Charting a path for wealth-making or financial security today and tomorrow is one thing only a few make a conscious effort to pursue and achieve. The majority think financial security comes with luck, quick fixes or by inheritance.
Yes, some riches have come by way of good fortune and inheritance but a closer look at the beneficiaries of such accidental wealth often reveals that one can count them off one's fingers. They are always few compared to the general population. They rarely make the top 25 list of wealthy or financially secure persons by any standard rating from an agency or organisation around the world such as Forbes or others before it.
But striving to attain a state of financial security is not to be rated by Forbes or any person. It is to come to a state of life where you would not have to fear or worry much about the movement of the price of things one needs. It is coming to that experience of a restful mind where you would be able to pay for the needs of day-to-day living and more as they come without inner turmoil, whether in one's active life or retirement.
One of the ways someone can make a life wealth that brings financial security even for your unborn generation to come legitimately is to look in the direction of land banking and real Estate marketing system and consider it. This is a hypothesis that has been tested many times with a valid point.
A handy case in recent times in our clime is the story of Pelican Valley Estate. In the last five years, it has accommodated clients from Diaspora and within the country, either to invest in real estate, do Land Banking or real estate marketing with the leading real estate company in Ogun, Southwestern state of Nigeria.
Pelican Valley Estate situated at the Laderin - Abeokuta axis of the state is the first baby of Pelican Valley Nigeria Limited, a foremost real estate firm. Other products from the stable of the real estate company are Pelican Brief, Pelican Streamview, Pelican's Ecostay Apartments and Pelican's Greenish Acres Farm Estate - these additional four estates are all located within the Laderin-Kobape - Masa corridor of Ogun.
Many have described them with enthusiasm as the emerging first Smart City in the state and Nigerians' next Dubai, given the interconnectivity and interdependency of life it is envisaged to engender among residents, landlords and tourists when fully completed and occupied.
A seasoned administrator and permanent secretary of the state's bureau of political and administration, Mr Kehinde Onasanya, who felt marvelled at the creative mind behind the innovation, recently acknowledged that the firm is accelerating the state government’s efforts in jobs creation and housing development to meet the housing needs of indigenes and residents.
A realtor, Dr Babatunde Adeyemo, is the CEO of the real estate firm. He is an expert when it comes to the real estate business in Nigeria and he is being consulted in many cases to ease the challenging issues in the sector, using major daily newspapers in Nigeria and some credible online media outlets too to cast shinning light constant on knotty areas to make them clearer and smoothened for the would-be - investors.
A number of the credible newspapers that Dr Adeyemo contributed to the issue of real estate business include The Punch newspaper, the Nigeria Tribune, Vanguard newspaper, This Day and more, while the online media are Platforms Times, News Flagship which is the major online that Alake and paramount ruler of Egba reads often, including the who is who in Egba land, Penpushing, Fortress, The Daily Crucible and Opera news respectively.
Through his many informed intellectual interventions on topical real estate matters and his proven integrity, transparent character, vision, and commitment to excellence, Dr Adeyemo has encouraged people at home and those in the diaspora to invest in Real Estate, exposing them to the invaluable opportunities and wealth in the land banking system.
"We have deemed it fit to enlighten the people that the best way to secure your wealth and retain it for generations to come is to do land banking and real estate marketing. This could be of great advantage, particularly for those who believe in making money with ease," Adeyemo had said recently when he received one of his clients in Pelican Valley.
Some of his takes on Land Banking are:
He strongly advised that you start land banking with minimum start-up capital while vacant land, he reasoned, is generally the cheapest type of real estate one would find and plugged into.
He posited that it’s not until expansion and development occur that the property begins to increase in value.
Hence, if you know where to look for great deals on land, go for it and it requires minimal startup capital to move your business up and get it running. It’s also a type of investment that doesn’t necessarily need to take millions of naira to take off.
It is also cheaper to own as a long-term real estate investment. The reason:
Real Estate investment can be started with zero capital by first venturing into the marketing aspect first...Dr. Adeyemo said he has paid individual realtors a commission that is more than the amount he started the real estate business with.
The land is relatively abundant and thus cheap in some developing parts of the country. As an intelligent investor buying this vacant land offers you a more accessible and more affordable way into the real estate market.
When buying a piece of land for the right price, Land banking can be the type of investment you use to keep your money stored up somewhere for a while. Your asset sits quietly in the background, costing you almost nothing and silently increasing in value.
Lower competition
In the real estate investment niche, there’s low competition. Most people (especially those with a lot of investment capital) are focused on the shiny and glamorous aspects of real estate investment buildings, developments, house flipping, and multi-units.
If you are looking to buy undeveloped land, then a significant advantage is the smaller competition you will face.
The realtor recalled that he started selling Pelican Valley for just #1.2 million nairas and the land had risen to 20 million nairas today, while Pelican Brief rose from #780,000 to #5m within three years
What to look for before doing land banking and with any estate firm
Credibility, Integrity of the firm and particularly the Promoter, Documentation and other necessary Credentials
Many people have attested to the credibility of Pelican Valley even without meeting for physical transaction and it always comes in success.
In an encounter with Mr and Mrs Payne who are US-based clients, they described Pelican Estate as the epitome of integrity. The husband and wife projected that the estate is already on its way to becoming a global brand because of the standard and business ethics of the company.
The Paynes equally attest that the CEO is a man of very high integrity and since knowing him about 9 years ago, he has remained honest despite not having seen them face-to-face during the period of the transaction.
Also, Canada-based Mrs Joan Sorinde and Barr. Sorinde corroborated this. The couple said Pelican Valley Estate is one of the real estate brands one can trust and invest in Ogun State.
"We have been working with the developer that is, Pelican Valley Nigeria Limited since 2016. I have invested and I have a quite number of large clients as well who have keyed into it and have invested with the developer. These clients are based in the UK, United States and Canada," the couple voiced out.
Documentation
Pelican Estate has always prioritised documentation which is working effectively for the firm's Pelican's Ecostay Apartments, Pelican Brief Estate and the mother of all Estates, the Pelican Valley Estate, where unusual homes happen.
The pleasant development is coming as more Nigerians living abroad continue to patronise the firm's range of products.
Here is some cheering news. An Ireland-based Obadina is planning a multi-billion naira leisure and resort centre within the commercial corridor of the estate's Master Plan and Layout.
Interestingly too, Pelican Brief Estate was conceptualised to become a Smart City, the Dubai of Nigeria in the Masa - Kobape axis of Ogun State, and the bold initiative was also expected to generate no fewer than 600 direct and indirect jobs as well as revamp the socio-economic development of the area.
Expectedly, the estate would host the corporate headquarters of the Pelican Valley Nigeria Limited, a purpose-built lounge, Restaurant, mini club and a resort for short-time Airbnb Lodgers.
Dr Babatunde Muritala Adeyemo is a journalist, a multiple-award realtor, an anti-corruption ambassador, a role business model and a family man, who writes from Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
