LOCATION: Nigeria is in Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon.
CAPITAL CITY: Abuja
LARGEST CITY: Lagos
CURRENCY: Nigerian Naira (NGN)
ECONOMY: Nigeria is a low-income developing economy despite its many natural resources, including oil reserves, metals, forests and fertile farmland. Petroleum plays a large role in the Nigerian economy, accounting for 40% of the GDP.
Lagos has an overall cost of living index which equates it with high cost of living locations. The overall cost of living index is comprised of the prices for defined quantities of the same goods and services across all 13 Basket Groups. Lagos is currently ranked 53 overall, most expensive place in the world for expatriates to live, out of 276 international locations. The cost of living overview for each of the 13 Basket Groups is as follows:
Alcohol & Tobacco costs for alcoholic beverages such as alcohol at bar, beer, locally produced spirit, whiskey, and wine as well as tobacco products such as cigarettes is equally expensive on average compared to other cities with a rank of 120 out of 276.
Clothing costs for clothing and footwear products such as business suits, casual clothing, childrens clothing and footwear, coats and hats, evening wear, shoe repairs, and underwear is equally expensive on average compared to other cities with a rank of 101 out of 276.
Communication costs for various communication costs such as home telephone rental and call charges, internet connection and service provider fees, mobile / cellular phone contract and calls is equally expensive on average compared to other cities with a rank of 182 out of 276.
Education costs such as creche / pre-school fees, high school / college fees, primary school fees, and tertiary study fees is relatively more expensive compared to other cities with a rank of 12 out of 276.
Furniture & Appliance costs for furniture, household equipment and household appliances such as dvd player, fridge freezer, iron, kettle, toaster, microwave, light bulbs, television, vacuum cleaner, and washing machine is relatively less expensive compared to other cities with a rank of 228 out of 276.
Grocery costs for food, non-alcoholic beverages and cleaning material items such as baby consumables, baked goods, baking, canned foods, cheese, cleaning products, dairy, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, fruit juices, meat, oil & vinegars, pet food, pre-prepared meals, sauces, seafood, snacks, soft drinks, spices & herbs is relatively more expensive compared to other cities with a rank of 48 out of 276.
Healthcare costs for general healthcare, medical and medical insurance such as general practitioner consultation rates, hospital private ward daily rate, non-prescription medicine, and private medical insurance / medical aid contributions is relatively more expensive compared to other cities with a rank of 25 out of 276.
Household costs for housing, water, electricity, household gas, household fuels, local rates and residential taxes such as house / flat mortgage, house / flat rental, household electricity consumption, household gas / fuel consumption, household water consumption, and local property rates / taxes / levies is relatively more expensive compared to other cities with a rank of 24 out of 276.
Miscellaneous costs related to stationary, linen and general goods and services such as domestic help, dry cleaning, linen, office supplies, newspapers and magazines, and postage stamps is relatively more expensive compared to other cities with a rank of 76 out of 276.
Personal Care costs for personal care products and services such as cosmetics, hair care, moisturizer / sun block, nappies, pain relief tablets, toilet paper, toothpaste, and soap / shampoo / conditioner is relatively more expensive compared to other cities with a rank of 29 out of 276.
Recreation and Culture costs such as books, camera film, cinema ticket, DVD and CDs, sports goods, and theatre tickets is relatively more expensive compared to other cities with a rank of 30 out of 276.
Restaurants, Meals Out and Hotel costs such as business dinner, dinner at a restaurant (non fast food), hotel rates, take away drinks and snacks (fast food) is relatively less expensive compared to other cities with a rank of 253 out of 276.
Transport costs for public transport, vehicle costs, vehicle fuel, vehicle insurance and vehicle maintenance such as hire purchase / lease of vehicle, petrol / diesel, public transport service maintenance, tires, vehicle Insurance, and vehicle purchase is equally expensive on average compared to other cities with a rank of 139 out of 276.
Your exact customized cost of living index for Lagos is based on which of the above basket groups as well as the comparison location you select in the Calculators.
In terms of the hardship people are likely to experience, assessed in global terms, Lagos is ranked as a high degree of hardship location with a hardship index of 30%.
Your exact customized hardship index premium for Lagos is based on the comparison location that you select in the Calculators.
Source: http://www.xpatulator.com/outside.cfm?lid=150
About the Author: Steven is Chief Instigator at http://www.xpatulator.com a website that provides cost of living index information and calculates what you need to earn to compensate for cost of living, hardship, and exchange rate differences.
Showing posts with label lagos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lagos. Show all posts
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Finding Houses For Sale in Lagos
In Lagos, Nigeria, there is a tourism boom about to be unleashed following development efforts and economic growth that promises many opportunities to investors. The result of this is a rapidly expanding real estate sector offering unlimited opportunities to reap bountiful harvests from. Take for instance 5 years ago undeveloped land in the Lekki axis of Lagos Nigeria and Ikoyi areas sold for less than half its current market value with developed properties selling in some cases for less than one third of the current market price. This is indicative of a real estate boom and unlike the stock market boom of 2004 - 2008 the real estate boom is an investor's haven.This brings us to some of the issues that will naturally be encountered as a result of people preferences and choices with buying houses. A number of problems are associated with buying and selling of houses in Lagos Nigeria and it is only proper I mention some of them before listing out places to find houses to buy or sell.
One of the major problems will be the omooniles (descendants of the land owners or original occupants of various communities in Lagos Nigeria). These are usually idle and Lazy people who want to lay claim to almost any major development taking place on Land they may have already sold to people. By extorting money and collecting illegal fees these omooniles make life difficult for home owners or people desiring to build their own houses. Be on the look out for them whenever you decide to buy a house in Lagos Nigeria. Your best protection against omooniles is to buy directly from reputable real estate companies or acquire land directly from the government and build as quickly as possible. Another problem you face would be real estate fraudsters who could go as far as faking contact details of some reputable real estate companies in order to hoodwink home seekers and other real estate investors. Many of these fraudsters make offers that are too good to be true or unrealistically attractive in order to get at your money. Always insist on patronizing reputable real estate agencies and companies and ensure that you visit their offices to verify their authenticity.
In 2009, and onwards there are many places to start your search for houses available for sale in Lagos Nigeria. Here is a compilation of a list of places to find houses for sale in Lagos Nigeria;
1. Online Classified Adverts
Classified online adverts such as those on nairalist.com, nairaland.com and several websites of real estate companies is a major channel for finding houses and other property for sale in Lagos Nigeria.
2. News papers and magazine publications
A number of newspapers run dedicated editions for advertising or informing the public about opportunities to buy and sell houses in Lagos Nigeria. The most recognized of these is the Guardian Newspaper which runs a Monday Edition dedicated to the real estate sector. Another well known publication for finding houses for sale in Lagos Nigeria is castles magazine. There is also Properties and Homes magazine among others. The draw back is that these publications can only be bought in Nigeria as they do not circulate globally hence people living abroad may not find this option convenient.
3. Recognized real estate companies and Agencies
There are a lot of real estate companies in Nigeria but a few well known include Jide Taiwo and co, Ubosi Eleh and Co, Diya Fatimilehin and co, UAC Properties Limited and Unions Homes among others. Contacting any of these companies is search of houses for sale is another way to go about it. This option covers you although not completely from the activities of omooniles.
4. Enquiries on on-going projects
You could also make enquiries about on going projects such as construction of housing estates and other similar projects directly through the contractors who could refer you to the real estate agency or company handling the project or possibly the owner in order to meet with and negotiate a deal if possible. However not all housing projects have options for selling houses as some of them might actually be tenement projects in which case the owners are only interested in letting out.
Conclusion
Be warned that not all adverts or information made available on channels for sale of houses in Lagos are credible and reliable, you are advised to still carryout some investigation into the claims because some real estate fraudsters are on the prowl looking to defraud unsuspecting buyers of houses in Lagos Nigeria. Also possible for locating houses for sale in Lagos Nigeria is the option of word of mouth from people within your social network although this is hardly as reliable as the other earlier options.
Paul Onwueme is a business reporter and writes about business opportunities in Lagos Nigeria.
To find out more about Lagos Nigeria real estate and business opportunities in Lagos Nigeria visit his blog at Lagos Nigeria real estate or his other blog at Lagos Nigeria business Guide.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_Onwueme
Labels:
buying a house in lagos,
lagos,
nigerian property
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