How to Start Real Estate Business in Nigeria

How to Start a real estate business in Nigeria might seem complex but I tell you it’s possible and rewarding. There are really no lucrative businesses one can venture into that does not require first acquiring basic knowledge and skill about it of which this high profit business is not excluded.

Real estate business is as old as the word old. However, it has become the new gold mine in Nigeria where investors, agents and real estate owners are making it big.
With the increase in the need and demand for property such as bare land, residential buildings and all many of structures, real estate business is heading to the moon.

Have you been looking for the right article to guide you into starting a real estate business? I hope you find this one very useful as I will do well to explain most of the things you need to know about setting up one.

What is Real Estate

Real estate is a very huge venture that comprises of land, land act and its use and everything upon it(structures). Have you had any need on the purchase of land, land leasing, renting a home, surveying of land, evaluating your property, or even selling them off? They all fall under real estate.

This business is so lucrative that it makes up One of the first five largest contributors to the GDP of the economy of Africa. Land is one of the few things that doesn’t depreciate over time. Rather, it appreciate in value with the increase in demand and urbanization.

How to Start Real Estate Business

Before I go into the steps involved in starting a real estate business, let me share with you a little secret and advice.

As a starter and young realtor, to survive and beat old realtors, you need to have current strategies. Instead of going to the city to compete with renowned real estate developers, go to a virgin area. Locations that are still remote with good flat lands and lure your investors with reasonable price and forecast. Show them the potential of such areas and the risk involved as well. In doing this, ensure that the positive sides are greater than the negative. Big investors like taking risk because they understand that the path of risk is rewarding.

Therefore before starting a real estate business, here are things you need to have in place.

1. A strategic plan

Just like advised, you need to have a unique and current strategy to entice your investors. This strategy should be sincere and devoid of any iota fraud. It might require you to read books on successful realtors and merge their strategies. However by all means be unique and positively different.

2. Funding/Capital

I have to be real with you. In a developing country like ours, you need a good capital to start and stay in any business. Having a good idea alone and strategy is just like 25% of 100%. If you can afford to fund your business alone fine but if otherwise, get people of like minds to partner with you.

3. Get a Business Name and Register it.

After Dealing with the first two steps, you need a business name and you need to register it. Why? This is because investors need to be certain that their money and dealings are legit and in the safe hands.

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You need every document you can process to back up your company or business. This will enable clients trust you. It will also avail you the opportunity of authenticity especially online and with foreign investors.

4. Get Your Product Ready

You need to transact with clients and render your product and services. Here you need to get properties readily available for sale or purchase. This is because what you are selling and buying is not virtual but real. Even if it is going to be virtual as in the newly launched Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse, it has to be ready to be sold or purchased.

5. Marketing and Advertising

In today’s world if you want to have a rapid sales on products and services you have to be online. It could require you branding your own website, social media handles or running sponsored posts on various social media platforms. The convection way of publishing and advertising things on paper is also relevant, don’t ignore it.

No matter what, keep letting the world know about your business and don’t stop growing.

Challenges in Real Estate Business

As an intending realtor, the challenges you will likely face enormous. Below are some of the list of them.
1. Climate problems
2. SocioCultural related problems
3. Crumbling infrastructure
4. Financial challenges
5. Advancement in technology

Sub Niches/fields in Real estate

There are varieties of sub Niches and fields in Real estate you may likely want to go into. Below are some of them. Pick your interests and apply the above steps.

1. Real Estate Developer

The real estate development sector of this business is the most risky, most expensive, most demanding and most rewarding. In this niche, you require large sum of money. It comprises the sourcing, surveying, purchasing and erecting of structures on an empty land. Here, you can either buy an already existing property by the help of an estate surveyor and valuer after appraising the property. You can reconstruct, refurnish or renovate the building into whatever you know is required and place it back on sale. But this time, at a more higher cost.

2.  Land Flipper

Land flipper is also known as land reseller. In real estate business, land flipping is also another aspect.
It deals on buying land at a very low cost and allowing it to appreciate after which you sell them off at a higher cost. This niche requires money and knowledge of when to buy and when to sell. It also requires patience. It’s possible you buy a ploy of land at #500,000 and in three years the land appreciate to #5,000,000.

3. Investors

These are set of multimillionaires who like the real estate business but may not have time to venture into. They invest with trusted companies and take profit as agreed.

4.  Real Estate Agents

This part of real estate is also nice. You really don’t have to own the property or be the buyer. All is required is for You to only act as the middle person with the owner of the property and the buyer. You source for who has what a client needs or who needs what a client has. However it appears, agents are paid 5-20% of the deed depending on the agreement reached.

You can be smart enough to have your company registered and work with big realtors as agent. This way, you get percentage of every purchase or sales or rentals made weather the contract passed through you or not.

5. Leasing and rental

This niche involves renting or putting to lease your property. It could be an empty land you want to rent out or lease out. Other times, it could be a developed plot like residential building, warehouse, offices or other structures. You give them out for a period of time in exchange for money.

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Others include
1. Real estate consultants niche
2. Advert and marketing niche
3. Surveyors
4. Estate Valuer etc.

Conclusion

How to start real estate business in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around is the first step to starting it. If you are passionate about any business, know how to start it has solve a part of the problem. What is then left is starting it already.

Being a realtor or playing in any of the aforementioned niches will surely require a lot from you but the reward is promising. Having known this, it is important that you also go practical.

Hope you find this helpful?
Thanks for reading.