How You Too Can Start a Real Estate Business With Little Or No Money

The thing about starting real estate business is that it can turn you to an overnight billionaire. Make no mistake, there are lots of money to be made in different aspect of real estate investment in Nigeria.


       Real Estate is very wide with many branches. Now, how do we enter into a real estate business investment as young startups with no huge resources to buy a property? I’ll talk on two aspects and share some of my experience in the past few years.

Number 1 is the most popular: Real Estate Agents

Real Estate Agents

A real estate agent – some call it Real Estate Broker or Realtor – acts as an intermediary between sellers and buyers of real estate property. He/She attempts to find sellers who wish to sell and buyers who wish to buy. A real estate agent typically receives payment called a commission for successfully matching a seller’s real estate with a buyer such that a sale is made.

This commission is usually shared with other participating real estate brokers or agents when applicable. The most common rate in Nigeria is 10% commission on the deal. Say you do a deal of 150 million, you have 15 million as commission.

How do Real Estate Agents operate?

‪Upon signing a listing contract with the seller wishing to sell the real estate, the agent attempts to earn a commission by finding a buyer for the sellers’ property at the highest possible price on the best terms for the seller. To help carry out the goal of finding buyers, a real estate agency commonly does the following:

     

1. Lists the property for sale to the public: this is done using different methods such as fliers, banners, public notices, etc. The most common now is the use of internet,  by far the cheapest and easiest, but has its own many downs.
2. Places a “For Sale” or “For Lease” sign on the property indicating how to contact the real estate office and agent. ‪
3. Advertises the property, which may include social media and digital marketing in addition to paper advertising etc. ‪
4. Serves as a contact available to answer any questions about the property and schedule showing of property known as Inspection.
5. Negotiates price on behalf of the seller.
6. Ensures that buyers are pre-screened and financially qualified to buy the property. This is very important because we have a lot of players and time wasters in the industry. Let me share an experience. Although I’m not fully involved as a real estate agent, I do venture once in a while when I have a request.

I got a request from an agent recently about a property for sale in Banana Island. He needed a detached duplex with swimming pool and fantastic finishing, so I quickly made some calls to some high-profile realtors whom I believed had such property in their care. I didn’t border to do a check on the buyer because the agent is someone I trust. It was while we went for inspection I discovered they were some jobless agents looking for property they could advertise. It was so painful and name souring. So buyers’ check is very important.