8 Important Things To Watch Out For, Before Renting Lagos Property
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Renting Lagos Property? The very hectic schedule of Lagosians and the ever buzzing city can make almost everything stressful. Including a property search.
Looking for a property to rent as well is one of the most stressful things one can experience in Lagos as there are lots of dishonest estate agents and very impatient landlords all over the place. We have taken our time out to put together this information that could at least assist in easing your stress while trying to secure an apartment for yourself.
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Landmark Proximity.
Yes, Lagos is the economic capital of Nigeria but don’t even get it twisted. There are places in Lagos without a very easy address. You wouldn’t want people coming to look for you and you have to stand on the roadside to receive them all the time. For several other reasons including an emergency, you would want to rent an apartment that could be easily traceable by people.
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Search For Houses During Rainy Season.
Before renting a property either on the island, the mainland or the outskirts of Lagos, it is now a standard rule for you to consider house hunting during the rainy season. The reason for this is that there are certain locations that are prone to flood and there are some situations where the landlords won’t tell you that the roofs leak. You wouldn’t want to be sleeping and experience heavy downpour right inside your bedroom at 2 am in the early hours of the day or needing a boat to move from your house to the express road. That’s why in most cases, we advise that you take out time to inspect these apartments yourself.
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Consider Your Office Location Before Renting lagos Propery.
Considering your office location is a very important part of searching for an apartment as you’ll be moving from your new apartment to your workplace at least 4 to 6 days every week. Lagos is prone to traffic and once your office location is far from your new house, you’ll be spending between 3 to 6 hours daily in traffic. For instance, if you live around Egbeda or Agege, it will take an average of one hour for you to get to Marina on a normal day without experiencing any serious traffic. This now depends on the route you pass through. We advise that you rent an apartment that is close to your workplace.
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Pre-paid Electricity Meter.
The electricity situation in Nigeria is a very serious situation. Even while electricity is unstable, payment for the electricity isn’t. If you rent an apartment without a pre-paid meter, there’s a very large possibility that you might come home after work to darkness even while you are not owing. Once your house lacks a pre-paid meter, you’ll be at the mercy of the electricity connecting officers and in most cases, their estimated billing system. We highly recommend that you rent an apartment with the pre-paid meter already installed so that you can control your electricity billing system by yourself.
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Is Water Available?
Asides electricity issues, the availability of clean water is quintessential because everything depends on water.
During your inspection of the apartment, check for the availability of water, the quality of water, the supply source, the storage tanks, and the frequency of pumping.
If you rent an apartment without sorting out water availability, you will have yourself to blame eventually. -
Avoid Sub-letting.
There are situations where your tenants sublet their already rented apartments to new tenants without the notice of the landlord or direct agent. This is a very dangerous situation as the terms of agreement might be totally different from the agreement provided by the landlord/lawyer while the house was initial rented. You wouldn’t want to be sent parking half term into your rent. This might be a trick or scam by the person subletting to you. Be vigilant.
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Check For Previous Receipts.
A look at previous receipts for all utility bills(LAWMA, ELECTRICITY, SECURITY, WATER, Et Al.) will give you a hint on how things are done in the apartment and also if there are any uncleared accumulated bills by the previous tenant. This will save you the stress of acquiring others’ debt.
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Read & Understand The Tenancy agreements and Quit notice Properly.
As it is with any business or contract agreement you sign, it is very essential that you properly read and understand the tenancy agreement & quit notice before making payment and putting pen to paper. Some houses have laws that won’t allow you to move around at certain periods of the day while others have laws that will prevent you from using your power generating set at certain periods of the night. You will want to be very clear about this in order not to inconvenience yourself or neighbors.
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