What to Consider When Renting an Apartment in Nigeria.
If you’ve rented an apartment in Nigeria before, you’ll know it is not a walk in the park. Even if you’ve not rented an apartment before, you have probably heard people regretting what they got after they rented a home. At the risk of exaggerating, you need to be careful renting a home as you would if you were buying a house in Nigeria. However, if you know what to look out for when renting an apartment in Nigeria, you can avoid the regret that comes with getting less than your expectations when house hunting. The points discussed below will show you what should be considered when house hunting in Nigeria.
Location
One of the things you should definitely have in mind even before you start searching for an apartment is the location. You should already have an idea where you want to live. While this might not be set in stone, it is important to still have a location or locations in mind, so as to give your search direction. However, to decide on the location, you need to consider things like proximity to your children’s school (if you are parents), your work, hospital, market and places you frequent; check if the area is susceptible to flooding, the network coverage, neighbours, and security. We probably don’t have to emphasise the importance of security to you. If you go check a house, check that the house itself is secure (check window frames, door frames, fence, and the gate) and also that the area is secure.
Price
What can you afford? Or what’s your budget? That’s the question to ask yourself before you start house hunting. The higher your budget, the bigger the house you can get or the more elitist the environment. Also, if you can afford the initial rent, can you sufficiently pay the rent without stress? That’s something else to consider because you won’t want to be left indebted because you are unable to pay rent.
Size
The apartment to rent if you are alone is different from if you are renting for your family, so the size should be considered except, of course, financial constraint is a factor. If not, you should consider the number of rooms that should be great for your family and a guest room. On the other hand, you might also want to consider how spacious the rooms are, especially, if you have younger children.
Basic Amenities
How is the electricity supply in that area? If you are a Nigerian resident in Nigeria, you know the issue we have with electricity, so imagine renting a home in an area where there is no transformer or it is spoilt. Make sure, therefore, to check that; you can do that by asking residents how the electricity supply is. On the other hand, you should check for other basic amenities like water, good road, hospital, stores for everyday groceries, etc.
Landlord
Most houses in Nigeria are attached to an agent, however, you should still insist on meeting the landlord or their representative. This is so you don’t fall into the hands of scammers. But besides that, you should meet the landlord so you can have a feel of the kind of person the landlord is, especially if the landlord will be living in the same house. You don’t want to live with a greedy landlord or a landlord that wants to be in your business.
Tenancy Agreement
On no account should you pay for an apartment in Nigeria without signing a tenancy agreement. But it is not enough to sign a tenancy agreement, you need to read it. Don’t believe it is the usual until you have gone through it yourself. The last thing you want to deal with is unfavourable conditions and being unable to come out of them because you’ve signed a contract. Make sure the document contains a notice of 6 months or at least, 3 months before the termination of tenancy.
We hope these tips will help you when next you are renting an apartment. Do you have any more tips you think will help? Share with us in the comment section.
