is cheaper than all these other countries. But when multiple people make the same complaint about the same people, you should calm down and think about why these people are doing like that. Because all the landlords want money. So there's no way landlord is rejecting money and you think the job because it's tribalistic.
SPEAKER_05And I wasn't attacking you. I think a lot of questions. We don't want to maybe just need to go and talk to a landlord that could just call your landlord and be like, sir, it's like you're mad. Hello, people. Welcome to a brand new episode of Offair with me. And I'm Tools. What's up? Welcome, welcome, welcome. Have you been? You good? Um, oh my gosh. I saw the craziest thing um just about a few days ago. I saw this girl. She was looking for um, she's on a hunt for a place to stay in Lagos. Hey, that's that's that's some of the places it's not. Some of the, I just was like, oh my god. And some of them didn't look safe. Like literally, just if it looked like it was an um uncompleted building, or it just looked like it was, yeah, it looked like the house was just like rickety and stuff. And I was just like, damn. There was this whole finding finding a property to rent if I got is not for the faint house.
SPEAKER_04Someone should do like a reality show. There's this um actor, um Emeka, his light skin, I've forgotten his surname, knew one of the newer actors, one of the younger actors. He he had been looking for a flat for a long time, like six months. He finally found one. So he did a video where he knelt on his two knees and played like gospel music and was thanking God. Obviously, I mean it was he was joking, but at the same time, I knew that there were, and the people were like, Why are you being so dramatic? And it was like, if you eat your tongue, don't thank God. Do you know how difficult it is to find a suitable, livable, affordable, livable place in Lagos, at least where we live? It's not easy, and we're gonna be talking about that. So, watch out. Absolutely. Our guest is in the studio, a real estate developer. Welcome, Mr. Duru Bond.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, so we thank you so much for coming. Yeah, we we have a lot to discuss. Last year, I don't know, I'll dig up the tweets. Last year I tweeted, so it's like people are happy with the way rent is increasing in Lagos, right? Right? Something like that, and people start and it went viral, and people started talking about how their rent, not just in Lagos, but across the country, especially Abuja, had increased. Um, I knew I know people whose rent increased by times two, times three, times five, and so on. What is happening? Can you break it down to us what exactly is the cause for this crazy increase?
SPEAKER_01All right, so before I go into that, um something else that trended a couple of years ago was people saying building a house for rent is a bad investment. Why do you think they said that? Because the returns are poor. Okay, that there are better, not then, even to now, there are better things you could have put your money into. Okay. So even if you go on Twitter, you see, even I'm sure even this year somebody has tweeted that too. You know, so if you're complaining that the rents are too high, wouldn't it mean that more people will be building houses for rent? But a lot of people are not building houses for rent, they'll rather put their money in stocks, in you know, mutual funds and everything, because they believe that the returns they are better. So my point is the rents are not as bad. Yes, they are high when you're comparing them to our current earnings. But when you're talking about the returns on investment for the investors, the landlords, it's not as high as people claim.
SPEAKER_05So are you saying that um basically building to rent out and get that rental income, it's not a lucrative business?
SPEAKER_01So it depends on how you choose to look at it. Now, the complaint here is that rents are high. Now, if rents are high, meaning that people that own houses for rent are making a lot of money. And a lot of people will be building houses for rent. But I'm saying if you go online, the conversation, another conversation you see, aside from people complaining about the high cost of rent, is people saying that building a house for rent is a bad investment because the returns are poor. So if you're saying that the rents are high, you cannot also say the you know returns are poor. So the point I'm trying to make basically is that when you compare it to the value of the property itself, rents are not high. Let me let's say the problem is the cost of the land and the cost of the construction. That's where the problem is, not the rent itself.
SPEAKER_04Okay. I am no economist, but let's break this down. All right, there is a home somewhere in Bagada. The rent is two million naira. It's been like that for the past two or three years. And then Mr. Landlord or Mrs. Landlord calls and or writes a letter and says, Hello, Mr. ABC or Mrs. ABC, we're now increasing your rent from two million to ten million. And the tenants are perplexed because again, you've done times five of their rent, the building already exists. So why are you increasing the rent? Do you understand my point?
SPEAKER_01I get you. Why? The building is an asset, right? And an asset increases over time.
SPEAKER_04So it doesn't appreciate or depreciate.
SPEAKER_01Appreciate it.
SPEAKER_04Isn't it against the law to just take up the rent like that? There's a law. There's no law that's there's no law, there's no percentage.
SPEAKER_01No.
SPEAKER_04So you can wake up tomorrow, the rent is 2M and say that it is 25 today. There's no law that's not. It was like about 20% or something, no.
SPEAKER_01No, so there's no law. So what happens in developed countries is that they tag rent increase to inflation. So a country like Canada will say you cannot increase your rent above 2% of inflation. So let's say inflation in the country is 5%, the maximum a landlord can increase it is 7%. So 2 plus the 5. So there's no law like that in Nigeria. Now, even if that law exists, you know that 2024, our inflation flew to like 40-something percent. So if you put that same law here, the landlords are also valid for increasing the rent as they did, because the law says okay, you can increase it by the fact of inflation and then some. So if you calculate how much your rent has increased, you see that it actually follows the inflation that happened between 2023, 2024, and last year, 2023 and 24.
SPEAKER_05But if she said you said 2 million to 10 million, that is way more than that. That is an example. That is an exaggeration.
SPEAKER_01So most likely it did not happen.
SPEAKER_04No, it happened from 2 to 10 million.
SPEAKER_01When did they pay the last rent? Like, I mean, I mean, when did they like move? When did they start paying that two million? How many years?
SPEAKER_04I think they started paying the two million, I think, just before the pandemic. And then all of a sudden in 2025, the landlord now says, Oh, yeah, the landlord had already said, I'm going to increase the rent soon. I'm going to the he kept saying I'm going to increase the rent soon, but he didn't do it year by year. And then 2025, he goes, Yeah, so times five, 10 million.
SPEAKER_01So that's six years.
SPEAKER_04And then you are now saying to people that you didn't increase rent, you know, small by small is your business. But you are now telling someone whose ink whose income hasn't gone up by times five to pay you, and then at the same time, you also don't want Yahoo Boy. So where do you want Mr. Mukhaila, who works in maybe a finance firm, to get this money from?
SPEAKER_01So that's what I'm saying. So the problem is not the rent itself. The problem is that our income has not increased as rapidly as inflation and the rent have also increased. So that is the problem. If you compare rent in Nigeria to neighboring Ghana, Ben Republic, Ivory Coast, we are cheaper than not even Bokina Faso. Nigerian rent is cheaper than all these other countries. So the problem that we have is that our earnings are, you know, our earnings are not going as fast as the rents are going up. But the fact is that the rents are not actually expensive. When you compare it, okay, when you compare it.
SPEAKER_05But in terms of, you know, like you said, in terms of what people are earning here, um, I dabble in, you know, real estate. And uh one of the things that I have been, I've had to like look at is okay, fine, like you said, this building is an asset. It has in the last, you know, how many years it has appreciated, you know, um to this value now. And the idea is to obviously increase, but increase it in an affordable way. So rather than literally go from, you know, 2M to 10M, you could I I just I just I just think that's like very unfair. Because essentially, essentially, if you're if you're doing that means get out of my house. That's essentially if somebody, if I'm renting for, you know, two, and then you go from literally one year is two to ten, and it's not like oh, there's a there's a pool on top of the roof now or something, then that's you just kind of you know now in that the example she gave, let's say 2019 to 2025, that's six years.
SPEAKER_01So if the landlord had done it from two to four, four to six, six to ten.
SPEAKER_04I think that's I think it's it's a gradual two times ten, like that kind of thing. If they swear for you, you can't die now. Like, no, I'm I'm serious. Like, is is enough for somebody to come and be doing something something, Mr. Landlord?
SPEAKER_05Go mad. So so do you think do you think that landlords are greedy? Some landlords are greedy. Wait now, let's ask the person that we look at as a guest.
SPEAKER_01I mean, some landlords are definitely, but when you look, like I said, if you when you're when you're talking about these things or thinking about it, you have to look at it broadly, right? In terms of maybe, you know what?
SPEAKER_05Maybe just let's go and talk to our landlord after this. Okay, go ahead.
SPEAKER_01So, like I said, you look at it broadly in terms of what does it cost to produce that house, and then what is the value of rent across, you know, like you're going to compare it, you know, across other um other markets. So, what the like like I said before, the rent that we're paying in Nigeria is one of the cheapest in Africa. Can can fact check me. So the problem is that why it's it's a shock to all of us is because they adjusted rapidly, and that's because of the inflation that happened between 2023 and 2024. The NARA devaluation and everything that happened, so it kind of skyrocketed everything, and that's the shock that we're feeling. I mean, cars, Corolla, uh, this Uba Corolla now currently sells for like 8 million, uh, how much? That car was 750k in uh I think 2018 or thereabout. So it's the same effect.
SPEAKER_05Okay, an actual Corolla.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Well I was gonna add something. I don't think it was 750,000. No, but here's what I'm going to say. If you're going to be comparing with other countries, and you have to also compare people's wages within other countries, don't just compare when it is number one. So if, for example, an accountant is on level five, I'm just using an example, and is earning XYZ in Nigeria, what is that person earning in Ghana or Serialone or Ivory Coast that you want to use to uh that's a reason why I mentioned these African countries professors mentioned in developed countries.
SPEAKER_01We earn almost the same.
SPEAKER_04You sure?
SPEAKER_01Yes, we earn almost like we won't say Ghanaians or people in Ben Republic are living better than us. So the earnings are the same, but they pay this ridiculous rent.
SPEAKER_04And now let me also speak on an area that I'm familiar with. A lot of the buildings in Lecky, in the Lecky area, are empty. So what are they doing? Because it doesn't make any sense. And then if you are going to if you go online, for example, and you search five-bedroom, terrace, duplex, whatever, whatever, lucky phase. Well, you know, there's websites now. Back in the day, you would call an agent and the agent will take you around, take you around. Now it's more, you can there's Instagram pages, there's TikTok, there's also websites that they update every day. You see new builds in a particular area, let's say like in Lalik Bagadao, for example. I'm just giving an example. This is not, and it is that 10M. But this house that has been standing since the 90s is also the same 10M with no major renovation. What is then, apart from this abracadabra numbers you are doing, what is then the justification if a new build that nobody has lived in is 10m and your house that has been here is now 30 something years is also 10m? Again, make it make sense.
SPEAKER_01You say you don't want to hear the numbers, but it's it is what it is. Do you understand?
SPEAKER_04If a new build is like a new car, a brand new car is this amount. Why are you bringing your tocumbo and saying it's the same amount as this brand new car that has been used and used and used and you're not doing anything to it?
SPEAKER_01Again, a a trader puts a certain price in the market, if you don't if you feel it doesn't make sense to you, you go to another place, but so if you're saying that um the rent for a new an old house should be lower, it's the market that will determine. So if nobody rents that house at that price, the landlord will be forced to bring it down. So the reason why it is also going up is because people are renting it. People are renting it because the demand is high. So you know that that is the issue.
SPEAKER_06Is the demand, bro?
SPEAKER_04If you cannot afford it, if you cannot afford it, no, no, if you drive around these buildings, a lot of them are empty. There's to let, to let, toulets, toulets, toulets everywhere. So who is taking these houses that they are increasing prices on? And then there are also the people who are saying you must have, because they do a lot of screening. Some people say they don't want, oh, a single woman, some people don't want a single guy, some people say they don't want people of a certain tribe, which I feel is very wrong. The same same thing with discriminating against people because they're not married or whatever it is. Some, I remember one time we're looking for a house, and then the man told us to enter his living room and he asked us questions. You, what do you do? I said, What I did. You, what do you do? Husband said what he did. And then the fact that we didn't have conventional jobs, his face kind of fell. And it was just like, eh, he didn't tell us to our faces that no, I don't want to give you. As soon as we left, within five minutes, the agent said, Ah, he said no. Because I guess maybe because I didn't work in a bank or I'm not a lawyer or whatever the case may be. So people have different parameters for how they choose their tenants. But these people, has anybody's income increased times five in the last year?
SPEAKER_05So how are we supposed to maybe not times five? Um, back to what you back to what you were saying. Um, there's somebody that we know that was looking for um a place. She'd gone there, she looked at it like a few times, one agent had taken her there. She's like, I want it. It was and it wasn't cheap. And it was like a newly built, you know. And it for some odd reason the guy was just like just giving her different stories. Um, in the end, in the end, um the place was rented. It wasn't, I think the fact that she was a single woman obviously had something to do with it. Um, and then they rented it to some questionable characters.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so that's a different argument. So we have uh yeah, I've talked about how they're admirably so I I think I've explained the price, right? Then the other conversation is now who are people affording these things. Yeah, I cannot explain that. There's a lot of crazy things happening in the market. Let me give you an example. Um my lawyer was put in charge of a property, about eight flats in uh lucky phase one. The rent was I think between 18 to 20. No, I think the landlord started from 25 million, one to 25, and then they had three bedrooms. So they brought it down to 20. So my um my lawyer told me they rented that in between 18 to 20. And the youngest person, or was it the oldest? The age range basically was between 25 to 28. The people that rented these apartments. I don't know.
SPEAKER_05Wait, sorry, sorry.
SPEAKER_01You said rent, sorry, I mean, I'm eight units of three-bedroom apartments in Lecky phase one rented between 18 to 20 million. Yeah, my and the lawyer told me that the age of the people that rented that thing was 25 to 28. So you cannot make an argument on what these people do for a living. I think but the fact that people are paying it is the reason why landlords are putting these crazy prices.
SPEAKER_04Emotions aside, two things can be true. Yes, the market is dictating the prices, but I also feel like a lot of landlords are being greedy, especially if you've not done anything substantial to change or to improve the condition where the um what's it called the property is. Another thing I was going to touch on is so you see they say rent X amount, then you see agency, then you see legal, 10%. This one, then you see service charge, then you see uh what's the other one? Caution. I'm just like, why are we even some in some cases? I hear some people complain and they say, Oh, maybe they've lived in a building for uh for a year and then they are renewing and they don't put any lawyers involved, they just they just pay like the normal rent or whatever. The lawyer and the landlord is asking for legal, but there was no lawyer involved. So which legal now, brother?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so that that's an anomaly. But before I go into that, let me give you an let me also let me let me just take you back a little. Also, let me take you back a little. Now, there's this trend where that this video that is going viral where a major shortlet investor was complaining that he has shut down a shortlet. I don't know if you've seen that video. Now, you see that the market is reacting because shortlet owners have priced themselves out of the market, the the prices are too expensive, they are not providing real value, so people are not going back to hotels. So it's the point I'm making that if you're complaining that the rents are too high, people will stop paying those rents and the landlords will be forced to bring them down. So the reason the rents are still going up is because people are paying for it.
SPEAKER_04Also, the government is not intervening. If they intervene like a um what's it called, like like a normal country, for example, and they say, look, yes, the market is saying one thing, but we have to balance this here, and it cannot go beyond XYZ percent because the government is supposed to protect the people. And if you're not protecting the people, then what are you doing? Do you understand? There's that's one that this is why there has to be laws against these things. These I have to say, and no shade, and yes, plenty shade. So all the real estate. I have not okay. Maybe you are one of the few decent ones I have met. They are always the ones that every time they'll say, Well, I'll meet you at the property, they never have a car. But if you're taking 10% of every building that you are renting out or selling, surely by now you should have made some money, Mr. Agent. Wait, wait, are you talking about agents or real estate developers? Real estate, okay, they never have a car. Um every time, every time. I'll meet you at the bus stop, I'll meet you at the am I lying?
unknownAm I lying?
SPEAKER_01Inspection fees.
SPEAKER_04You're collecting inspection. And then I have to say, when have you also seen the sorry state that some landlords or agents leave buildings? We were looking at some buildings sometime, um, and we went, all the doors were off the night. The house was nice. All the doors, but all the doors were off the hinges. And we and they were asking for a ridiculous amount of money in my book because of the condition. It had to be painted. There had some things had to be done. Like, imagine all these doors, they are removed from the hinges. So we're like, okay, can we reduce the price so that then we take on like the cost of repairing and putting together back this place? They said, no, take it or leave it. The place was dirty, they had swept, they didn't pack the dirt. And while I'm like, why are we like this? Sometimes they take pictures, the place looks like a horror zone, and that picture is online. And I'm like, what are we doing? If you are trying to charge these amounts and at least make it look presentable, because they're not somebody who pay for it like that.
SPEAKER_05I was I was actually gonna say it's back to it's back to it's back to what it's back to what he said, right? So for some odd reason, um, I've been seeing a lot of these videos online where there's there was this girl, I can't remember her name, but there was this girl that was looking for somewhere to stay, like somewhere to rent, and she literally was just documenting the whole um you know process, and there were some properties that she went into that I was like, this is an uncompleted building. It looks like a shadow of death. And it looks, it looks like somebody got murdered there. It was it was just horrible. And then they were still like rent was still like sort of you know two million and everything. And I was just like, this is this is crazy. This is crazy. Um, now I want to talk about something else. I want to talk about um what one thing that irks me because um you can talk about you know the the market you know value um things yes, all of that. But one thing that irks me, one thing that I just find very, very um interesting is that you can have um you can have like this new build and they'll tell you 1.2 billion. 1.2 billion.
SPEAKER_04Isn't that what Scott Tuguma was shot in for last year?
SPEAKER_05Is that what?
SPEAKER_04Can't you remember? Something, something, real estate company. That's about that guy from last year. Uh-uh, you don't know Scott Guma. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_05He's sitting in his camp, he's screaming. But so they have, you say 1.2 billion, you have like a plunge pool, not like a food pool, a plunge pool where you can maybe just like maximum four or five of you can enter. And then there is not one tree or a garden. Like, so so I can understand, you know, Lagos, like I feel like Nigeria, certain parts of Nigeria are very expensive. I can understand that because sometimes it is, it is what it is. Like, for example, if you're um I do this randomly where I look at um properties in New York, and I'm like, a prisoner has more space in their cell than this studio apartment. It's crazy. But my thing is, why why are real estate developers, why do they prioritize things like pools over having having like having space to just sit down? Like imagine I have this house that I paid 1.2 billion for, and I cannot, I don't have a garden. I can't even just sit there and just, you know, there's no tree, there's nothing. You know, you enter my house, it's just marble, marble, marble, marble, marble, marble, marble everywhere. Then you have this, then what should be your backyard is like a pool, and it's not even like a like a big pool. So why do why do you know real estate developers seem to prioritize that?
SPEAKER_01Is what you see the people want to give to them. Now, there's this video. If you go to Dino Melaye's page, the senator, he recently bought a house in Lecky, where he showed off. Like if you go to his page, you see it there. If you see the pool in his house, very tiny, like you cannot stand, you have to stand on the edge of the pool. Then you imagine if somebody like Dino Melaye, rich, well traveled, exposed, can buy that type of thing, then imagine the average rich man. I don't know if you get the point.
SPEAKER_05I would say that kind of do you know I was gonna say I mean it's Dino.
SPEAKER_01No, but Dino is exposed, it's well traveled. You understand? But when even me that in the business, I was shocked that somebody like that could buy that nonsense.
SPEAKER_05Let me not let me not start talking about Dino because it says regularly. Yeah, I think he's maybe like an exception because if we're going to talk about Dino, that's a different thing.
SPEAKER_04I think Nigerians need to learn to um demand better. And it's showing, I mean, it's showing in politics, it's showing now in real estate, and it's showing in so many areas.
SPEAKER_05So it's showing it's showing in so many different um areas.
SPEAKER_01I think that um like let me again go back to the shortless market, right? Because I know I started doing shortless in 2019. Shortless used to be very shabby. Somebody would just like paint somewhere, put shabby, you know, like average um furniture and just rent it there. But over time, the market was not taken from people that you know started to like spend a lot on furniture. So those people that were you know uh putting like uh substandard furniture, they had to upgrade it because it's what the market was asking for. Yeah. So you see that more shortless apartments started to look better because the people that were the the the the uh like I say the customers, people that were paying for it wanted more. And you see that the quality of shortlet apartments, you know, got better because there's a lot of options, right? So it's the same thing with the rental and you know the purchase markets should talk about it.
SPEAKER_05So you're saying you're saying that people are demanding this because do you know how many um the people that I've gone to visit, like friends I've gone to see that they live like in a mini estate, there's a pool, and nobody uses the pool. Like nobody uses a pool and you it's just there taking up space. There was another building that I saw that I was just like, okay, who is doing this? This building, again, it was like, I don't even, I think they said this was like 650 or something. And this building had a pool on the ground floor and a pool on the rooftop. Doesn't make any sense. I'm just like, I was like, well, okay, I could understand, like, if I was to build my own house, I'll definitely have like a rooftop pool, but I would like to have space to just, you know, to just sit down and just think. Because I was just like, why do you need two pools? Okay, let me shock you. Do you have like an Olympic swimmer or something?
SPEAKER_01So um there's this set of developers I know that built in Ikotta, uh, I think it's West End Estate. So they built on the same similar size of land. Um, one didn't put a pool, just the normal house with the you know, driveway. The other one put a pool, like for these small pools, bathtubs. Do you understand? Now, the the the guy that sold the guy that does, you know, you know, that didn't have a pool sold for 250. Why this one with the pool sold for 350?
SPEAKER_04What do you think is gonna happen next time this guy that sold for 250 is gonna be a pool no matter how tight is gonna put like a good market has agreed to it?
SPEAKER_01So that is the thing. So there are some things I see that don't make sense to me. There are some properties you see that this thing does not look good, like the finishing is bad, but somebody will still pay for it. So the question cannot be, or the the the will I say, the challenge should not be how do we make sure that because you can assume that it's maybe it's illegitimate money that's being used to buy these things, there's not left for the government to now make sure that illegitimate money does not enter this thing. Because somebody that is just trying to like wash his money can buy anything. But I want to believe that somebody that worked hard for his money will be more, you know, will scrutinized, will be more careful of what they are spending. But someone that just wants to let go of the money will buy anything.
SPEAKER_05So uh sorry, this is another thing I've noticed as well. So again, this is sort of what like another pet peeve that I have. Um, as well as the like making by force, by force, putting a pool that you have to like hug the side of your house to get to. Why are some of these um these like very, very grand houses, like they will have like, you know, floor to ceiling, like windows and a living room and everything, but the kitchen is tiny.
SPEAKER_04Because a lot of the developers are men. No, and they're not taking into cognizance the space that you need in the kitchen. A lot of them did or they don't consult with women to say, okay, look, um, how should this look?
SPEAKER_01Because women are majorly the decision makers. Like most properties that are bought, you always say a dog, oh, my madam is coming. And the man comes see the kitchen and they buy it like that.
SPEAKER_04With the small kitchen, yeah, they buy it like that.
SPEAKER_01Most decisions, house, house for state decisions, I mean by women. You know what? I get what the women come to the house and say, Oh, I I didn't, I'm not buying this house because of the kitchen, and then she goes to buy another house with the bigger kitchen. Developers are going to take note of that and make the kitchens bigger.
SPEAKER_05So I I so let me let me play because women say. No, no, I'm not buying it. But I have questions about law. So I I was gonna say that I actually I completely get your point. I I think it's very, very unfair to go from like, you know, to to quadruple or even more on the rent. But then I also get what he's saying because there's a market for it. There's there's a market for it. There are people that are buying, there are people that are like this this property that I mentioned. I mean, I feel like when I heard what the rent was, I was like, oh my God. I was like, that's crazy. And guess what? People came, people moved in, people. So I it's renting is like a lottery now. It's mad.
SPEAKER_01Like if you are almost um you have 20 people bidding for the same apartment, so it's crazy. And landlords will they would they will notice that and then they'll just start jacking the price.
SPEAKER_04Is there a law against discrimination when it comes to um you know, um, tenants, for example? Is there a law that says you cannot deny anyone um based off of oh gender or tribe or race or tribe or whatever? Is there a law or and they're ignoring it or there is no law?
SPEAKER_01I don't think there's any law to do it.
SPEAKER_04Because there's two things I want to mention. First thing is uh when I first moved back, there was this very popular real estate magazine that was free at the time. So it was front to back, front to back, several pages of available uh property for rent, for lease, for sale. And I was shocked. Again, this was 2005. I was shocked to see they wrote no XYZ tribe right there. And I was like, why? How can I and why is it so? It's not like oh, it's there's no proof. Why is this being allowed? I remember when I was on the radio, I saw one where they said no Nigerians, only Indians. And I actually called them on the radio and cussed them out because I was like that's I don't think that one is allowed.
SPEAKER_01I know that that was a pure, I think it was it two years ago. So they can say no Indians. That was a supermarket where they said uh no Nigerians, no Nigerians, the Chinese supermarket, yeah.
SPEAKER_00That became so and they shut it down, but in the building, that's the um that's the Chinese traits of the West. Chinese supermarkets, yeah. We just confirmed that, okay. You cannot go in as a Nigeria or stop allowing Nigerians bite you.
SPEAKER_01I I know I I know for that one, but for so if somebody says no Ibu, is that allowed? There is no law against it, like clearly, but you also have to think about the reasoning behind it.
SPEAKER_05What reasoning?
SPEAKER_01You have to you have to think about the reasoning behind it.
SPEAKER_05What could be the reason? What could be the valid reason?
SPEAKER_01So again, markets adapt based on experiences, right? So landlords like and like I was mentioning with the case of developers, something happens, the news spreads. This person says, Oh, I I put a pool, I was able to sell this house for this amount. So next I'm going to put a pool. So when um I I discussed I made a video on this, right? I because I'm an Igbo person, I experienced it. And the the the regular, the common response I got was that Igbo's don't make good tenants. That Igbo's, you know, if uh they always try to like buy the place, they are very stubborn in renewing rent and stuff like that. So that is why a lot of landlords discriminate against Igbo. Now, I'm not saying it's all Igos, but when multiple people make the same complaint about the same people, you should you know calm down and think about why these people are doing like that. Because all the landlords want money, so there's no way landlord is rejecting money and think it's just because it's tribalistic, it's because of something he has experienced or something he has heard is friendly. It still doesn't make it right, though.
SPEAKER_05But what about what about this uh discrimination against single women? Because that is still happening.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's the same reason with you both. Single women Well, what do single women do?
SPEAKER_04I'm not single, but what do single women do that is causing people to turn them away when they have the money to pay and they have a good job? So, what is the issue?
SPEAKER_01So the the idea, this is not me speaking now. The idea is that single women depend on people to pay the rent, right? So now maybe they might have a boyfriend that pays the first rent and then they won't be able to renew it or something. So that is the idea, and then also women uh they don't cooperate, right? I've lived I've lived in the company. I mean, this these are expenses that I've seen and have. No, I'm not saying I'm not saying what is happening. I'm just saying, like so. If you have a place where you have a lot of women, you see that things kind of deteriorate faster because it's hard for them to cooperate. This is what I've experienced in multiple cases. Now, where I was living before, we had six terraces. When I moved into that place, it was just men, right? Only one married man, the rest of us were single men then. The place was calm, peaceful, clean. Anytime that was okay, uh, let's gather money for this thing, everybody donates. So, as those guys, some of them traveled, some of them got married and left that place. The landlord now, you know, you know, uh filled the place with, you know, I think about three of them now became women. Everything starts to decorate in the compound. Oh, you knock on this door, I don't have money. And you cannot, like a guy, if a guy tries to be stubborn when we want to contribute for something, you can harass him, you can shout at him, you can do things to him, and nobody does you know says anything about it. But that's the way you handle a woman and you're harassing her.
SPEAKER_04That was not my experience.
SPEAKER_01But let me let me okay, one second. I was telling you. So also, I have I also have people that have manage um shared apartments, right? You see three, four guys stay in an apartment, you barely hear any problem there, right? But if you have three, four women in the same apartment, it's always a problem. Like that's what my friend manages. You know, this person refused to bring money for light, then the the one of the neighbors is or one of the flat men is saying, Oh, let's us disconnect, let's only put light in this room and stuff like that. So, women, it's difficult for men to cooperate. This is far, I'm not if if we are to be sincere with ourselves, know that these things are true. I don't agree. That is why these are the things that landlords have seen. These are things that landlords have seen, and they are saying, okay, we just want to prevent the problem. I respectfully.
SPEAKER_05I don't, I literally don't even know what's going on.
SPEAKER_04No, because what I remember when No, I have a friend who was looking for he had moved back and was looking for an apartment, and he wanted to stay in Ikohi, and he found this apartment that he really liked, just you know, off of the main road. And they were like, Oh, this place is only no Nigerian lives here, it's only foreigners, we only give to foreigners. It was like, I'm not a foreigner. Clearly, um, you know, I'm Nigerian, I look Nigerian, I have the money, I want to pay for two years. And the person was like, Is your wife at least Uhibu? No. And the person was like, Oh, so your wife is not even Uibu. Ah, sorry, you can't live here. I was like, What?
SPEAKER_01No, that's rubbish. You can't you can't discriminate against in Nigerian for a foreigner in Nigeria, so you can't you can't do that.
SPEAKER_04I just thought that was very weird. Now, one of my first apartments, the reason why I said I disagreed with you, one of my first apartments that I lived in, um, at that time, they had not there was they had not coordinated a few things. Like it was a very new build. So they had there was no electricity, for example, at first, just to show you how new it was, and then there was also no um coordination when it came to taking up our refuse. So we agreed with some guy to come pick it up, I think weekly or something. And that time it was 2K per flat. And it was the married man with children that was dodging 2K. He drove an a Mercedes SUV. That's somebody's head of home dodging 2,000 naira to take away your trash. I thought that was shameful. Like, why? It was that it was them, but every other person cooperated. But I was just like, This is somebody's head of home, dodging 2,000 naira in 20, what was it, 2015 to carry those bin. Those were the people, those were people that they you wear suits in the morning, script tied.
SPEAKER_03Maybe you just don't got it.
SPEAKER_04But you were driving the Mercy CD's SUV, you are father to three children. They when you come back, they call you daddy, daddy, but daddy is dodging too kids. Every time we would literally, every time we would go to collect the money, because the guy he'll be like, ah, they'll say he's sleeping. Tell you say he's sleeping because of 2,000 naira. But and then all of us were, it was a row of um young people, I think we're all in our 20s, early 30s, mostly women, actually. It was only one guy. Everybody paid up except this fellow. Every time, every time it was time to pay for. So I was there for two years. Every time it was, I was just like, What the hell?
SPEAKER_01I'll say that's an anomaly. What is more common is women. Like when I moved to the island, I was saying in Naja. We were four guys in the house, right? And then that was a day one of the girlfriends or one of the guys came, you know, and she was like, ah, I've all the times I've been coming here, I've never seen people quarrel. It's not normal. If it was four girls that were here, I would be fighting, you know, stuff like that. This was a woman telling us then, you know. So it's just okay, okay, okay, okay.
SPEAKER_05So basically, I don't need to jump in. You're on the show with two women, and you've basically said that women don't cooperate, women are quarrelsome, women are this, women are that. How long have I worked with you now, please?
SPEAKER_04Since 2009. How many quarrels have we had, please? Okay, at least two. Yeah, only two. I think that's okay.
SPEAKER_0117 years, that's okay. So when time you hear things like that in the market, just try and figure out what the reasoning is behind it. No, but but nobody will just reject money. But even though I'm not sure what's going on. So why is this person rejecting money?
SPEAKER_05If we're gonna be real, it's it's extremely unacceptable to refuse to rent someone to refuse to rent to somebody because uh the person's a single woman, to refuse to rent somebody because they're of a good person. Yeah, it's not proper. The one that irks me is hearing that in this country, as a Nigerian, somebody can say, I refuse to rent you because you're Nigerian and you're not foreign. Like, it's crazy. And there's certain things that um I think it was you that said it, we uh actually, I think we just need to like really demand better as people because um there's certain things that should not should not happen. Exactly. Um, this whole foreigner thing, I remember there was one time I went to, I think I went to a pharmacy or something, and some guy that was not Nigerian, clearly, uh, we're all waiting to pay. He literally just got where he wanted. He went to the front of the queue. And what pissed me off is the person was about to Oh, so you guys said something. No, I was the only one. And I was still, I was like maybe two, three years fresh back. So I was still very much like, this ain't right, you know. You know, but I was like, I was like, literally, I was like, what are you doing? This guy was not even in the queue. He picked something, came to the front, and you're about to. I was like, are you mad? Are you crazy? You know, I went off, and then they were now like, oh, this guy begging me, like, please let him. And I was just like, no, he needs to go to the back of the queue, like and wait. So I think that that part of that that part of the equation, I definitely think that there needs to be um, you know, definitely some kind of government intervention because it's very unfair, because I know lots of very, very, very successful women who they have they have money. They have money, and to think that you're like the senior, something, something, something, you've been doing it's not like you just started or you've been doing that for years, you're like the director of this or whatever, and to be refused an apartment because oh, you might not be able to pay next year because you might break. Because your boyfriend, you know, like that's again it's on that. And then you now see the business. What'd you call them? Is that as our boys? I mean, what'd you call them? Is that what you call it? You know, your boys, you now you now see them in the same building that you're just like, wait, is it not this one that's likely to go to jail next year now?
SPEAKER_01So the core, the core of the problem is that demand and supply. Because the landlord knows that if I turn this lady back, somebody else will come and pay for it. But if I knew that, you know, there's a lot of options for this woman to rent, then the one that comes to me, I'll treat her properly. Because I know if I send this woman away, if I send this boom man away, somebody else will still rent my apartment. So that's why they're able to do it. What is the law?
SPEAKER_04What does the law say about agency fees, legal fees, there any law about that? Yes.
SPEAKER_01So legal states, um, legally, um, agency fee is capped at 5%.
SPEAKER_04Okay, so why do they always ask for 10%?
SPEAKER_01Agency fee is capped at 5%. Um, for the legal fees, it is the person that brings the lawyer that's supposed to pay the legal fee. I know in most cases it's the landlord that owns the lawyer, but the landlord still collects the legal fee from the tenant. Oh, leg. Do you understand? Because now the the the agreement that lawyer is drafting is in favor of the landlord. But yet the tenant is forced to pay for an agreement that is against them. So the law in Lagos States is that the person that brings the lawyer is supposed to pay the legal fee. So that 10%, most like most times the landlord is supposed to pay for it. So what do we do? The agency fee is capped at 5%. But again, like I said, the problem because there's that demand, you know, that demand, so the supply is low. So most people, like if I go to a house and I want to rent it, and then they tell me all these fees, I say I'm not paying. They'll say, okay, no problem.
SPEAKER_02Bye.
SPEAKER_04So what form of government are you supposed to replace?
SPEAKER_01Um, Las Rera, Lagos Late Real Estate Regulatory Agency. Okay. But then with the problem with Nigeria, enforcement is poor. So even if you report to them, what would they do? Okay. Do you understand? So somebody will add the.
SPEAKER_05Um, so what would you advise? Uh, because there are lots of people from all over the country moving to Lagos, um, obviously for like better opportunities, you know, better this, better that. Um, what would you advise them to do? Because um, some of these videos are scary. Some of these videos you see where they're like, okay, the agent took me here, and you know, this this is, and it's literally like it's like a bathroom that they've converted into like a, you know, into like a full apartment. So what would you advise? What would you advise them to do? What do they need to look out for um like structurally, all these different things? How can you tell that this is going to be a problem property for me?
SPEAKER_01Ah, that that's that's a very broad question. Um and it depends on your, like I said, your income class. So if you're a higher end now, then you might have, you can make, you can have choices. But somebody that is coming in, just looking for one bedroom apartment, one million, two million, you don't really have a lot of version. Anything you see, take it like that. You see, take it like that. But somebody that has the money, you cannot say, okay, make sure the road is good, uh, make sure uh you take note of what the service charges are, make sure you have internet. Like that was a place I I got, I stayed with stayed at for like two, three months. I couldn't receive calls in that apartment. Wow, you understand the network was bad, and then in that place, the the electricity rate was 450 naira per kilowatt. You understand? I was spending about 100 K every five days. God, I beg. You understand? So there are a lot of things.
SPEAKER_04And you are living alone there?
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_04So I I mean, I I've been through a lot. I remember when I was looking for my first apartment, the first place, one of the places they took me to, you know that, you know, when you approach a building, there's a every almost every building has this the little space where the security stays, that is security house. So I said, Where is the place? They said, Oh, it's upstairs. So what they did is they built a room on top of the security house. So, and then the staircase was first of all, it was this rickety staircase. So I was holding on for dear life, wind was blowing that day. I said, God, don't let wind blow me. So we got there, and literally, you could walk one, two, three, four, five, six steps, and that was the whole apartment. Uh bathroom, kitchen, everything. I was like, I can see a toilet. Where's the shower? The guy said, Look up. So you are showering over the toilet. That's not life. It's got a wet room. That's terrible. You can fall and die. Because why? That was one. Another one I saw, this one was more spiritual, right? It was an apartment, it was a flat in a block of flats. They took me to this flat. And I think the person who was there before was either a devil worshipper or had serious mental problems because the place was dark. You didn't have normal white light or yellow light. The lights were like purple. So imagine step, it looked like a shrine. First of all, you enter. I kid you know, the light was like purple, then inside the bedroom was red. Then on the wall, the person had drawn this life-size devil um uh figure. I kid you know, with horns, and I think it was I swear it was that baffle metal figure. And my spirit just felt, I felt dizzy in the moment. I was like, blood of Jesus. I ran out. I was like, nobody. But was the price good? I didn't bother to pick it back the rest of it. Because I was thinking to myself, again, and this is why there's so why didn't you paint over that? So let's not even if you'll be having a lakala, you know what they call a lakala in Europe, bad bad dreams, bad, bad dreams in the nights. You not know that the person there was was uh washing the devil, but it was so weird.
SPEAKER_05Like every like I had boost bombs, just like he said, somebody probably took it and just was, you know, I just was like, okay, we'll just paint it. Maybe that person is a devil washman. Because there's no way anyone.
SPEAKER_01Let me give you an example in this regard. There was a house I wanted to rent, very nice house in Nikota. But in front of the house, there was this masquerade, this masquerade shrine, right? And that was the house was perfect.
SPEAKER_02Masquerade shrine.
SPEAKER_01Yes, masquerade shrine, and even sometimes they blocked the road for the masquerade to you know to display. I came there like two weeks later, they frented the whole place. So some people just you did what?
SPEAKER_05Sorry, say that they get they had rented the whole place. They rented less than two. They rented.
SPEAKER_01People took it. Okay, last year. In front of the house, there's a that's a the shrine, they will mask, you'll see the drawings of the masquerade, and from time to time they come out, I think every month or so.
SPEAKER_04Where we used to work, where we used to work, there were rows of shops opposite the building. And there was one building like this that was painted a certain color that never had every building that, every business that came there never succeeded. They will fold up, they will fold up. So my colleague was now telling us. So what happened was it was a Friday night, he had closed from work around nine, and then he was waiting to hang out with his friend. So he was still, you know, as somebody says, come and say something, come and say something, come and say something. And what was happening is that they had dug up the front of the building opposite where we were working, and they were burying live ducks. Ducks. Dogs or ducks? Ducks, ducks, D-U-C-K. Burying them. They were alive. They were buried, they threw them in there, and then they covered them with cement and buried and stealed the place. So the next like I came on Monday and he was giving me distance. He was like, you know that patch, you know where you said freshly cemented there. I did some spiritual stuff there. Watch, no business will thrive there. I was there for a long time. No business thriving there.
SPEAKER_05Who was buried? Who was burying who was burying it? Some people, some men.
SPEAKER_04So not the not the owners of the building. Well, no, no, it was nighttime. So they just buried the thing, cover out. I was just like you so again, apart from my point is apart from the normal things when you're renting an apartment or a house, check the go during rainy season to see if the street floods, try to make a call or two, check the internet, ask questions. Maybe if the landlord is a weary. You know, I heard some landlords say don't bring gin. So even if they take lies, that's your business, you will sweat there. Because they don't like it.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, there was a story um going around on social media where uh somebody's landlord said the gin has to be off by nine. What's that?
SPEAKER_01You know, all sorts of things, and then also pray that you not be that your destiny will not be tied because you don't even know what I think the best thing to do is, you know, when when you've concluded that you want to get a place, it's best to ask like shops around people around to give you information. You know, people there um I have noticed that people are very willing to give you, you know, to advise you. Yeah, to want uh to tell you what's happening. And that helped me, you know, that that's usually the last thing I do. After I check the basic things, does this place have water? Does it have internet? Is it light goods? You know, basic things. Then I go around, you know, all those shops, or other people that you know live around. I just ask them, I want to rent this house, is there any information for me?
SPEAKER_05You know, people you need to ask if you're living in like a you know, like a little estate, or if you're living like in a uh building size, you need to ask about your neighbors as well. There was when we when we first got uh married and uh we were renting, there was we now, everything was fine. And then we now got some new neighbors, they were up above us. So, first of all, like 2 a.m. in the you know, during the week, you'd be hearing music. And then the weed. So we had to complain like several times. Eventually, I think a lot of people complained. So thankfully, where we stayed, it was a pretty, it was, it was, you know, quite nice. Neighbors were nice and everything, and like a few people complained, and they had to, I think they ended, yeah, they ended up kicking them out. And it was it was like crazy hours, just and then just like weed, weed, weed and everything.
SPEAKER_04Moving away from rent, um, lots of people are buying of our age group are now buying maybe their first, second, or whatever number of homes, right? And people are also concerned because Nigeria can be sometimes, anyhow. Let's be honest. Some people are worried, some people have bought homes where one day you see you wake up and you see bulldozers and they're telling you they're gonna demolish the home, that sort of thing. So, what do you look out for when trying to buy a home or buy a property?
SPEAKER_01I'll just work with experts in the field, mostly lawyers and surveyors. Those are the most important people you can work with. Uh-huh. So, any any expert you can identify, work with that person, they will guide you through. Because there are there are a lot of uh landmines, to be honest. Even myself, I know some mistakes. You know, I narrowly escaped, you know. So there's no, I can't just say this is what and what you should do. Just identify a good property lawyer, mostly lawyers, because a good lawyer also works with a surveyor. So work gets identified good property lawyers that will help you with the verification process and it should be good.
SPEAKER_04Everywhere they're selling estate, this, estate that's with this amount. You can buy this, you can pay this monthly, blah, blah, blah. And there's some cases where some people are like, I've paid since three years ago. You use XYZ um celebrity to push this thing, but where is my apartment or where is my house or where is my property? You know, there's they're um cheating people up and down.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, these are two cases you're bringing. So, for in case of demolitions, the lawyer will get a surveyor. So there is a master plan of the state. The state says, Okay, we are going to put this here, we're gonna put this there, right? So, what happens is that some developers build and encroach into those places that the government has planned for, and then the government comes and demolishes it to collect their place back. So a good lawyer would have helped you or will help you to identify, okay, if we because the state has like it's on a map, and then every house has a coordinate, or every property has a coordinate. So a surveyor, a good lawyer will take a surveyor there, map it out, and then go to the master plan of the state and say, okay, this property is sitting properly, it is not encroaching into any plan of the state, right? And then in terms of um, what the second, in terms of, you know, you're paying for something and then you're not getting what you want, right? A good lawyer also helps you to, in the contract, whatever contract you're having with the company, also make sure that um your interest is protected. But then it now leads to one of the major problems in this country, our legal system. You know, the judicial system is poor. So even if you know your lawyer drafts a good agreement and the developer default, enforcing it, enforcing it is an issue going to cut through the long process. And also, that's also part of the reason why the property prices are expensive, to be honest. Because a lot of people are not bringing in money because of the fear of the legal system. If I know that, because a lot of banks now, if you want to do less transactions with them, it's a tedious process because they are they are not okay with the legal system. But if I know if I get into a contract with uh Women now and um she defaults, I can take her to court and in a matter of weeks I get my judgment. You see that more transactions will be happening, more people will be building houses, and the more houses are supplied into the market. You see that to overall help with these soaring costs. But now a lot of investors are weary, they are scared. So you're not they're not able to invest, which is now affecting that supply. And then you have Nigerians giving birth every day, so the demand is increasing, and then the supply is limited.
SPEAKER_05So but but I I know people that have been in property, what's it called, legal disputes for decades and have been swindled, yeah, by friends. Somebody that you know bought this, their dad bought this in 19 something something, and then this and this and this has happened. Um, okay, I think we need to we need to wrap up um very soon. Okay, you have one.
SPEAKER_04I have one last question, which brings us to this. Would you advise people to continue to rent, or would you advise people to like if someone says, What should I do? Should I continue to rent or should I just look for a home to buy? What advice will you give that person?
SPEAKER_01I mean, if you can afford it to buy. Now, what one of the mistakes I notice people in our generation make, you know, if if you remember, our parents, right? What they did then, they would just go to one five-away place and then start building one house for like eight, ten years. And over time, oh, they they own a house. But our generation, we want this like instant gratification. Everybody wants to live in Lecky, Koei. But you see, people, you know, they went to like Mowe and even this Lekki Fizz one, everybody's talking about. If you go back, Lake Fizz one was like was an outskate, right? It was just a swamp. Some people just bought, and you know, over time. I remember when I used to visit my uncle living in VGC. I know that after we passed that 1004, it was like bush, bush, bush, bush before now landing, we're now landing in VGC, right? But that man bought it that time, and now it's a very valuable property. But a lot of us, nobody wants to go, everybody wants to live at the center.
SPEAKER_03Nobody wants to die on the road. Are you joking?
SPEAKER_01Yes, I understand that. But our parents also went through that and they still did that investment. Traffic was not too bad at that time. You know, as a young person, you know, you can for for a meal for some time it can be renting, but just find somewhere, buy. And over time, I mean, you're in your 30s, you can take maybe 10 years to be that thing and then your 40s when your children are about to enter secondary school or something, you your family has a home, and that's giving your children a base in life. Like for me, one of when I moved to the island, one of the things that gave me confidence was that I always had where to go to. So if anything happened, if it's spoiled for me, that's a house for me in Nikoruda, I'll go there and start my life again. So it kind of gives your children, you know, confidence, a base, you know. So if you can buy, just look for something within your budget and just start doing it gradually.
SPEAKER_04If you want to live long, just make sure you don't stay far from your house, from your place of work, your child school. If not, you will spend your good years in traffic.
SPEAKER_05But that is actually the reality for a lot of people because a lot of people have to go really, really, really far out.
SPEAKER_04That's why and that's that's that's why people are brushing these areas that are close to that's where the state government needs to come in.
SPEAKER_01But luckily for us, you know, they're already working on the Lake Expressway, and then you have the coastal route. So commute times between uh Victoria Island and you know those outskirts, if you should be shorter. They've been short they'll they'll be shorter now.
SPEAKER_05Uh my my last my last question, and then we re we wrap up. Do you think um basically investing in shortlets is that still like a viable, is it like it's still a lucrative decision, or is it something that you know is growing?
SPEAKER_01It it's it's it's there's a lot of uh supply now. So even if you want to get into it, you have to be creative, you have to find out. Um, yeah, you have to be creative. I won't say it's it's dime because I know some people that are succeeding in it because I understand the models they are using. So just to make sure you understand it and then um you can position. But yes, there's a lot of supply of shortlet apartments. I know a lot of people complaining they are not getting bookings and stuff like that. So yeah.
SPEAKER_04All right. I want to say thank you. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_05And I wasn't attacking you, I just had a lot of questions. I mean, I'm I do apologize because every now and then Gwimmy was like some questions.
SPEAKER_04It's well, it was a spirited conversation, you know. Just had a little question.
SPEAKER_05Call your landlord, call your landlord and be like, sir, is like you're mad. I can come and live with you, have you? I mean, I come and live with you. I know where you live. I just call it my back, like, hi. I'll be looking at you from the window like I'm not at home right now. Thank you so much for stopping by. Uh, best of luck with everything, and best of luck to you if you're looking for like a property to rent, to buy, to you know, this Lagos heads.
SPEAKER_04May the Lord be with you.
SPEAKER_05How can people find you?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, social media bond underscore not underscore gym. So okay. Of course, all social media. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
SPEAKER_04All right, we're about to get into it with money zone. Now, listen very carefully. It's not every time that we'll be doing gist. We'll have to talk about real issues, we have to figure out how to make money in this economy. All right, so first of all, make sure you download the money point app. Very, very important. I'm telling you it will help you, whether you're a business owner or whether you're a 95mer, or you know what, you're just having a good time. Whatever it is you're doing for a living, just make sure you get it, okay? Now, for the business owners, there's something that some people get wrong all the time. There's this um revenue versus should I say profit conversation, and a lot of you don't understand that just because you are making sales does not mean that you're making a profit. So you really, really need to take your time to track your transactions, your expenses, and stuff. Like I said, many focus on revenue, money entering the account, but they're not thinking about profit. Just because there's money in the account does not mean that you can actually be making money. Simple, yeah. Um, sales can be high, but your business might be low. So you might want to look into that.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, so for example, uh, whatever you spend, whatever you're spending towards the business, once you make your revenue, you need to take all of that out. So you need to take, if you've got like a physical business, you need to take out the rent, you need to take out your diesel, you need to take out the cost of your stuff, you need to take out the cost of your raw materials, you need to take out so many labor costs, all these different things. So if you're yeah, if you're looking at, if you're if you're thinking, oh my gosh, you made 10 million, you know, this this month, what did it cost you? So that's something that a lot of people should be aware of because that then tells you what you need to do maybe for the next month, maybe for the rest of the year, you know, to make sure that at the end of the year you're looking and sitting pretty.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, it's not just a bank account, it also has something called Money Book. So Money Point has something called Money Book that basically helps you to track your sales, track your costs and your performance in money. So transactions are recorded in real time with Money Point, expenses are clearly visible. So it's called Money Book. Make sure you explore it when you download the Money Point app today. Yep. All right, it has been a very interesting conversation. I wasn't trying to fight, I was just like, it doesn't make any sense. I know you're about to hold his share. No, no, no. I feel like it's it's not even that, it was just that it's something I'm very passionate about. But I think that a lot of people are being treated unfairly. People are, you know, increasing rent uh prices like mad, it's not fair. Yes, the market this, the market that, but let's also have some common sense, shall we?
SPEAKER_05Anywho, it's a it's a it's a I think it's a general thing in Nigeria because the other day we're talking about restaurants, and I went to a restaurant that it was like um I can't I can't remember, I think a starter was like 50. And I'm just like, why? What on earth? Like what how do they make it? But guess what? People are paying. You know what? People are paying for that. When the cameras are off, you tell me, so I will avoid the police. I'll I'll tell you, I'll tell. But so the so people are paying. So if I now complain, they'll be like, Oh, you're not our target audience. They will say that to you when you are literally just saying, Okay, first of all, what are you offering me that costs this much? Target audience QD nonsense. I think if you're gonna if you're gonna make things expensive, if you're gonna make things like very expensive, just make sure people get value for their money. Simple. Simple. It is that simple. We need to have a full episode on that because there's so many different things we can talk about in this country from what's um rentals, from restaurants, from stores, from all these, there's so many different things. I think let your price match the value. Let it make sense. Let it make sense. God bless you. Thank you so much for watching. I will be here next week.
unknownBye.