YOUR OWN HOME

Have you ever wondered what it is like for a family to have a home of their own? I can just imagine it, you wouldn't have to think about what your landlord will do when you don't have money to pay for the rent at the end of the year, you wouldn't have to think about how the landlord and other co-tenants will feel when you buy a brand new car or when you decide to host a big party and make so much noise that the landlord will have to call you for a meeting the next day to chide you and give you reasons why you must not behave like that again....and so on.

Having a house of your own starts with putting your priorities right and knowing what you want your future to look like, but the problem is how do you start, how do you go about buying a land when you earn so little and have so many problems (school fees, family matters, house rent, transport e.t.c) to deal with? But think about this, Do you want to retire without having a place to call your own?

Well the good news is that you don't have to kill yourself, you just have to do what you have to do and do it right. The problem about procastinating about whether to buy a land now or wait till later is that land will always continue to apprecaite and by the time you are ready you might not be able to afford the land. There is this saying that if you want to live long you have to live your size per time, imagine, how can someone earning N20,000 a month think of renting a house in VI! But its true people do this because of this social class syndrome, they want to be at par with their collegues but what they don't know is that their collegue is doing something more....

Well back to the land issue, the issue of lands has been made so easy now that virtualy every one can be a land owner only if...You can take the risk, don't mind the area or the distance, or even transportation or road network. Let me tell you this i remember when my parents moved into their house, the area was nothing to talk about, but roughly 10 years later, the place became a major attraction. When my father bought the land then it cost him less than a thousand naira but now its close to over 4 million for the same land, and companies pay as much as 30 million to secure a land on the major road. My Friend and her husband bought an acre of land in Mowe in 2002 for 40,000 and shared it with some friends, today a plot in mowe is over 400,000 so an acre is over 2 million. Think of it, if they had so much money and bought lots of acres then and sell it now how much do you think they will make?

Don't think that the bush you see today can never become a city because it might take time but it will get there and what will be your reaction then? Are you thinking that if you buy a land and build it it will be too far from your place of work? then i will tell you its a no , do you know why? this is because you will not work in that organisation for life, you could lose the job or better stiil you might decide to look for a better position or start your own by then the issue of distance will no longer matter but where will you be then, will you still be battling with paying house rent or waiting for your land lord to tell you he wants to use his house and that you have to pack out? If you buy a land now and get all the neccesary papers and try to build either a fence or a foundation on it, you might leave it till you are ready or till you think the area is habitable to complete it or you might even complete it and let it out but the fact remains that it is yours.

Don't let the issue of omo onile disturb you, get all the necesary papers so that no one can collect your land, make findings about the land from the ministry to be sure of the genuity and other things and gradually plan towards getting a c of o (that can take time and can be expensive but it will put your mind at rest) then you can relax bck and enjoy your future. Don't think that when you start you might not be able to finish, no. Be positive and believe, plan with your leave allowances, bonus, medical allowances, savings e.t.c

Well i think that this new year is when one should start pondering on this issue, you don't have to wait till you get married, have kids, be old enough or even retire to think about a home of your own, the time to do so is now, this is January, start planning with the little you make and see how far you can go by December, you can start a coperative, thrift contribution or even save liitle sums in your account each month in a bank or mircofinance bank. You will have to deny yourself some luxury but you will never regret doing this. If you think your friends will mock you, you are joking because that your close pal might be building a house and he will not tell you all you will hear is that Hey guy i will be dedicating my house will you come? How will you feel, they wouldn't tell you what i am telling you, they wouldn't advise you, do you know why, they don't want you to be like them because why? You are not the same so don't try to match with them, be your own man!

Let this new year be your year and you will surely manifest. Wecome to the year 2009.