Rullion's Blog

Today, we but pause for a bit to discuss something a little different from our usual real estate and allied topics - TIER ONE CAPITAL . My good friend of about 10 years called my cell this morning to pick my brains on the basic difference between Tier One and Tier Two Capital owing to the fact that he knows that I wear another hat with roots in the Financial Services Industry. Within 3 minutes of talk he understood clearly what they are but I’m moved to sharing our conversation with our teeming bloggers (you never who’s going to learn something new). Here we go - TIER ONE CAPITAL This is one of the two categories into which a bank's capital is divided, consisting of the most central and important types of capital. According to banking rules, banks must keep a certain amount of tier one capital to protect them against failing. Tier one capital is the best form of bank capital - the money that the bank has in its coffers to support all the risks it takes: lending, trading ...

Sales price Rental per annum Lekki Phase 1  3 Bedroom flat N45m – N50m N2.5m – N3m 4 Bedroom wing of duplex  N70m – N80m   N3m – N4m Agungi 4 Bedroom detached house N45m – N50m N2.5m 3 Bedroom flat N40m      N1.5m – N1.8m Chevy view 4 Bedroom terrace house N42m N2.5m 3 Bedroom flats  N35m        N1.6m Crown Estate 4 Bedroom detached house  N30m – N40m  N1.5m – N2m Thomas Estate, Ajah 3 Bedroom flat N25m   N750k – N800k Abraham Adesanya 3 Bedroom bungalow  N12m – N14m N700k – N1m 2 Bedroom bungalow N11m – N12m  ...

The rate of property development along the Lekki Expressway corridor is so rapid that the traffic on the only access road to this axis is gridlocked every morning and evening during rush hour traffic. The congestion is worsened by the lingering road repairs and weight of traffic. If you are unfortunate enough to leave home for the Island or Mainland after 7am, you may spend hours reaching your destination. On some of the estates on this axis you have nature and human beings co-existing side by side in some sort of imposed harmony. It is not uncommon to find crabs and snakes in people’s gardens, on the roads and even inside the houses. I had to take a client to a property on one of the new developments in Ajah, and while waiting outside the estate gates, I had a look around and could have been in a remote village in Kafanchan or Osun state. There were goats and chickens running around, naked children blissfully happy in their God given skins, untarred dirt roads and bush as far as t...

The Minister of Works, Architect Mike Onolememen, has disclosed that the estimated funding portfolio for about 195 on-going road projects across the country is N1.397 trillion. The projects are spread across the six geo-political zones covering 6,628 kilometres. He said with an outstanding commitment of N850 billion, it is clear that the yearly budgetary allocations from the Federal Government are grossly insufficient in funding road projects in the country. The minister, who made the disclosure at an interactive session in Abuja at the weekend, said ongoing efforts are geared towards fostering alternative sources of funding for road development. He said: “The Federal Ministry of Works has a total of 195 ongoing projects amounting to a portfolio of N1.397 trillion. As at today, we have about 195 on-going projects in the road sector and there is no way we will be able to finish all that in the next two years. “So we have to prioritise and that is why we are able to make sense out of t...

My o my! These were the words that dropped out of my mouth on fateful Wednesday of last week. My car had developed an engine fault and I could not risk driving it in the ubiquitous traffic that Lagos has become known for. I was running late for a meeting on the Island; a bead of sweat broke out of my face, it was 8 sharp in the morning. So I decided to take a ride in the mammy-wagon (gratuitously called BRT in our local parlance). As Lagosians, we love speed and for the first time, we are able to move from one part of the city to another unhindered by gridlocks (or so I thought until then). The dedicated corridors guarantee that passengers in BRT vehicles get to their destinations without undue delay . BRT Buses taking after their predecessors Consequently, I was compelled to jostle against a large crowd who were all headed to the Island from the Surulere bus station, I got a seat with the day's newspapers and other encumbrances clasped to my chest! Few minutes later, t...

If you are thinking of a place to dine and wine in Lagos that won’t bore a hole in your pocket, we can recommend the followings. You may also want to add to the list though. Seriously, what do you think? 1.     Bangkok Restaurant  - Thai With the best Thai food in Lagos, the Bangkok is a treat. The cooks and waitresses are all Thai, and offer you a broad menu of fragrantly spiced dishes. Portions are very generous, and if you can't finish your meal, they're used to sending people home with a doggie bag. 2.     Sherlaton – Indian Vegetarians suffer a lot in Nigeria, but this Indian restaurant really comes to the rescue. With tasty and filling portions at good prices, the Sherlaton is generally considered to be the city's best curry option. 3.     Double Four – Lebanese Offering mainly Lebanese dishes, the menu at Double Four tries to throw everything into the mix - Nigerian, Continental, a bit of Indian - so if y...

BRF •Nigeria’s wealthiest reside in Abuja, Lagos The planned rebasing of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to raise Lagos State to Africa's 13th biggest economy by 2014, a report assessing the respective economies of the 36 states of the federation has shown. In its latest report titled, “Nigeria Unveiled: Thirty Six Shades of Nigeria” Renaissance Capital (RenCap), an investment and financial advisory firm, also said that with a per capita income of approximately $4,000, which is more than double the national average of $1,700, the wealthiest people in Nigeria reside in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Abuja’s per capita income is equivalent to that of Tunisia and Ukraine. With a per capita income of $2,900, Abuja is followed by Lagos with second wealthiest residents in the country, which puts it at par with Morocco and Sri Lanka. The report showed that while much has been written in recent years about Nigeria’s rising economic significance, very li...

Guys! I just read this up on Lagos Pulse. I am not sure if this really true as a practitioner. Go on and read and let's know what you believe. A serene environment. Well-laid out streets. Undiluted breeze from the sea.  Good lighting  and other facilities that make life comfortable… All have combined to make Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos one of the most expensive areas to acquire a landed property in the country, nay the world. The ‘island’, which derives its name from the banana-shaped landscape, is approximately 1,630,000 square metres in size – less than a square mile. It is divided into 536 plots.  Landed property is even more expensive here than in some other parts of developed world such as the United Kingdom and South Africa, thus buttressing the various surveys that say Lagos is one of the most expensive cities in the world.  An investigation shows that Banana Island is, indeed, for the big players who have more than enough money to afford the luxury o...

Ropeways Transport and the Lagos State Government will launch a $500M (N75B) cable mass urban transit system, partly financed by the African Development Bank. Construction of towers, stations and connecting network cables along mapped-out routes will begin in November and is expected to create about 500 direct jobs after completion in 2015, with commuters paying between $1.20 (N180) and $2 (N300) per trip. The cable car system is rated as one of the safest means of transport worldwide. There are 222 vehicles per kilometre of road in Lagos, far more than the national average of 11. By 2015 Lagos is expected to become the world's third largest city with 25m inhabitants, with approximately 12m daily passenger movements. Fingers crossed.

Hello Everyone, Settling down in a new location can be a heart aching exercise. In settling in a new country, there are certain things working parents are mostly concerned about towards getting a suitable child care services (well, the new name in Lagos is crèche) for their children. What can you share with us about the child care system in Lagos? How much is daycare in Lagos? Is the staff qualified at these daycare centres? What are the usual opening hours? Do they provide other services at the daycare centre? Is there any daycare centre in Lagos you would like to recommend to expats? What makes them special? Thank you for participating! Ken Egedi

MAUREEN AZUH  writes on a new survey that classifies Lagos as one of the 50 most expensive cities in the world As the biggest commercial centre of Nigeria, Lagos, has always been in the limelight. Before now various Internet sources had indicated that Lagos is the second fastest growing city in Africa and the seventh fastest in the world. A recent survey by Mercer, a global outsourcing and consulting firm, has also ranked Lagos among the 50 most expensive cities of the world for expatriates. The survey, tagged World Cost of Living Survey 2012, covered 124 cities across five continents and placed Lagos at the 39th position, two steps up from the 41st position it occupied last year. According to the report, published online, the survey was based on measures of the comparative cost of 200 items in each of the surveyed country. The items included transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. Housing cost, regarded as constituting the biggest expense fo...

Every year, a lot of kids die from drowning. Numerous drowning deaths take place in residential swimming pools. For this reason it is vital that you not only learn the importance of pool safety, but also to learn how to put it into practice. However, when it comes to swimming pool safety, a large number of adults are misinformed. A lot of these adults think that as long as their pools are equipped with safety equipment and devices, their kids are safe. Do not have faith in this common mistaken belief. It could be the greatest mistake of your life. In addition to pool safety equipment, you should use your common sense. If you are looking for pool accessories that will help you in pool safety, you may want to consider buying lifejackets, arm floaties, or baby floats. While lifejackets are most commonly used with boating, you can get smaller lifejackets that are perfect for swimming pools. For infants, a baby float is an excellent way to enjoy the water. Arm floaties are perfect...

You've heard all the figures by now - we are living in a world where the majority of people live in cities and 1 billion live in slums, a figure that will triple by 2030. Urban areas are growing at a rate much faster than can be absorbed and managed, causing demands on services and infrastructure that massively outstrip supply. In many developing world cities, this leaves the majority of residents with little option but to live in slums. It is clear to everyone that increasing access to high-quality, low-cost housing has a profound impact, both for the individual and society at large. Yet, housing rarely comes up in conversation amongst social enterprise circles. We hold panel after panel and write blog after blog about the new innovations in healthcare, energy, and agriculture, but we seldom hear about housing. At Rullion, we feel it is high time for this dynamic to change and for the social enterprise sector to recognize the need to catalyze and support affordable housing a...