Mortgage firm, developer pledge cheaper homes in Abuja 

A Non – Governmental Organisation, mortgage firm and the apex institution have entered into a tripartite agreement to help deliver affordable housing units for low-income earners in the country.

Messrs Trustbond Mortgage Bank and Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, in conjunction with The Millard Fuller Foundation are currently promoting the new initiative.

Tagged Affordable Housing For Economic Empowerment and development (AHEAD) scheme, the project is targeted at junior staff of organizations as well as informal sector through “Rent-To-Own’, collateral Replacement Indemnity among others.

Chief Executive Officer of Millard Fuller Foundation, Mr. Sam Odia, an architect, who unveiled the packages in Abuja, said the programme would promote economic empowerment through employment opportunities emanating from the mass delivery of houses across housing chain.

“Our first studio apartment homes cost just N240, 000 at that time immediately occupation after the payment of a down deposit of N60, 000,the remaining N180, 000 paid over four years of the rate of N6,250 monthly.”

He explained that many people shy away, thinking that we are fraudulent. ‘It wasn’t until few brave applicants who had no choice paid the amount and moved into their houses that it dawned on the public that it was real.”

Odia said: “With our UK partners we have developed a business model that will help us deliver housing sustainably at far greater levels of scale as well as prove the affordable housing market as a veritable investment destination.

“The first point of departure must be to undertake an exercise towards a truthful definition of what affordable housing is. Until there is a fair amount of consensus about this, we will continue to beat about the bush, touting N30million or N20 million housing units as ‘affordable’.

Report says, about 80 percent of Nigerians cannot afford a house this is more than a million naira in value! We ask: how can we begin to properly define Affordable housing in Nigeria.”

“Millard Fuller Foundation, is committed not just to playing in this vital market, but also to lending a hand in developing the affordable housing industry, sharing best practices with our partners. The market is so large, that no single organization or group can fill the need.”

The foundation’s chairman, Board of Directors, Solomon Maiwada Yero while stating its vision, said we see the world in which everyone has access to adequate shelter, adding, “we have been working on providing on a sustainable basis, affordable housing for the people in need of them.”