Building a home in new estate or old area – TheNigerialawyer

Abiodun Doherty

There are several new estates springing up all over the place
with promises of providing off-takers with facilities, services and
infrastructure that will boost the status of the estate. While
these offers are interesting, first homebuyers or builders and
investors often face the dilemma of deciding between buying a
parcel of land in these estates or in an older suburb or
neighbourhood. Established neighbourhoods have their own
attractions as well. Deciding between the two neighbourhoods
require weighing the pros and cons of each carefully and
systematically.

Established neighbourhoods are areas of the city or state that
have matured or are maturing in terms of development. They are
close to places of employment and corporations. They are close to
shopping precincts, may have good roads, good demography and other
infrastructure are available for the residents. These areas are not
far from the city centres and have regular public transport. They
might also be crowded but there is a lot of room to provide
services to the teeming population. The price of property in these
areas rises at a steady pace and sometimes, astronomically when the
economy is booming.

New estates are often new areas that are at the fringe of
established areas. They are usually some distance away from where
most businesses and companies are located. These estates may be
government initiatives but more often than not, they are products
of private initiatives. They are often sold off plan and may be
serviced estates. In order to sell land in these estates, the
promoters often come up with all kinds of offers. Land in these
estates can be bought cash down or through payment in instalments.
There have been some estates with promotional offers of buy-one or
buy-two to get one free. They also have additional services that
they promise to provide to all the estate occupants.

The decision to buy land in a new estate or old suburb will be
better guided by the personal circumstances of each person. One of
the key determinants of the decision is affordability. Land in
established neighbourhoods is often more expensive because they
have several advantages that are not yet available in new estates.
If you do not have the funds to buy in an established estate, then
your options are limited to new areas even though they may be far
from your place of work.

One of the reasons why established areas are more expensive and
often grow in value is because it is easier for buyers and sellers
to estimate their value. The worth of these areas is well known and
it is easier to project their potential value. These matured areas
have infrastructure in place and you can easily identify high,
medium and low-income density areas. This is not the case with new
estates.

New estates are better planned and modern in their features and
outlo=ok. However, you need to do your due diligence on the
builders and promoters. There are builders that have already
established themselves in the real estate industry for quality and
timely project delivery. This is the major risk in buying into a
new estate. If the new estate project fails or is badly executed,
the value of your land and building will be significantly impacted.
In addition, if there is an oversupply in the market or many
estates projects in the area, the value of the property may not
rise as expected.

If the estate project is successfully completed, there are
several benefits. Most new estates are better designed with open
space and green areas. The good ones have common services that
cover security, water and electricity. The roads are often tarred
or built with interlocking stones. They secure a certificate of
occupancy and have streamlined processes for transferring title to
their subscribers. These services remove a lot of headaches for
their subscribers. If you buy land in an established area, you need
to handle these things personally or delegate someone to do them.
Either way, you still have to carry the burden of ensuring that you
get the necessary permits and bring the right services to your
property. All these are some of the issues that the estate managers
will handle for you.

Many new estates control the type of structures that you can
build. This policy has its own drawbacks. There are some who
complain about the fact that having the same design makes the
estate look boring. In a way, this is true since you are not
allowed to build to your taste. Whereas in established
neighbourhoods, you may need to buy and pull down an old structure
but you do enjoy the flexibility of building what you like subject
to government approval.

A comparison of the above pros and cons should help you make the
right decision on where best to buy land.

Subscribe ToNairalaw News!