HARD LESSONS FROM A PROPERTY INVESTOR: READ, DON’T FALL VICTIM – Ken Egedi

A few years ago I was contacted by a Client, a friend, he had envisioned a property portfolio that would deliver superior returns of about N5M (Five Million Naira) monthly on the strength of a planned stock of properties all year-long. It was a bold look into the future for an enterprising young man who was only 30 at the time!

Property Portfolio 

Because he was a member of Corporate Nigeria all he had to do was to speak with banks who were awash with liquid cash at the time to fund his vision; so he set sail. He assembled a team; in the team were architects, civil engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers, quantity surveyors, etc., the team was “tight”. They worked hard to deliver brilliant properties that dotted Lagos.

Then I asked him, “Bros, how do you intend to manage these properties?” While he stared hard at me processing an answer from his brain, I carried on with another question, “You know there is a lot of relationship management involved with the kind of earning the type of cash in what is being projected? This money is not a grant or “free money”, it is borrowed funds of depositors at the bank”. But he allowed his eyes to stray to the window at fast moving cars and then fixed them on me before responding, “Ken, watch me”. At that point I believed my friend actually knew what he was doing.

Fast forward 7 years and there is a lot of yelling, tenants in the buildings are defaulting on payments, there are pipes sipping out water, septic tanks are full and spilling out without adequate plans for dislodgement, banks are on his case especially and the list goes on and on!

To be fair he had a plan or so it seemed but there was one thing he didn’t factor into it – A Property Manager! Most people have probably heard these words but never made it to getting off the ground or how to use it as strategy. In short, the Property Manager is the one who “baby sits” a property investment.

Hmmm, but is it not ironic the way people say that history repeats itself? And at perhaps shorter and shorter intervals. Yes, it does, because people do not like to take the lessons of history to heart. I told the gentleman at the time about Property Managers and what their responsibilities are but it was not to be.

So if you are reading this you’ll be pardoned if you did not know about Property Managers and their responsibilities after now you won’t be.

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