Experience they say, is the best teacher, I am not a civil
Engineer, but I have been in the construction and real estate industry for over
8 years. This has exposed me to the dynamics and trade secretes of the game. I
call it a game because beneath the superficial projection of empathy and care
for human lives by government parastatals and agencies, there are most times
ulterior motive for profit and unsolicited gains by some government officials.
This can be in collaboration with developers. Most times, these developers are
aware of these irregularities and imposition of sanctions and laws on
unsuspecting property owners who just want to build a home for them selves
either for retirement as a country home or for investment purposes.
Here are the steps to make sure are checked before and during the
construction.
1. Make sure the land has a valid title especially
Certificate of occupancy or governor’s consent.
2. Do all verifications, regarding litigation and encumbrance on the
land. make sure the land is free from encumbrance and adverse claim.
3. Get a good architect to design the house as well as mechanical
and electrical drawings with a good structural engineer complimenting.
4. contract a construction firm. Let professionals handle it from
start to finish. By this, you are able to hold someone accountable if something
goes wrong.
5. carry out
soil testing on the plot to be developed. The test result tells you what type
of foundation that is best for that soil. Apply for
Lagos state building approval, this takes roughly about 3 to 6 months to be
ready. You need to be a tax payer in Lagos state for your building approval to
be successful.
6. Once your drawings are approved, you are good to go.
The government requires you to have a signage stating the
contractors name and type of project. The inscription should also have the
approved plan number.
All workers on site should be well kitted for safety, otherwise,
you will be penalized times 4 of what the original cost should have been to get
your workers kitted.
You will be required to carry out structural integrity test for all structural element
for the project. At every stage of the construction, this exercise needs to be
done to make sure that there is nothing structurally wrong with the building. If
you do not do this during construction, you will have to do it after and the penalty
is usually times five of the original cost.
Lagos state building control agency is the agency that is saddled with
the responsivity of building control and monitoring.
Be mindful when making these payments, you could be paying to scammers
who claim to be agents.
Most people do not go through these steps. Generally, some people have the
habit if cutting corners.
For instance, a non-tax payer, will cut corners to
get approval, and will continue to cut corners through out the process. It is even more annoying because, property owners would usually contract these to agents who will exploit them further. It becomes are ripple effect of corruption from one office to another. As the saying goes, “You need another
lie to cover a lie”.
#mmba4
REMOTE WORK: THE BENEFITS